Roses in Winter
by WhisperingWolf
Summary: Everyone has a secret that they try to hide, some are just better at it than others. For Angela, that secret was being alone. As FF does not leave much room a proper summary, the first piece of this story is the full summary with warnings.
1. Title Page

Roses in Winter

By WhisperingWolf

Hurt/Comfort Drama

Rating: Mostly PG-13 - R, some chapters will have NC-17 rated elements and will have warnings beforehand.

Characters: Angela, the Cullen Family, Bella and Charlie. All pairings are canon

*Special Note: In the books, Angela has younger twin brothers, in this story she does not have any siblings.*

Summary: ~The story of how Angela becomes a Cullen.~

Everyone has a secret that they try to hide, some are just better at it than others. For Angela, that secret was being alone. Assigned to work on history project with Emmett Cullen, he becomes troubled by certain things about Angela that make him question her safety. Later, when Angela realizes that the notes and flowers she has been receiving aren't from Ben and that someone is stalking her and covering their tracks well enough to make her feel like she is loosing her mind, Emmett and Jasper step in, bringing Angela into the protection and care of the Cullen family.

There is a heavier focus on Angela Webber and her interactions with the Cullens than with the Edward/Bella theme. You have been warned.

:::

"There's one thing you have to understand about Emmett," Rosalie told Angela with an almost annoyed sounding sigh. "He has a very severe case of BBS."

"BBS?" the girl asked with a confused shake of her head.

"Big Brother Syndrome."

Disclaimer: This story is rated 'M' as it deals with such sensitive subject matters as stalking, child abuse and sexual situations. This story may not be suitable for all audiences and is not recommended for persons under the age of 16. The Twilight universe and all recognizable characters are the sole property of Mrs. Stephanie Meyer. No copyright infringement is intended.

While reviews are greatly appreciated, hate mail (aka "flames") or negative reviews with the intent of attacking the story/author will be deleted. Thank you for reading.


	2. Prologue

Prologue

She wanted to cry as she looked down at the picture in her textbook. He was just an old man who wouldn't bend to the hysteria around him and for that he was tortured and killed. The huge plank of wood lying on his chest, pinning him to the ground must've held its own massive weight, but to then add boulder after boulder, demanding that he confess to witchcraft when it was more than likely that he couldn't pull enough air into his lungs to breathe let alone speak… How could anyone justify those actions? How could someone do that to another human being and call it righteous and lawful?

Edward looked out of the corner of his eye at Angela, watching her as she stared down at the history book lying open on her desk. She had always been such a shy girl, her thoughts the most selfless and kind he had ever come across, and for reasons he didn't fully understand he hated the way the current topic of their history class upset her. His frown deepened when she thought of her father and he had to wonder what their relationship was like.

_If I were alive during those times, my father would most likely be one of the preachers to hang a witch. He even calls archaeology and anthropology blasphemous. Why is it so hard for some people to accept other cultures and let them be? _

"Miss Weber, Mister Cullen," the teacher looked up from his sheet and took his thin plastic rimmed glasses off the end of his nose and pointed across the room, "Emmett Cullen," he specified. "You two will be partners for the next week. Now, for those teams that I have assigned with even numbers – people, please stop talking and listen!" The teacher looked across the room at his restless students and sighed. "For those teams with even numbers, please raise your hands," he requested and waited as half the class raised their hands. "You all will be working in defense of the actions taken by the town's people of Salem, up to and including the deaths of all the victims of the Salem Witch Trials."

Angela barely listened as he handed out the assignments, instead searching through her purse for her recently prescribed Imitrex. She had to find it before the pain grew any worse, but the more she moved around the things in her purse, the more frustrated she grew at the bottle's absence. The last place she had it was earlier that morning in the school's newspaper office when she had been looking up the side effects of the newly prescribed drug.

"Miss Weber," she looked up at the teacher's voice. "You and Emmett Cullen will be acting as defense council for Giles Corey. I want outlines from everyone by Wednesday and final papers turned in Friday. And people, I don't want just one team member doing all the work. Next Monday you will be giving presentations on your assignments, teamwork people! Enjoy your weekend," he called out as the bell rang.

_I wonder what it feels like to be loved._

Edward turned away from the thoughts he had been reading from Alice and Emmett, frowning at Angela's thought that broke through the silent conversation he'd been having with his siblings. She was dating Ben; he knew she was, so why didn't she feel loved? Alice tapped his shoulder, drawing his attention back to the present moment and he stood to follow her, listening to Emmett's thoughts as his brother moved over to Angela's desk instead of following them out of the classroom.

_I'm going to hang around for awhile, Edward. I want to try and work out a schedule with Angela; maybe do some work on it tonight. I'll meet you all at home._

Emmett's thoughts reached Edward and he shook his head. His brother had a knack for knowing his range and where he was. Carlisle had often theorized that it had something to do with Emmett's strong protective instincts, believing that in order to be a successful protector one had to know by feel alone where the threat was. It also meant that he knew where his family members were by the feel of them.

Half of the class was out of their seats and through the door before the bell had stopped ringing, but Angela remained seated, grinding her teeth and closing her eyes against the radiating pain of her migraine. The shrill sound of the school bell added to her pain, the sound screaming through her brain in waves of fire and vertigo. It silenced within a few seconds, the ringing in her ears lasting a few moments longer as she tried to act as though nothing was wrong. Stuffing her books haphazardly back into her school bag, Angela ground her teeth together before standing slowly. The dizziness was the worst part. She could deal with the pain, the nausea, the nosebleeds and even the occasional bouts of near unconsciousness, but she hated the vertigo. Closing her eyes and willing her whirling mind to be still, she gasped and jumped at the feel of a cool hand touching her shoulder. Looking up with wide eyes, she saw Emmett frown.

"Are you alright?" he asked, his frown lines creasing deeper between his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah of course," Angela assured in a rush and shook her head. "You just surprised me is all," she said trying to laugh at herself, but wincing inwardly when she heard the tight sound of pain in her voice.

"We should figure out this project before Monday," he told her as she swung her schoolbag onto her shoulder and watched her wince before grabbing her purse off the table.

"It's not due till Friday, what's the rush?" Angela asked walking out of the classroom with Emmett following behind her.

She found it odd that his hulking form could make her feel so small. She was six foot one, normally towering over the other boys and had always felt awkward and out of place because of her height, but Emmett made her feel petit. It was a rather strange sensation, but quite welcome. Having been made fun of since sixth grade for her height, she hated being the giant freak among the girls.

"I don't mean complete it," Emmett said as he followed her down the hall, his hazel eyes catching her grimace as she shifted her bag. "I meant figure out times to meet and work on it."

"Oh, yeah, that makes sense," she said with a shake of her head and looked up when he fell into step beside her. "Well what's your sched – " her voice broke off as the bright light of a camera flash filled her vision.

That singular moment of the blinding flash had her squeezing her eyes closed and biting her lip to keep from crying out in pain. Emmett's enhanced vampire senses watched everything happen in slow motion. A group of teens in front of them had been snapping photos of each other and had pointed the camera in their direction. When the flash went off, Angela's voice faded into a sharp whimper too low for the milling humans surrounding them to hear. Her eyes were squeezed tightly shut, her teeth biting down on her bottom lip hard enough that he was afraid she would draw blood, and she began to fall. Catching her around the waist as her school bag fell to the ground with a dull thump, her purse falling to lie on top of it, Emmett drew her against his chest.

"Get out of here," he fairly growled at the kids who had stopped taking photos of each other to gawk at them. "Shh," he whispered down to Angela, feeling the minute trembling as she clutched the fabric of his shirt next to her face.

He rubbed her back gently, felt her tremble with fear and held her closer. She was one of Bella's human friends and he hadn't really thought too much about her one way or the other until that moment. The way she had acted when he had come up behind her after class, the signs of pain that she was trying to hide, and her sudden reaction and fear of the camera, he couldn't help but wonder if she was being abused at home. He could feel her heaving breaths, heard her racing heart and the tiny whimpers too soft for anyone but one of his kind to hear. Breathing in deeply he caught the tinge of salt in the air, but didn't feel any dampness against his shirt and surmised that she was close to crying, the tears already gathered in her eyes.

"Hey, it's alright, half pint," he soothed and wondered what had inspired him to call her that. "I've got you."

"I'm ok," Angela's shaky voice sounded, muffled against his shirt before she pulled back. "Thanks, that would've been pretty embarrassing," she said in reference to her near collision with the floor that he had stopped.

"You sure you're alright?" he asked, watching her through narrowed eyes as she picked up her bags.

"I'm fine," she insisted, but he took note of how drawn and pale she looked. "The flash just startled me, that's all."

He didn't buy her excuse for one second, but at the same time he knew better than to push further. Following her as she continued down the hall to the school newspaper office, he nodded when she told him that she would only be a moment. He waited for her beside the door when she disappeared inside the room. He didn't like her reactions and especially didn't like the suspicions that came as a result of them. Promising himself that he would look after her, keep closer to her until he knew more, he looked up at the familiar pull of his wife's presence coming toward him. Smiling at Rosalie when she stepped up to him, Emmett cupped her face in his hands and kissed her, uncaring of who was watching.

"How's my beautiful Rose?" he said and kissed her again.

"Ready to go home," she said before lowering her voice and looking at him with a heated stare. "I have an itch that needs scratched."

His laughter rumbled deep in his chest, his eyes sparkling down at her. "Aw, sorry, Rosie," he said with a pout. "I want to get some things sorted out with Angela before I leave. Meet you at home?"

"If you must," she rolled her eyes and tossed her hair over her shoulder before narrowing her eyes on him. "You're as bad as Edward, playing with these humans."

"Hey, she's a friend of Bella's and my partner for the next week in history class," he defended. "She's a good kid. Just ask Edward, he seems to like listening to her thoughts enough."

Rolling her eyes before turning away, Rosalie looked back at him and with an impatient stare. "Don't keep me waiting too long, or I'll start without you."

Breathing in sharply, his eyes widening at her implication, he grinned. "Why don't you just think real loud about all the things you want me to do to you," he suggested quirking his eyebrows at her suggestively.

"You just want to torture Edward," she pointed out with a laugh as she sauntered away.

"Pfft. Of course!" he laughed and shook his head.

The door behind him opened and Angela stepped out, her eyes hidden behind dark lenses that had replaced her usual glasses. She was definitely hiding something and it bothered him more than it should. He followed her down the hall, frowning at the note sticking out of the top of her locker. He watched her stop and stare at it from behind her sunglasses before a lopsided grin twisted her lips up and she plucked it from its resting space. Taking her laptop from within her locker, she hugged it in her arms as she closed her locker door and spun the combination knob to lock it. Turning around to see Emmett's frown, Angela lowered her dark glasses enough for him to see her eyes and the redness within and beneath them.

"What?" Angela asked as she replaced her glasses and followed his slow walk to the front doors.

"The note," he said and shrugged. "Just seemed pretty odd," he told her wondering if she'd been crying in the newspaper office, it would certainly explain the redness of her eyes.

Angela gave a breathy laugh and shook her head. "Ben's been leaving me little notes for the past few months or so. He tucks them into my locker, or my books, or even on my car. I think it's his way of trying to be romantic," she reasoned.

"Is it?" he asked and held the door of the school building open so that she could step outside ahead of him.

"Not really," she giggled and shrugged, "but he's trying. Every now and then it'll be a flower instead. The flowers are sweet and semi-romantic. The notes…well he just needs to work on his lines, I suppose. Sometimes they come off a tad bit creepy, but don't tell him I said that."

Emmett laughed at that. Boys these days really had no idea how to woo a woman. Back in his day, the notes would've been lines of poetry, lyrics of a song and the man would've handed the note to her instead of sticking them in a place where she would find them for a false sense of anonymity.

"What time is best for you, in regards to working on our assignment?" he asked her as he followed her to her car, not surprised to see the student parking lot virtually empty.

"Oh, um… most days after five, that's usually when I get done with my work on the paper," she said and opened the driver's side passenger door to drop her bags inside, taking her keys from her purse before shutting the door. "Did you want a ride home? It looks like everyone's gone."

"Sure, Half Pint, that'd be great," he said with a lopsided grin and chuckled when she laughed.

"Half Pint?" she asked with amusement, her brows raised in question as he got into the passenger seat and dropped his book bag between his feet on the floor.

"Of course," he grinned at her as she started the engine. "You're tiny."

"Not hardly," she said with a grimace. "I'm a giant," she mumbled.

"Pfft," he scoffed as she pulled out of the school parking lot and onto the street. "I'm bigger than you are."

"Emmett," she laughed his name. "You're bigger than everyone."

"So? I'm still bigger than you," he told her and she shook her head. "What?" he asked at her bemused grin.

"You," she said simply, slowing to a stop at a red light. "You're always so quiet. I've only seen you playful with your family and Bella. Kinda figured you hated everyone else," she said with a shrug.

"Nah, I don't hate anyone," he assured her and saw her wince again, clenching her jaw against obvious pain. "Just don't like crowds is all. Hey, uh, do you mind?" he said and motioned at a nearby coffee shop. "I could use a pick me up," he lied knowing he wouldn't be able to drink whatever he bought. "I'll buy you one," he said as she pulled into the parking lot.

"Oh you don't have to," she said and he could tell from her expression and tone that she was touched by the offer.

"What'll it be, half pint?" he asked and smiled when she grinned.

Angela couldn't help the grin that curved her lips when he called her that. It seemed like such a big brother thing for him to give her a nickname like that and she loved it. The moniker made her feel oddly cared for and safe which was something she didn't often feel.

"Double shot mocha?" she requested, turning off the car.

"Coming right up," he said and disappeared inside the coffee shop.

He stood in line at the counter, every now and then looking back over his shoulder at her car waiting outside. She was in pain and the more she kept trying to hide it, the more worried it made him. He wanted to know where she was hurt and who had done it, but was uncertain about asking her outright. Grinning at the nickname he had given her, the knowledge that every time he said it seemed to put her at ease and make her smile made him use it more often. Nodding his thanks to the girl at the counter, he took Angela's drink and walked out the door to find her pinching the bridge of her nose with her forehead pressed against the steering wheel. Tapping on the glass, he waited for her to open the window.

"Why don't you let me drive, half pint," he said and nodded for her to scoot over. "You look beat."

"Where's yours?" she asked as she accepted the paper cup and moved over to sit in the passenger seat when he opened her door.

"I just got a dopio, downed it before I came out," he lied. "Just lean back and relax," he said with a smile and turned over the engine. "How do I get to your place from here?"

"What about getting you home?" she asked, her concern evident. "You can't just walk, it's too far!"

"Don't you worry 'bout me," he said with a chuckle and drove through the streets, following the directions she gave. "I thought maybe you and I could figure out a schedule to work on the paper and then I'd have Rose pick me up here," he said as he parked the car in her driveway. "If you don't mind that is."

"No that'd be fine," she said and opened the door to step out. "Are you sure? It is Friday night; I don't want to ruin any plans you might have."

"Free as a bird," he told her as he watched her pop a pill into her mouth before taking a drink of her coffee. "Will your parents mind having company?" he asked as he gathered their bags, silencing her with a raised brow when she opened her mouth to protest.

"No, they're not home," she told him as she opened her front door and he followed her inside. "Business trip," she shrugged at his questioning glance.

Emmett nodded, not commenting as he set her laptop on the low coffee table and her bags on the floor next to it in front of the couch. He couldn't help the thought that she seemed lonely and closed his eyes to get a feel for the house as he always did when he was in a new place. It felt empty as though she were the only person who was ever here. Looking back over at Angela, he found that she had sat down on the couch and taken a notebook from her back pack, watching as she turned it to a blank page. When she looked at him he was surprised to see the expression on her face, the way she seemed to be trying to hide the loneliness she felt.

He sat beside her on the couch and talked with her for a few minutes about setting up set times to get together to work on their paper when he noticed her eyes starting to droop. She really was exhausted and as he took a closer look at her face, he saw the circles under her eyes and the pallor of her skin that she had tried to hide with makeup. She looked like she hadn't slept in days. He could tell by the way she absently agreed to everything he said that she wasn't really listening to him and looked down at her half lidded sleep filled eyes. She leaned back against the couch behind them and he followed suit, her exhaustion worrying him.

He didn't say anything when she unknowingly leaned against his shoulder, choosing instead to wrap his arm around her and pull her close to let her rest her head against his chest. She didn't shy away from him as he thought she might, but lifted her arm, the move unconscious as she fisted her hand in the fabric of his shirt next to her chin. Shaking his head slightly and feeling the same protectiveness well up inside of him that he often felt around Bella, he took the half drunk coffee from her right hand before she could drop it. Why did her exhaustion bother him so much? What was it about her that called to him to protect her like Bella did? Not knowing the reason why, he began to recite a Robert Frost poem to her and watched as she blinked slowly before falling completely asleep, her body leaning heavily against him.

Moving slowly, and watching for any sign that she was about to stir, he pulled her closer and wrapped his other arm behind her knees, moving her gently to sit in his lap. Standing up slowly with Angela in his arms, her cheek pillowed against his chest as she slept, he carried her upstairs and followed her scent to the room where it was the strongest. Stepping up to the side of her bed, he gently released her legs and stood her on her feet, holding her body against his with one arm while he tossed back the blankets. Picking her up again, he laid her gently down on the bed and removed her shoes before covering her and tucking the blankets up under chin. Removing her glasses and setting them on her night table he bent down over her.

"Sweet dreams, half pint," he whispered and kissed her forehead before disappearing down stairs.

Gathering up his back pack and turning off the light in the front room, he opened the front door and turned the lock on the doorknob before pulling the door closed behind him. Slipping his arm through the other strap to hold the bag on both shoulders, Emmett disappeared through the falling night and into the thickness of the forests that were prevalent throughout Forks. He wasn't sure whether or not he should talk to Carlisle, but he definitely didn't want Edward to read his thoughts about his suspicions. Focusing his mind on football scores and basketball plays, Emmett used his vast knowledge of sports as a buffer while he thought about Angela. Something didn't feel right, but he had at least a week to figure it out before his time spent with her would be suspect by anyone in his family.

**:::::**

She hated not knowing. Hated the feeling that she wasn't enough, didn't quite measure up to what was expected of her. Shaking her head as her face twisted in a self depreciating glower, Angela moved through the upstairs of her house, jogging toward the stairs to catch the ringing house phone before the machine answered it for her. Tripping halfway down the stairs, Angela cried out in surprise when her foot gave way beneath her and she fell, rolling down the six remaining steps to land in a heap on the floor below.

Hissing in pain and rubbing her ankle, Angela carefully rose to her feet and hobbled to the cordless phone sitting on the occasional table that stood against the wall between the living room and the kitchen. The machine clicked on and she winced when the toe of her good foot hit against the stubby wooden support of the couch, groaning as she fell again. The machine clicked off a few seconds later, whoever had been calling declining to leave a message and Angela groaned when a knock sounded at the front door.

"Come in!" Angela called out; lifting her head just enough to look at the door before dropping her head back to the floor with a thump.

"Angela?" Emmett's voice sounded as he stepped inside the house and shut the door.

"Over here," she said raising her hand without moving from her position on the floor.

Emmett stepped around the couch and looked down at the girl lying on the floor. Arching an eyebrow as he dropped his bag onto the sofa and crossed his arms over his chest, he studied her. She was sprawled out on her back, looking as though she had decided that the floor would be more comfortable than the couch to take a nap on. He couldn't suppress the lopsided grin borne of amusement that pulled at his lips as he looked her over before meeting her gaze.

"What are you doing down there, half pint?" he asked with a confused grin.

"The stairs tripped me and the couch bit me," she told him and he laughed heartily at her.

"Bit you, huh?" he joked and crouched down beside her, lifting the edge of the couch with one hand to look underneath it for a moment before setting it down again. "I don't see any teeth."

"Shut up," she laughed at him only to hiss when he touched her swelling ankle.

"Stairs?" he asked looking from her ankle up to her face. "Fragile little thing," he commented and chuckled when she stuck her tongue out at him.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure it's just sprained; I've got an ACE wrap upstairs in the bathroom medicine cabinet. I just have to actually get it."

"What happened?" he asked as he moved and scooped her up into his arms, grinning at her blush as he carried her upstairs.

"Came down stairs a little too fast to catch the phone and my foot folded beneath me…how did you know which one was my room?" she asked when he set her down on her neatly made bed before disappearing out of the room.

"I put you to bed the other night," he said with a shrug as he walked back to sit by her side, the ACE bandage in his hand.

"You did that?" she asked, her gratitude and amazement clear in her tone.

"Yeah, you were tired," he said, frowning at the expression on her face. "What?"

"No one's ever done that for me before," she thought aloud and blushed when she realized what she'd said.

"Seriously?" he asked and shushed her when he put her foot in his lap and set about removing her shoe and sock to look at her swollen ankle.

Angela shrugged, "I've fallen asleep a few times with Ben, he just leaves me on the couch," she told him.

"Who taught that boy how to treat women?" Emmett asked his disapproval clear in his voice. "Sorry," he apologized when she hissed as he wrapped her ankle.

"No it's ok; I know it's got to be wrapped tight," she said unable to hide her pained wince. "Chivalry's a dying art," she told him in reference to his question about Ben.

"Pfft, ridiculous," he scoffed and she laughed.

"Thank you," she said softly as he attached the metal clasp and she moved her foot from his lap in order to sit more comfortably.

She touched her bandaged ankle with her fingertips, biting her lip as she looked down at it. He had taken care of her, not once, but twice now and Angela didn't know what to think. No one had ever taken care of her before. If she were to fall asleep downstairs, even as a child, her parents would always shake her awake and tell her to go to bed. If she had been hurt, more often than not, she would be berated for the injury and her perceived carelessness; but Emmett, he had carried her, tucked her into bed, wrapped her injury and treated her with care. She looked up at him with a look of wonder and confusion in her eyes.

"Thank you," she said again, her voice reverent and her eyes telling him that it was the first time she'd been treated in such a caring manner.

"Everyone needs a big brother," he told her and grinned. "So, what are we going to do about Giles Cory?"

**:::::**

"Emmett," Carlisle spoke his son's name with surprise, standing back and waving his arm as he invited him into his office at Fork's hospital. "What brings you by?"

He didn't answer. Instead Emmett walked over to the shelves of medical texts and journals that lined the left wall. His eyes scanned over the spines of the books, looking over the titles without actually reading them. Carlisle studied his son with a concerned frown. Normally the one to crack jokes or speak forthright about whatever was on his mind, Emmett now looked a bit nervous as though he wasn't certain what he wanted to say.

"Whatever you tell me, Emmett, provided that it does not bring a threat to our family, I will keep it between us." Carlisle watched Emmett turn his head to look back at him, his brow arching his expression telegraphing his thoughts about that particular statement. "I've become quite good over the years at keeping things from Edward when the need arises. What is on your mind?"

"Can I speak to you hypothetically?" he asked, turning to face his adoptive father, his brow furrowed.

Carlisle frowned and nodded slowly. Whatever was on Emmett's mind it was serious. He couldn't remember ever having seen his boisterous son this tense and unsure of himself before. Motioning to the chairs that sat in front of his desk, he waited for Emmett to take a seat before he sat next to him.

"First, I just want to let you know that I'm going to be staying close to a human for awhile. She's sweet, damn smart too and she's one of Bella's friends."

"Ok," Carlisle again nodded, his brows drawing together as he tried to puzzle together Emmett's strange behavior. "Does she have anything to do with the hypothetical conversation you wish to have?"

Emmett nodded his frown deepening as he looked down at his hands. Was he breaking some sort of confidence if he said anything; Emmett wondered. What if he was wrong? Would he be hurting her? He had come to his father, his worries demanding to be spoken to another and he knew Carlisle would be the best one to talk to. Not only was he a doctor, but he had also studied human behavior far more closely than the rest of them over the years.

"How do you know if suspicions are more than just suspicions?" Emmett asked, looking up at Carlisle.

"I'm going to need a little bit more to go on than that," Carlisle told him with a shake of his head. "What are you suspicious about?"

"Hypothetically," Emmett hedged.

"Of course."

"If someone…a teenager…were to look as though they were in pain a lot, but trying to hide it and changed the subject every time the topic of their parents came up…would you suspect abuse?"

"You think one of Bella's friends is being abused?" Carlisle asked as he sat back in his chair, his face alarmed.

"That's just it," Emmett sighed. "I don't know. I have my suspicions, but I don't know for certain and I don't want to say anything if I'm wrong."

"I can understand that," Carlisle released a deep breath through his nose as he studied his son. "Have there been any other signs, anything else that increases your suspicions?"

"This stays just between us, at least until I know more?"

"Of course, Emmett." Carlisle wasn't used to seeing his son, his family's protector, looking so uncertain.

"Every time I see her she looks absolutely exhausted. She tries to hide it with makeup, but you know that's pretty useless against our kind."

"Yes," Carlisle said with a bit of amusement, remembering how Bella had tried to hide a bruise after she had quite literally walked into a door.

Emmett followed Carlisle's line of thought when he saw the hint of amusement and he grinned.

"You think she'll still do that when she's one of us? She'll take out the door."

Carlisle laughed, "I hope not. Now back to your friend. Aside from those three things, is there anything else?"

"You think I'm over reacting?" Emmett asked trying to assess if maybe he was.

"Not at all, it's better to be cautious then to let someone you know suffer in silence," Carlisle said wisely and watched Emmett nod.

"This isn't really a sign of abuse, but it still bothers me." Carlisle nodded for him to continue, waiting in silence as Emmett gathered his thoughts. "She fell a few days ago, sprained her ankle on the stairs. I carried her, I wrapped up her ankle and she was…surprised. She said no one had ever done anything like that for her before. I wanted to ask more, but…it was as though she's been left alone far too often to take care of herself."

Carlisle sighed; he could understand Emmett's concern. The pieces added up to the same two suspicions for him as well: abuse, or neglect. Either one was disheartening. He had met most of Bella's friends when he had been asked to speak for career day at the high school. There were only two people that sprang immediately to mind: Jessica Stanley and Angela Weber. He had met Jessica's parents once when the girl had been brought in for a laceration on her arm; they both doted on her and called her 'their little princess'. That left Angela. She was a shy girl, quiet; her eyes were intelligent and captivating. He couldn't remember having met her parents before though, remembering vaguely that the few times he had seen her enter the hospital she had been alone.

"What do you intend to do?" Carlisle asked Emmett.

"You know who I'm talking about, don't you?" Emmett said with a grimace of displeasure, he'd been trying to keep her identity a secret.

"It's not very hard to put the pieces together. But as you've requested, I will not say anything until you know more." Carlisle stood and walked toward the back wall behind his desk, looking at the picture of Esme that hung there. "You're going to big brother her, aren't you?" he asked as he turned around, his expression equal parts serious and amused.

"What else can I do?" Emmett asked before grinning. "Everyone needs a big brother."

"Just be careful, Emmett and remember that I'm always here if you need me."

"Will do," he said with a nod of thanks as he turned to leave the office.

**:::::**

"What are you doing?" Rosalie hissed, cornering Emmett in the hallway after school when he made to follow Angela down the hall. "She's a human, Emmett. She's not one of us!"

Her eyes spat fire, angered that he might be endangering their family and not understanding his sudden fascination with the human girl. She was in no way worried that he fancied himself in love with the girl; a vampire's heart was not so fickle. His attention to her though was still unnerving and she wanted to know what he was thinking.

"She's sweet, fun to talk to, that's all," he shrugged, watching the girl in question disappear around the corner oblivious to the fact that she was the topic of their conversation.

"Don't give me that Emmett McCarty Cullen," Rosalie said keeping her voice low. "You're following her around, guarding her. Even Jasper's commented on it and you know he's usually the last one to speak."

"Rosie," he cupped her silken cheeks and kissed her gently, slowly, the embrace a promise of more to come. "I don't want to say anything yet. I don't want to be wrong, can you understand that?"

Rosalie pulled back, her brows furrowing in confusion as she looked at her husband. He didn't want to be wrong? Thinking over the past two weeks about his behavior and what she herself had seen, the pieces began to fall into place. The way he watched Angela, his eyes studying her face, her movements; the way he guarded her and walked close to her as though to warn others away…

"You think she's being hurt," Rosalie's voice was soft and surprised, her tone holding the slightest note of concern. "Don't deny it," she said when he opened his mouth to argue. "You're acting around her the same way you acted around Bella after we took care of James. I didn't think there was another of our kind in Forks."

"There isn't," Emmett told her, taking her hand and tucking it into the crook of his elbow as he led her toward the doors.

"Then why would you think…abuse?" she asked as another piece fell into place. "By who? Ben?"

"Pfft. Not hardly." They stopped beside his Jeep and he held the passenger door open for her, waiting as she climbed inside before closing the door.

"Then who?" she asked as he slid behind the wheel and started the engine. "Her parents? Emmett," Rosalie shook her head and looked at him.

"Like I said, Rose, I don't know for sure. I have suspicions; that's all they are right now. Just be nice to her, ok? For me?" he asked when she shook her head in disbelief.

"I'm not going to be buddy-buddy with her," Rosalie told him, acquiescing to his request with noted protest.

"I'm not asking you to, you don't have to be sisterly or anything, just be nice. Give her a chance; I think you'll like her."

"Must you be everyone's big brother?" she asked with a heavy sigh.

"Hey, don't knock it," he grinned. "Big brothers are awesome and I'm the best," he told her smiling when she laughed.

"You owe me," she told him and stared at him lustfully. "And I owe Edward a headache. Nosy little bastard."

"What are you planning, Rosalie?" he asked with a laugh.

"Sex, on the roof, above his room."

"You are an evil little thing when you want to be."

"And you love it," she said with a knowing smile.

**:::::**

Angela was exhausted to the point of tears. She hadn't slept in three days, the constant agony of her migraines denying her even the shortest time without pain in which she could take a nap. The Relpax the new doctor at the hospital had prescribed her was doing nothing except making her zone out. Looking up the drug's information online she had found that in only point-one percent of cases, not even enough to even be listed in the drug's warning information, it caused insomnia.

"Lucky me to be that point-one percent," Angela said sarcastically as she put her laptop into her locker before taking it out again. She couldn't remember if she was going to class or going home.

"Are you alright?" Rosalie asked as she approached Angela, the girl looking decidedly unsteady on her feet.

She wasn't certain what kind of answer she would get, uncertain if she actually cared, but she had given Emmett her word that she would be nicer toward Angela and when she gave her word she kept it. Angela just nodded, not knowing what to say. She wasn't one to dump her problems on anyone else and Emmett's super model looking girlfriend was certainly not someone she wanted to bother with her weaknesses. Her head hurt and she was truly beginning to feel confused and out of place.

"I can't remember what I'm supposed to be doing," Angela said without realizing she'd spoken her thoughts aloud.

"Can't remember?" Rosalie repeated slowly, her eyes narrowed as she studied the girl in front of her. "Angela, how long has it been since you've slept?" she asked seeing the grey shadows the girl's concealer was unable to hide from her vampire eyes.

"Slept?" Angela repeated with a confused shake of her head. "Do I have class?" she whispered looking for her phone to check the time.

"No, school is over," Rosalie answered slowly. "Angela, look at me," Rosalie said and waited for the girl to meet her gaze. "When was the last time you slept?"

"What day is it?" Angela asked, remembering only that the last time she had slept was Sunday.

"It's Friday. Give me your keys," Rosalie commanded not surprised in the least when Angela did so seemingly unaware of her own actions. "Come on, I'm going to drive you home."

"Home?" she asked with a confused shake of her head and Rosalie looked up to see Alice running down the empty school hallway toward them with Jasper a few steps behind her.

"She's going to pass out!" Alice told her, her voice too soft for Angela to hear.

Rosalie caught Angela's laptop and purse when they fell out of her slack hold. Jasper was at their side in an instant, catching Angela as she fell. He swung her up into his arms, frowning at the feel of her featherweight in his arms. He couldn't help thinking that with her height she should weigh more than she did. He followed Rosalie and Alice out to Angela's car, his sister holding open the passenger side door so that he could tuck her into the seat and buckle her in. Closing the door he stood up and looked at Rosalie.

"Do you want us to follow you there?" he asked Rosalie as she put Angela's bags into the back seat, Alice having taken her own.

"No, I can get her home," Rosalie said with a frown as she looked at the human girl sleeping in the car. "You've been watching her future?" she asked Alice.

"Emmett's been a bit more attentive toward her lately so I thought it best. He seems worried about something, but he won't say what it is," Alice answered, shouldering Rosalie's bag.

"He's been guarding her," Jasper stated his observations. "Emmett, Edward and Esme already left to go hunting this weekend. Alice and I are heading out as soon as we get home to change. Will you be joining us?"

Rosalie looked down at Angela, frowning as she remembered her promise to Emmett. Being nicer to Angela didn't mean being her babysitter, but seeing her condition and watching her pass out had actually worried her. She hadn't expected to feel any emotion toward the girl, let alone worry. Shaking her head, she told her siblings that she was going to stay with Angela instead, just until she was certain that she wouldn't need to take her to Carlisle. Alice smiled knowingly and nodded before turning around and leading Jasper away.

Less than twenty minutes later, Rosalie had Angela tucked into her bed and stood within the girl's room looking around for some kind of hint as to the reason for her exhaustion. A collection of post cards sat in a business card holder on her desk and she frowned as she looked through the collection of international cards. There were only seven cards, four from Christmases over the past years and three sent for Angela's birthdays. Each card said pretty much the same thing, after the greetings of Merry Christmas or Happy Birthday were the words: '_Keep the house clean and remember that you are a reflection on us. Do not dishonor us.'_

The cards weren't signed 'Mom and Dad', but rather 'Rev. and Mrs. Weber' instead. Shaking her head as she replaced the cards in their holder, Rosalie looked around the room. Angela was only sixteen, which meant that her parents had been abandoning her since she was at least twelve. The knowledge of that alone bothered her greatly; she knew what it felt like to be little more than a stage piece to one's parents. Her own parents had been attentive of her, but had always demanded a level of perfection that seemed impossible to achieve. A book sat on the girl's desk and as Rosalie took a closer look at it, she realized that it was her journal.

She had never been the type of person to invade another's privacy in such a way, but a part of her demanded that she open the leather bound book. Looking back over her shoulder to make certain that Angela was still asleep, she lifted the cover and read the first entry before dropping the stiff leather cover and refusing to read anymore.

::

_June 15, 2006_

_It's my birthday today. I was hoping that I might at least get a call from them, hear their voices telling me happy birthday. They did call, but it wasn't to wish me a happy birthday. My grades dropped last semester and I closed the year with a three point nine. My mother made certain that I knew of my failure and my father lectured me for nearly an hour about what a disappointment I am. _

_My pain is nearly constant and it's growing worse every day, but if I even hint of it in their presence I am made to feel as though I am the worst person they have ever met. All I want is their approval, their love. Will I ever be deserving of it? I can't help wondering sometimes why they had me as the only emotion I ever seem to inspire in them is shame. Am I truly so bad?_

::

Rosalie felt the desire to hit something, to vent her anger. Angela was fourteen when she wrote that. Her brow furrowed as she stopped pacing, Angela had mentioned being in near constant pain, but from what? The girl in the bed stirred, a whimper drawing from her as she curled in on herself and Rosalie was at her side in the next instant. She brushed her fingers down Angela's cheek, surprised at the near burning heat of her skin. Far beyond the usual warmth human skin held, she knew Angela to have a fever.

"Angela," she said and waited to see if the girl was awake.

"It hurts," Angela whimpered, not truly aware that she wasn't alone.

"What hurts? Do you need medicine?"

"Nothing works," she whimpered and Rosalie could smell the salt of her tears. "So tired."

"You just go to sleep, ok?" Rosalie said and rubbed her hand up and down the girl's arm. "Just go to sleep."

She sat by Angela's side until the girl had fallen back into her exhausted slumber. There wasn't anything she could do. Shaking her head, Rosalie thought about taking her to Carlisle, but what if there wasn't anything he could do? Every now and then Angela stirred and Rosalie did the only thing that she could think of, surprising even herself: she sang to Angela a collection of lullabies.


	3. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Gasping and spinning around to face the window behind her, Angela felt the unmistakable chill run up her spine of being watched. It was dark outside and she was in her bedroom on the second floor of her house, but still she couldn't shake the feeling. Stepping up to her window, she looked out into the yard below and shook her head. It was too dark to see anything, the lamplight of her room only serving to turn her window into a mirror against the black of the surrounding night. Turning off her lamp, she returned to the window and looked outside once more.

At first she didn't see anything, but she continued to stare out into the darkness while she waited for her eyes to adjust. Narrowing her eyes as she leaned closer to the cool glass pane, she pulled back when she saw the shadow of someone dash across her yard. Shaking her head and returning to her desk to turn on her lamp, her hand paused at the switch when she heard the rattling of the back door. She didn't stop to think as she grabbed her car keys from her desk and ran from the room. She knew it was irrational to be this scared and that more than likely it was just the wind or her mind playing tricks on her, but she couldn't stop her reaction to the frightening feeling of being unsafe in her own home.

It took her two tries before she was able to get her car key into the driver's door and open it. Her hands were shaking as she scrambled behind the wheel and put the key in the ignition. Pulling out of the driveway, she drove to the only place that she did feel safe, the same place that she would run to when she was scared or when being alone became too much to bear. Pulling into the parking lot of Fork's Hospital, Angela rubbed her tired eyes as she glanced at the digital clock on her dash and turned off the car. One-thirty in the morning, shaking her head she could only be thankful that it was Saturday.

Slipping in through the automatic sliding doors, she made her way quietly past the nurse's desk, offering a tired smile to her favorite nurse, Camille Marks. Room two-fourteen was the room that had been kept empty for her over the years. She couldn't count the number of times that she had come here since she was twelve, but as always she was allowed to sleep in room two-fourteen undisturbed. No one ever asked her any questions and for that she was grateful. She never knew what she would say if anyone asked.

Carlisle looked up from the chart he held in his hands and frowned. That was Angela Weber who had just walked into the hospital room down the hall. No patient had ever been placed in that room and she hadn't been accompanied by a nurse or parent. He moved closer to the open door and stood just outside as he watched the girl climb tiredly onto the bed, his enhanced vision able to clearly see the frightened look on her face as well as the deep circles under eyes. He shook his head in confusion. Why was she here?

"Dr. Cullen," he turned at the surprised sound of Nurse Marks' voice behind him. "Is everything alright?" she asked while trying to think of a way to pull him away from the room.

"Camille, is Angela sick?" he asked as he turned his attention on the nurse at his side.

The woman sighed and by the expression on her face he knew then that she not only knew why Angela was there, but that this wasn't a singular occurrence. He watched as she moved closer to the door, taking note of the light blanket held in her arms. Telling him that she would be right back to explain what she could, he followed her with his golden eyes as she moved into the room and spoke quietly to Angela for a few moments before spreading the blanket over her. Returning to the door and turning off the light as she stepped out, she motioned for him to follow her down the hall.

"Angela's been coming here since she was about twelve," she told him as she stopped a few rooms down the hall. "There have never been any outward signs of…anything, but she comes here sometimes to sleep. We all keep the room open for her, that way she doesn't have to search for a room and we all know where she is to keep an eye on her."

"How often does she come here?" Carlisle asked, his concern for the girl evident.

"I'm not entirely certain, there's no set pattern to her visits. Maybe three times every couple of months that I've seen, the other nurses and I don't actually talk about it with each other. It's just a silent understanding that we have to look out for her when she does come."

He nodded silently, his furrowed brow and pursed lips making his concern evident. Handing the chart in his hands to the nurse and telling her that the patient it belonged to needed to have a new set of blood samples drawn for follow up testing, he gave her a silent nod to tell her that Angela was safe with him. Returning his nod with a grateful smile, she moved down the hall to disappear into the last room on the left. Carlisle turned around and stepped quietly into the room Angela was resting in. He didn't need the lights that humans did to be able to see her clearly in the darkness broken only by the dim light of the stars outside.

He sat in the chair by the bedside and studied the girl who lay sleeping on her side. He knew that she was nearly as tall as he was, but somehow she always looked tiny to him. He couldn't help thinking that she appeared to be too thin to him as he studied her. She didn't look anorexic or sickly, but to his doctor's eyes, he could tell that she did not hold a healthy weight. She stirred slightly, whimpering in her sleep and he stood, moving to sit by her side as he stroked his hand over her hair.

"Shh," he whispered to the sleeping girl. "You're safe, Angela. No one here is going to hurt you."

Waiting by her side until she quieted, Carlisle pulled the light blanket up over her shoulder and stood as he released a deep breath through his nose. He agreed with Emmett, his son's concerns becoming his own. Something clearly wasn't right, but there weren't any bruises or other signs of physical abuse. Taking out his cell phone, he texted Esme and asked her to bring a quilt down to the hospital. Angela's shivering worried him and he knew the light hospital blanket wouldn't be enough to keep her warm. He couldn't look at her medical file without either her or her parents' permission, no matter what suspicions he may have.

"I'm scared."

Angela's frightened voice stopped him at the door and he turned around. Her words were spoken so quietly that had he been human he never would have heard them. Stepping back up to the bed he found her to still be sleeping and realized that she was talking in her sleep. He sat back down on the bed by her side and looked down on her frightened face.

"Why are you scared, Sweetheart?" he asked as he reached down and tucked her hair behind her ear.

"Someone's at the window."

"Who's at the window?" he asked, keeping his voice soft.

"I don't know," she whimpered and took in a shaking breath as she rolled to lie on her back. "Someone's at the window," she said again, fear in her voice.

"Shh," he soothed her and took her hand in his. "You're safe here, Angela. I won't let anyone harm you," he promised the sleeping girl.

She squeezed his hand tightly, the unsteady rhythm of her heart telling him that her fear had yet to abate. Her grip on his hand tightened even more and he smoothed her hair away from her face, tucking the thick locks behind her ear. As he sat with her, he found himself reminded of Esme when he had met her after she had broken her leg. Her sleep had been troubled as well and although Esme's father had never physically abused her, his use of words as weapons had been just as damaging. Pursing his lips, he only prayed that Angela wasn't being similarly abused at home.

She jerked and he watched her eyes open slightly without seeing anything before closing slowly once more. She was still then, her sleep finally growing peaceful and Carlisle looked up at the sound of footsteps outside the door. He found Edward to be standing just outside the room, his son studying him. Turning his attention back to Angela as he heard his son step into the room, he waited for Edward to speak his thoughts.

"Esme asked me to bring you this," he said as he stepped forward and held out the heavy handmade quilt to his father.

"Thank you," Carlisle said as he took the blanket and stood to spread it over Angela.

"You think she's being abused too," Edward said, his voice too low for humans to hear as he studied Angela. "Maybe it's time to talk to Esme about this. If you and Emmett are both this concerned…"

Edward let his voice trail off, his thoughts clear. Carlisle was their family's patriarch and Emmett was their guardian, if whatever was happening with Angela was enough to concern them both, then the matter needed to be brought to Esme's attention. As their matriarch and someone who could offer an outside opinion while looking at the heart of the matter, her input was needed. Carlisle watched as Edward's attention was pulled sharply to Angela's sleeping form before he moved to the window and looked outside. Seeing nothing, he shook his head and turned back to face his father.

"She keeps thinking that there's someone outside the window," he said with a confused frown.

"She said as much in her sleep a few moments ago," Carlisle admitted and motioned for Edward to follow as he left Angela alone to sleep. "Emmett's spent the most time with her," he said as he pulled the door until it was almost closed. "See if you can get him to talk a bit more about his suspicions with you. I still have another four hours until my shift is over."

He stood watching as Edward walked down the hall a few moments later. Turning back to Angela's room he stepped inside and returned to her bedside. Sitting by her side, he withdrew his wallet from his pocket and took out one of his cards, turning it over in his palm and wrote on the back of it. _Call me anytime if you need me - C.C._ Tucking the card into her palm, he closed her fingers over it and bent low to kiss her forehead. She looked so lost and alone beneath the heavy quilt, her brow still furrowed with the fear that wouldn't leave her.

No child, teenager or otherwise, should ever have to feel the fear that she was experiencing. Her home should be her safe zone, not some empty room in a hospital. Smoothing her hair back from her face, he promised her once more that she was safe, that no one could get to her in the hospital. Standing slowly, he walked to the door and turned back as he stood within the doorway, looking back at her once more before leaving her to sleep.

**:::::**

"You've gained weight," Mrs. Weber said with a disapproving tone. "You know it's not healthy. Your body doesn't respond well to added weight."

Angela turned away from the door, making certain that her back was turned before the hurt and loneliness could show on her face. There was never a 'hello' or a 'how are you' from her parents when they returned from their travels. There was only ever the quiet disdain, the unhidden tone that spoke of how undesirable she was to them. Her birth had never been planned, her mother's pregnancy occurring in an area of the world where contraceptives and abortion were non existent. They never once tried to hide the fact that Angela was, for all intents and purposes, an accident.

In the four and a half years since her parents had decided to leave her to fend for herself while they returned to their international travels, not once had they ever spoken a kind word to her. When they would return home, they would stay for anywhere from six hours to five days. Just long enough to change out the clothes in their travel bags and deliver any artifacts they'd collected to their church or the world cultures museum in Seattle.

"No, mom, I don't think I've gained any weight," Angela replied softly, trying to hide the uncertainty and upset in her voice as she walked into the kitchen.

"Angela!" her father barked her name as he stormed past her mother and into the kitchen behind her. "Have you forgotten your manners, girl?"

Flinching and taking a half step back when he looked to be raising his arm, Angela shook her head and looked at the floor as she quickly apologized before restating her answer and rephrasing the words.

"No, Mrs. Weber, I don't believe I have gained any weight," Angela said, unable to help the racing of her heart. "I apologize for my show of disrespect."

"Better," her father said before disappearing out of the kitchen.

She could hear his heavy steps walking through the house as he carried the suitcases inside the house and dropped them by the front door. Clenching her jaw against the desire to leave the house, she hated the way that her parents' visits made her feel unworthy, undesirable, and out of place; and even with their treatment; she still wanted their approval, their love so badly that she was willing to do almost anything. Turning around when she heard her mother berating the contents of the fridge, Angela's eyes grew wide when the older woman systematically opened and dumped every can of Dr. Pepper into the sink and threw out the new block of cheese, the containers of yoghurt, the loaf of bread and numerous other things until the only thing left was a single bottle of water and a bag of salad greens.

Angela was rooted to her spot on the floor, unable to move as she watched her mother go through the freezer and remove all forms of meat, except for the single serve fillet of white fish, and all forms of dessert or sweets. The only thing her mother hadn't thrown away was the bag of granola on the counter. She had just bought all of that food not three days ago; she wouldn't receive another paycheck from her job for at least ten days. Her mind was screaming at her to say something, do something, but she was frozen in place. Emmett was coming over in four days to help her study for the history exam they had coming up in two weeks. What was she going to offer him? He had always been satisfied with a bottle of water and she would put a plate of cookies out on the table between them, but what was she going to offer him now, she didn't even have that?

"I can't believe you were eating and drinking that crap. No wonder you're gaining weight. I see at least ten extra pounds on you and that is absolutely unacceptable. Drink this," her mother commanded handing her the bottle of water from the fridge, the cap already removed. "Now, Angela," her mother commanded harshly when she failed to take the bottle.

Angela moved slowly, still unable to speak as she took the bottle from her mother's outstretched hand. She took a swallow at her mother's insistence, noting the odd flavor that was always in the water her mother gave her, but staying silent. She had learned long ago that any outward show of disobedience or questioning of her parents' intentions was met with the cruelty of their words or, on a few occasions, her father's hand. Her father stepped into the kitchen again and informed her mother that their suitcases were upstairs and that he was taking the religious artifacts to their church before it got too late. At her mother's request, he took the tied bag of garbage that contained nothing aside from the perfectly good food her mother had thrown out and left the house.

"Don't dawdle, Angela," her mother criticized. "Drink the whole bottle and do it now. I won't have you pouring it out while I'm not looking."

She could only nod as she forced herself to down the rest of the liquid and grimaced at the feeling of nausea twisting her stomach. Why was it that she was always left feeling and being sick after her mother declared that she had gained weight? Her mother held her hand out for the plastic bottle once Angela had emptied it and refilled it with water from the tap before replacing the lid and putting it in the fridge.

"I'll have your father buy a case of water on his way home and that is what you will drink, do you hear me? I won't have you gaining weight because you like soda and fatty foods. Tell me: have you at least kept your grades up?"

Angela's felt her teeth chatter as she drew in a deep shaking breath. Opening her mouth to answer her mother, to tell her that she had maintained a four-point-oh grade point average, Angela felt her insides twist viciously and ran for the stairs. She barely made it into the bathroom at the top landing and knelt in front of the open toilet before she began retching violently. Tears leaked from her eyes as she vomited into the toilet and she groaned as her stomach refused to stop spasming. It was barely twenty minutes later when her stomach had finally calmed down that she heard her mother criticizing the cleanliness of the house and demanding that Angela return downstairs to begin cleaning immediately.

She had just cleaned four days ago, and vacuumed every day even though the carpeting was barely stepped on. It was primarily just her living in the house and she always made certain the keep the house neat and tidy. She felt weak from her recent bout of sickness, but still brushed her teeth and used mouthwash before walking down the stairs slowly. She took a rag from the closet under the stairs where the cleaning supplies were stored and sprayed it heavily with anti-bacterial bleach cleaner before making her way around the house to dust furniture and clean the shelves.

**:::::**

Two hours later, Angela was still cleaning while being interrupted periodically when her stomach demanded to be emptied. By the time it was dark outside she had scrubbed down the kitchen, removing and washing all the dishes in the cupboards at her mother's insistence and washing down each shelf. The floors had been swept and mopped, the windows cleaned until the glass sparkled and the living room had been turned upside down. Her mother had stood by the bottom of the stairs watching Angela as she cleaned and demanding that all of the furniture be moved to clean every bit of floor possible. The couch didn't have casters on the bottom which made moving it across the carpet difficult. Just as she was beginning to think she was done with the living room, her father had walked back into the house carrying the small case of twelve eight ounce bottles of water through the living room into the kitchen and although his shoes were clean and no dirt was left behind, her mother demanded that she repeat the rigorous detailed cleaning of the room.

By the time nine o'clock had rolled around, Angela was ready to cry. She was exhausted, torn down by her parents' unachievable expectations, had vomited more than ten times in the five hours that her parents had been home, and had a migraine screaming through her brain. Her continuous vomiting made the idea of taking her migraine prescription impossible as she knew that the drugs would just come right back up, effectively rendering them useless. Her parents went to bed before she did, her mother insisting that Angela redo the paper she had spent three days writing for history class as, after reading only half of it, her mother declared the quality sub par.

She knew better than to argue, better than to try to falsify writing a new paper as her mother would demand to read the rewritten assignment in the morning. The relentless rounds of sickness had left her dehydrated and weak and hoping for a reprieve from the painful stomach cramping, Angela made her way down stairs to get a glass of water. She tried at first to simply get a glass of water from the tap, thinking that it would be easier than trying to wrestle a bottle from the pack in the fridge, but when she turned the faucet on nothing happened. Her father had turned off the water for the kitchen and she didn't know where that valve was. Opening the fridge she saw that all the bottles had been removed from the package and were lined carefully along the top shelf.

Clenching her jaw and squeezing her eyes shut against the exhaustion she took a bottle from the fridge and shut the door. She would never be enough, would she? Angela was halfway up the stairs when she was stopped by an impossibly strong wave of vertigo and had to grab onto the railing just to keep from falling down. Making it back into her room slowly, she sat down in front of her computer and looked over the ten page history paper. Rewriting it would be at least another three hours of work and all she could think about was climbing into bed and sleeping. Shaking her head against the idea and opening a blank Word document, she took a drink of the bottled water and almost instantly regretted it as the round of vicious stomach cramps followed by painful vomiting started up all over again.

Returning to her room, she sat down in front of her computer and noticed that the screen for her instant messenger was open in the corner. Almost crying at the welcome sight of Emmett Cullen's screen name, she sat down and read over the message.

_EmC: Half pint, what are you still doing up? It's past midnight._

Her fingers moved over the keyboard as she replied, telling him that she had to rewrite her paper for history class. She told him that errors had been found, that it wasn't well written enough to turn in and she wanted to be certain it was done before morning.

_EmC: I read over that paper, Ang. It's far better than mine. Why are you rewriting it?_

Her fingers hovered over the keyboard. She couldn't tell him the truth; she couldn't tell him that her mother demanded it. She knew that if she told him he wouldn't understand. He wouldn't understand that if she refused to rewrite it, if she told her mother that it was fine, she would spend more than an hour being torn down for her insolence and the shame she brought her parents. Telling him simply that it had to be rewritten, she ended the conversation by telling him that she would see him at school in the morning.

By the time she had the new paper completed and proofread by the computer program, the sun had already risen and her alarm clock was thirty minutes shy of sounding. A breathy, exhausted sob sounded from the girl as she printed her paper and gathered clothes from her closet before leaving her room to take a shower. Her hands were trembling with the exhaustion she felt as she put her towel and the clothes she had been wearing into the hamper in her closet. Leaning against her desk as she fought away the vertigo and abdominal cramping, she gathered her school bag together and put her shoes on before heading downstairs.

She stopped beside her parents' bedroom and had to fight away the wave of tears that burned her eyes when she saw a piece of folded paper taped to the door with her name scrawled on it. Taking down the note and reading it she found that her parents had left for South America before five AM and she had been so focused on staying awake to write her paper that she hadn't noticed. The note stated that this trip would last roughly ten months and that while they were gone they expected that she would scrub their bedroom and place protective sheets over their bed and dressers to keep away the dust.

"All of that work and not even a thank you or a good job?" Angela asked aloud. "When will I be someone you're proud of?" she asked, her chin trembling as tears rolled down her cheeks. "Why am I not good enough?"

**:::::**

Her steps were slow, her expression loving and concerned as she stepped inside the room and closed the door. She had been watching him closely all week, something in his demeanor had been off and for the past three days he had been beyond distracted. He sat at his desk, his journal open in front of him, with his pen in his hand even as the page remained blank. The sun rising through the window behind him cast a halo of red around his golden hair and she smiled. Walking around the polished oak wood furniture she wasn't surprised that he seemed oblivious to her presence. His senses had always been sharp, but when his mind was engaged by thoughts or worries that wouldn't be silenced, he could sit in silent meditation for hours, days even, without moving or taking notice of anything around him.

Threading her fingers through the thick silk hair at the back of his head, she turned his face toward her, rubbing her thumb over the patch of short hair behind his ear. Looking into his eyes, she saw the concern held deep within the golden orbs and traced the fingers of her other hand over the worried frown lines spanning his forehead. Leaning down she pressed her lips against his, taking pleasure and offering comfort in the intimate embrace. She smiled into the kiss when he wrapped his arms around her slender waist and pulled her into his lap. Beyond doubt, beyond reason, beyond the measurement of time, she loved this man and always would.

Pulling back, she framed his face with her soft hands and kissed his forehead as she stroked his cheeks. He tilted his head forward to catch her lips, kissing her chastely as he wrapped her tighter, holding her closer against his chest. His hands moved slowly, his touch enticing as he combed his fingers into the length of her feather soft hair and deepened their kiss. Sweeping his tongue through the welcoming cavern of her mouth, he traced the razor sharp edges of her teeth with his tongue before pulling back to plant two soft butterfly kisses against her lips.

"You've been distracted," Esme told her husband, her hands resting against his chest as she looked at him.

"Yes," he admitted softly, tucking her caramel locks behind her ear.

"Tell me," she urged gently as she studied him.

Carlisle remained silent as he looked down at the blank pages of his journal. Emmett's concern had become his concern, especially after a few nights earlier. It still bothered him greatly that the nurses knew Angela so well and had a room set aside specifically for her. Looking back up into his wife's eyes, Carlisle took her face in his hands and kissed her slowly.

"I need to talk to you about Angela Weber," he began with a heavy sigh.

"Bella's friend, the tall quiet girl?" she asked as she studied the worried frown on his face.

"Yes."

**:::::**

Two hours later they were still seated in his office, Esme still held in his lap as she digested all that he'd told her. From all of the signs, all the clues that he and Emmett had amassed, she couldn't help coming to the same two conclusions. Shaking her head as she stood from his lap and paced between the window and his desk, Esme looked up and called for Emmett. She summarized what Carlisle had told her and asked if there was anything more that he had learned or anything else he wanted to add.

"No, that's pretty much it. Aside from keeping close to her and telling her I need help with history, I don't know what else I can do," he said with a shake of his head. "You know I'm normally the last one to get involved, but something isn't right."

"No, I agree with you," Esme said with an upset frown and turned to face Carlisle. "What do we do, Carlisle? What can we do?"

Rosalie stepped into the room, the look of cold indifference on her face making the others believe that she would object to their interference. Instead, as she stood with them, she told them of the events of a few weeks earlier. Angela's extreme exhaustion and subsequent collapse had worried her and that alone had her upset. She wasn't used to feeling anything for a human, and concern was certainly something she didn't want to feel. When she told them of Angela's pained suffering as the girl talked in her sleep, she could see the steel resolve on their faces.

"Did you find out what may have been causing her pain?" Carlisle asked his daughter.

"No," Rosalie said as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Whatever may have told of her pain was well hidden, but she did say that nothing made it stop."

"Spring Break is in less than three weeks," Emmett said with restless anger. "She'll be alone then, I can't really use history tests as an excuse to go over there."

"From what I've heard, Mike, Jessica, Tyler and Ben are all planning to go to Mexico for those two weeks," Rosalie said. "She could be going with them."

"Half pint let loose and go wild in Mexico? I doubt it," Emmett said with an amused shake of his head.

"'Half pint'?" Rosalie studied her husband. "You've already given her a nickname? Well that's as good as done."

Carlisle chuckled, his lopsided smile and nod of understanding mirrored by his wife. When Emmett gave someone a nickname it was his sign that he considered that person to be his to watch out for. Whether Angela knew it or not, she had her very own vampire big brother and guardian.

"Go to school, stay close to her. Jasper, Edward, and Alice should be meeting you there. Alice called a few hours ago to say they wouldn't make it home before first bell and that they would see you in homeroom."

Nodding silently, Emmett turned and walked out of the office, his worry for Angela growing stronger.

**:::::**

Emmett stood next to his Jeep frowning as he looked out over the parking lot to the space where Angela's car sat. He had watched her pull in nearly ten minutes ago, but she still had yet to emerge from her vehicle. He looked to his left only to find Rosalie studying him with equal parts disapproval and inattention. She was trying to act as though she didn't care, but he could see it in her eyes that she was concerned as well even though she didn't particularly care for his new fascination with Bella's human friend. Even after the family's agreement to look after her, which included Rosalie's own input, she was still cautious of their involvement with her.

"We both know that you're going to go over there anyway," Rosalie said, flicking her wrist to motion nonchalantly at Angela's car. "So you may as well do it."

Emmett sighed through his nose. "I know you don't like her, Rose," he began only for her to cut him off.

"It's not that I don't like her, she's fine on her own. What I don't like is your sudden attention to her and Alice's inability to see her future. Bella knows about us and that's dangerous enough. What if the Volturi find out about her? We don't need another human knowing our secret," she told him, trying to make him understand her reservations.

"I don't plan on telling her," he shook his head in confusion. "Aside from all of our other suspicions, something just doesn't feel right with her."

"Not right how?" she asked, deciding to give in for the moment and at least hear her husband out.

"I don't know exactly, " he said, his eyes returning to Angela's car and watching as she emerged very slowly, her movements lacking both balance and focus. "It feels like she's in danger."

Rosalie sighed softly and motioned for him to go to her. She knew her husband well enough to know that if he thought someone was in danger, someone that he had any kind of connection to, he would do his best to protect them. Vampire or not, that didn't matter, all that had ever mattered to Emmett was protecting those he cared about. She still remembered the human boy he'd become friendly with back in nineteen-sixty-five. It was only because of Emmett's actions that the boy's father hadn't beaten him to death. While she hated the potential danger that he could be putting their family in she also understood why he did what he did and knew that he would be certain to protect their family at all costs. Shaking her head and heaving a sigh, Rosalie turned and walked up the steps leading to the doors of the high school.

Emmett walked up to Angela, frowning at how unsteady she seemed to be. The closer he got the deeper his frown became. She looked decidedly rough, her skin looking a bit chalky and her eyes unfocused. He could see the exhaustion clear as day as well as the sickly shade of her skin tone thanks to his enhanced vampire vision, though he knew that the humans would be blind to these things. She startled when he took her backpack from her as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and found himself having to grind his teeth against the desire to demand that she go home.

"You don't look so good, half pint," he said as he led her to the stone steps. "You were up pretty late last night. Are you sure you don't want to just go home?"

Of course she wanted to go home. The only thing that she wanted to do was sleep, but the last time that she had been marked absent from school, her parents had somehow found out and had spent nearly an hour on the phone lecturing her for her reckless and ungrateful behavior as they condemned her for 'playing sick'. Now, sick or not, suffering from a severe migraine or not, she went to school and prayed she would be able to make it through the day. She felt absolutely awful. She was exhausted, physically and emotionally, and was still suffering from stomach cramps as well as a migraine that refused to go away. The vertigo hadn't gotten any better either and if not for Emmett's steadying arm wrapped around her shoulders, she would've fallen more than once already.

"I'm alright," she said as he walked her to her locker. "Just a little tired is all."

"You sure?" he asked again, watching her clench her jaw as her skin seemed to take on a greenish hue.

Angela only nodded and blinked tiredly before groaning at the shrill sound of the bell. She smiled somewhat shakily as he walked her to her first period class, handing her back her school bag as he reluctantly left her at the door. None of his family was in her first period class with her, not even Bella and he hated that he couldn't watch over her. Turning around he was surprised to see Edward standing behind him, his expression unreadable.

"I have second period with her," Edward said as he and Emmett walked to their homeroom class down the hall. "I'll watch over her for you."

Emmett nodded his thanks as he took his seat in the back of the classroom and paid only half attention to the teacher's lecture on the use of word structure in early nineteenth century poetry. Angela's condition bothered the hell out of him, she was obviously sick, overly exhausted and what was worse – she was perfectly fine yesterday afternoon. What had happened between her going home yesterday and today? How had she gotten so sick in less than eighteen hours? Edward moved too fast for anyone to see and kicked Emmett's shin to get his attention.

"Mister Cullen," Mrs. Berry said with annoyance. "Good to see you're back with us. If you're done daydreaming, perhaps you can explain to us the meaning of the third stanza on page one-sixty-three."

Emmett was saved from having to answer the question when the bell rang and gave a cheesy grin as he stuffed his books back into his backpack and left the room. Edward followed close behind as he made his way to the door of Angela's first class. She wasn't among the students who had filed out of the classroom and looking inside he found why. The teacher was kneeling next to her desk, his hand on her forehead. Her cheek rested on her folded arm, her face sickly and pale.

"She has a mild fever," Edward told him as he read the teacher's thoughts. "She left the class twice saying that she was sick and he's concerned that he's having trouble waking her."

Emmett stepped into the classroom and up to Angela's desk as he informed the teacher that he would see to her care. Crouching beside the desk, Emmett put away her books and papers before trying to wake her. The whimper that sounded from her was too soft for a human's ear to detect, but he could hear the pain in her tone. Tucking her hair behind her ear as her eyes fluttered open slowly, he asked the teacher for a pass to the nurse's office.

"She shouldn't be here if she's this sick," the teacher said as he handed over the pass. "I'm half tempted to tell you to take her home, or to your foster father," he said in reference to Carlisle. "But it's not my call to make. The decision to send her home has to come from the front office."

"No, I'm alright," Angela said, her voice soft and trembling as she stood slowly, her steps unsteady as she tried to walk to the door.

"The hell you are," Emmett disagreed and caught her around the waist when she fell. "Can I leave my bag here while I take her down?"

"Of course," the man said and lifted the bags from the floor. "It'll be behind my desk."

Watching as Edward took up Angela's bags; Emmett nodded and silenced Angela's assurances that she was fine with a pointed stare. Catching her behind the knees, he lifted her into his arms and carried her down the hall to the office ignoring the stares he received along the way. Her head was resting against his shoulder, the girl having fallen asleep shortly after he'd picked her up. Old nurse Wilder, a rough and cantankerous woman who was nearing if not already past the retirement age, held open the door for him as he carried Angela through the office and into the small room that held a sick bed.

"She needs to go home," Emmett said as he carefully laid Angela down upon the rubber encased mattress and looked for something to cover her with when she shivered.

"Miss Weber has been in here several times before and no matter how sickly she is, she won't go home until the end of the school day," Nurse Wilder told him matter-of-factly as he finally gave up looking for a sheet or blanket and took off the casual jacket he wore, blanketing her with the coat.

"What do you mean 'she won't go home'?" he asked as he stood, towering over the barely five foot woman.

"She's not your concern, Mister Cullen. Go back to class," the tone of her voice unkind and dismissive.

"The hell she's not my concern," he said as he stared down at the old woman, his protective instincts too strong to be ignored.

"Are you family?" she asked, her tone and stance unchanging.

"No," he said as he stared at her.

"Then she's not your concern. Go to class."

Clenching his jaw against the desire to growl at the woman, Emmett stepped over to the side of the bed Angela was resting on and knelt down next to her face. When he brushed her hair back from her face she opened her eyes and stared at him through a half lidded exhausted gaze. Humans were unspeakably fragile and he hated how labored her breaths were, the sluggish beat of her heart upsetting him further. Bending closer, he kissed her forehead, the brotherly gesture meant to soothe was also the silent promise of his protection.

"I'll come for you at the end of the day if I don't see you in history class," he promised her, his voice soft. "Your school bag and purse are right here, by the end of the bed."

"Where am I?" she asked, her barely audible words slurred with exhaustion.

"Nurse's office," he told her and brushed the backs of his fingers down her cheek. "I'll be back for you. Just rest now, ok?"

The motion of her nod was barely perceptible and he tucked the collar of his jacket up under her chin before telling her to go to sleep. Once her eyes were closed, he stood and left the offices, returning to Angela's first period teacher before going to his own class. Time was moving too slowly for his liking, his restlessness driving Jasper nuts over the next two classes that they had together. He wanted to check on her during lunch, but was stopped by Alice's touch on his arm.

"I should at least call Carlisle," Emmett argued with her. "You didn't see her, Alice. She could barely stand up."

"She'll be in history class with you," she told her brother, her face a mask of concern. "Don't let her drive home."

"Emmett, I don't think that's a wise idea," Edward said in reference to his brother's thoughts.

"Whether you agree with it or not," Alice said distractedly before Emmett could say anything, "he's going to do it."

"You two can be damn annoying sometimes," he groused, Rosalie nodding while Jasper simply studied him. "What?" he asked, looking at the southern vampire.

"You feel very protective of her," Jasper told his brother needlessly. "It's the same emotions that I felt coming from you during the weeks following James' attack on Bella. What is it about Angela that makes you feel so protective?"

Edward took in a deep breath, his eyes focused on Emmett, his gaze concerned. He had seen Angela at the hospital a few weeks back and had read Carlisle's thoughts then. Her unsteady thoughts earlier after first period when she wanted to go home but was afraid of what would happen if she did had upset him.

"I have to agree with you," he said, drawing the attention of the rest of his family.

"Damnit," Emmett growled, hating that Edward could read him so easily.

"What?" Alice asked.

"He thinks she's being abused," Edward said. "I know you're not sure, but with the things you keep thinking about and with what Carlisle told me, it all adds up. We won't say anything to her; I know you don't want us to."

Keeping their voices low, Emmett and Rosalie rehashed the conversation that had taken place a few hours earlier between themselves, Carlisle and Esme. He had meant to say something earlier, but his concern for Angela had left him too distracted to remember. Her illness today and the nurse's uncaring attitude were making him restless, his protective nature feeling as though it had been shifted into hyper-drive.

"I'll help you keep an eye on her," Alice promised, Jasper nodding as well.

Rosalie looked disinterested, but she took hold of Emmett's hand and raised it to her face to kiss his knuckles, her way of telling him that she would do the same, no matter her current objections. Lifting their joined hands, Emmett kissed her knuckles and smiled his thanks. He looked to Edward, his brother simply nodding quietly his agreement that he would help watch out for the girl during classes, and stood as the bell rang.

**:::::**

Edward's eyes widened when he saw Angela walk down the hall and he was glad, for the only time that day that Bella had been kept home by Charlie when she had shown signs of having the flu. The vertigo that he could read in her mind drew him forward and he moved to stand beside the girl. He told her that Emmett had asked him to see her to class when she gave him a questioning look. Her thoughts were muddled, difficult to distinguish, but still told him that she had been physically sick three times since Emmett had taken her to the nurse's office.

She was huddled inside Emmett's borrowed jacket and was trying her best to stay warm and not pass out as she feared she might. When he tried to look through her mind to see himself through her eyes, he realized that her vision was too unfocused to see much more than hazy outlines as she instead focused on the sound of his voice. She looked tiny to him, the way she trembled and the sound of her chattering teeth calling him to protect her.

"Come on, Sweetheart," he said softly and wrapped his arm around her shoulders as he took her bag from her. "Let's get you to class."

_He's really sweet. I hope Bella knows how lucky she is. Ben avoids me like the plague when I'm sick._

Edward frowned as he helped her to her desk and nodded to Emmett as he took his seat on the other side of the classroom. Ben was Angela's boyfriend. In his day, if you were courting someone, you cared for them while they were sick. She reached into her bag and withdrew a bottle of water, setting it on her desk for a moment as she pulled out her book with a bit of difficulty. Edward was surprised when Alice snatched the girl's water bottle away and instead handed her an unopened bottle of orange juice that she had taken from the cafeteria earlier.

"Trust me," Alice said quietly when Angela frowned in confusion. "The orange juice will help you feel better."

Angela pressed her lips together as she concentrated on breaking the bottle's seal, trying to keep her hands from shaking. She sipped delicately at the liquid, and all three of the Cullens were worried by how afraid she seemed to be of the citrus juice. Angela blinked heavily, trying desperately to stay awake as the class dragged on. Minutes felt like hours and the dull pain of her migraine began to turn into a piercing burn that encompassed her brain drawing an almost silent whimper from her. Closing her eyes for only a moment, she was surprised to feel herself floating and opened her eyes to find Emmett carrying her out to his Jeep.

"Here, put her in the front," Rosalie's voice was soft and Angela tried to focus her eyes as she looked at the blonde through the thick fringe of her lashes, but was only able to make out a swimming blur. "I've already called Carlisle, he's expecting us."

She felt herself lowered to a leather seat, her limp arms set gently in her lap as the four point harness of the all terrain sports vehicle was secured around her. She couldn't keep her eyes open and thought she smiled at the feeling of lips on her forehead. She tried to say something, but the only sound that came from her was a low whimper.

"Go to sleep, half pint," Emmett said as he brushed her hair behind her ear. "We'll take care of you."

**:::::**

"All I know for certain is that it's the water that's making her sick," Alice told Carlisle as she handed him the bottle she'd taken from Angela earlier that day. "I don't know why it's making her sick, or if it's more than just this bottle, but when she pulled it out of her bag to take a drink of it in history class I had a vision of her becoming violently ill. I gave her a bottle of orange juice instead, but she barely drank two ounces of it."

Carlisle nodded as he stood inside his office at the hospital and opened the bottle, holding it under his nose as he sniffed at the water inside. There was a slight fruity-metallic scent to the liquid, but he knew it wasn't strong enough for a human to have detected. Something about the scent was familiar and he asked Alice to wait in the office while he took it to the lab for testing.

"Where's Emmett?" he asked as he donned his white doctor's coat. "Rosalie called before you arrived to say he'd bringing Angela here."

"She was shivering pretty badly. He wanted to get her something warmer than his jacket before he brought her over," she told him as she frowned and studied the bottle in his hand.

"What?" Carlisle asked his daughter, knowing that her distracted concentration meant she was having a vision. "What do you see, Alice?"

"The water…the test results, they can't be right," she said and lifted a hand to her face to rub her temple.

"You can see the test results?" Carlisle asked as he looked at the bottle. "What are they?" he asked as he led her to sit down on the couch in his office.

"Ipecac. The water is laced with ipecac." Her focus returned as her expression relaxed and she looked at Carlisle with a mix of disbelief and concern. "Who would lace water with ipecac?"

"I guarantee you that no one would lace their own water with it," Carlisle said as he again opened the bottle and sniffed at it. "It explains the scent."

"Emmett's about to call you," Alice said a second before his phone rang and he retrieved the device from his coat pocket.

Carlisle frowned as he listened to Emmett's words and looked at Alice. She nodded at the decision she could see him make and left his office without a sound. He told Emmett that he had sent Alice over to Angela's house to look through the girl's things. Hearing Alice's voice in the background before hanging up the phone, Carlisle shook his head and looked in disbelief at the bottle in his hands. The only person or persons who could lace Angela's drinking water with any drug without her knowledge would be her parents. If that was true though, if her parents had laced the water, he couldn't help wondering why; who would do such a thing to their own child?

Looking up at the knock on his office door, Carlisle stood and turned the knob, greeted by the sight of Edward standing in front of Emmett who was cradling Angela in his arms. The girl was sleeping, wrapped in a thick blanket, her face unnaturally pale and beginning to look gaunt. He knew the second Edward read his mind and saw what he and Alice had discovered about the water; his son's face growing dark. From the scent of her home, Edward knew that her parents had been there sometime the day before, but there was no sign of them at all when he and Emmett had taken her there.

"Will she be alright?" Edward asked as Emmett laid the girl on the black leather couch in the office.

"I believe so, yes," Carlisle said as he set the bottle down on his desk and moved to sit next to Angela on the couch. "It just has to work its way out of her system."

"What does?" Emmett asked as he watched his father take Angela's pulse and close his eyes as he listened to her breathing.

"Ipecac," Carlisle said as he cupped his palm over Angela's forehead. "The water was laced with Ipecac."

Angela moaned, stirring slightly as her breaths grew labored. Looking up at his son when Edward brought the small trash can from his desk over to the couch; he understood what Edward was saying: Angela's thoughts had told him that she would be sick. Helping Angela roll onto her side, Carlisle held her and rubbed her back as Emmett held back her hair. There was nothing left in her stomach save the bit of orange juice Emmett had gotten her to drink after taking her home and bile. Her weakness was unsettling. She wasn't able to keep her eyes open and her arms wouldn't support her weight when she tried to hold herself on her side.

"Angela," Carlisle called to her, his voice gentle and compassionate. "Sweetheart, can you hear me?"

Edward looked at her face, her eyes barely open. "She can hear you," he confirmed. "But she can't respond, she can't focus her mind enough to speak," he said, the expression on his face telling his father that he would translate her thoughts.

Carlisle nodded and tucked her hair behind her ear. "Angela, how long have you been sick?"

"Since yesterday afternoon, just after she got home from school. She's exhausted," Edward said as he knelt by the arm of the couch and studied her. "She was up all night."

"It's alright, Sweetheart," Carlisle told her when she whimpered. "Go back to sleep, you'll feel better soon." Looking down into her face, he gently ran his hand over her hair in long slow strokes, soothing her back to sleep. "Take her home, Emmett. Alice will be staying with you and Angela at her home for the next few days," Carlisle told him once she had quieted down and returned to sleep. "Make sure she gets at least eight hours of uninterrupted sleep, don't let her walk on her own and do not let her drive. Keep her warm, blankets or a heating pad; it's going to be difficult for her to regulate her body heat until she gains a bit more weight," he said as he studied the girl's forearm, humans would describe her as being willowy or thin because of her height, but as a doctor he knew better. "Try and get her to eat or drink something, soda crackers or ginger ale would be best. Call me at once if her condition does not improve."

Emmett nodded and waited for Carlisle to stand before he lifted Angela into his arms once again. Carrying her, with her head tucked into the crook of his shoulder, Emmett took her out to his car. He'd be surprised if she remembered any of what had happened that day, still upset that she had driven to school. She could've easily been killed in her condition and, for a reason he couldn't identify, that thought terrified him.

It wasn't long before he was pulling into her driveway and unbuckling her from the passenger seat. Frowning at the sight of Alice's car sitting in the driveway, he stepped up to the house, his sister opening the front door before he had a chance to reach for the door knob. He carried her past Alice, able to sense Jasper's presence in the kitchen and wondered what his brother was doing there. The girl in his arms shivered, her breath coming in a shuddering gasp as she curled closer to him in her sleep, and Emmett abandoned any thoughts except taking care of Angela. Stepping into her bedroom, he found that Alice had already turned the bed down and laid out sleep clothes for her.

"I'll take care of dressing her," Alice said from the doorway and stepped inside, waiting for Emmett to leave.

Laying her down gently on the bed, he brushed her hair back from her face and kissed her forehead before moving away from the bed. Pulling the door closed behind him, Emmett made his way down into the kitchen. He stood watching as Jasper emptied the last of a large pile of plastic grocery bags, putting a box of PastaRoni into the cupboard near the stove.

"What is all this?" Emmett asked as he helped Jasper gather the plastic bags together into one bundled ball.

"Alice called me after you left; there wasn't a thing in the fridge or the pantry. Just water bottles in the fridge, the bottles were all opened, even though they looked new and Alice said they had the same strange scent. She dumped them all down the drain and then had me take her shopping. It wasn't just bare, Emmett, it was like someone had gone through and emptied all of the cupboards. There wasn't a single thing for her to eat except a bag of salad greens and a small bag of granola," Jasper told him, his tone speaking of his upset. "What's even more odd is that the water line for the kitchen was turned off. This is a pretty old house; the shut off valve was under a false panel in the floor under the sink. I doubt she knew where it was. Something really isn't right."

"I know," Emmett sighed and looked up when Alice entered the kitchen.

"She's changed and tucked into bed. I added another blanket, she was shivering pretty badly," the diminutive pixie-like vampire said.

"What are you thinking, Alice?" Jasper said as he stepped up to his wife's side and took her into his arms, her mood confusing him.

"I don't know. I can't see anything clearly yet," she said resting her forehead against his collarbone as she tried to get a clear image of Angela's future.

"What about that girl's weekend you've been talking about wanting to have with Bella? Have you thought of inviting Angela to it?" Emmett asked as he looked at Alice. "Have you even set a date yet?"

"The first weekend of Spring Break," Alice said without looking up from Jasper's shoulder. "I do need to go shopping for it though. Why is her future so difficult to see?"

"Is she able to block you?" Jasper asked, rubbing her back.

"No," Alice looked up. "There are flashes of things, but they aren't coming together enough to make any kind of sense." She looked at Emmett. "Carlisle's going to call you around midnight when he gets done at the hospital. There are saltines in the cupboard and a bottle of ginger ale in the fridge. You need to get her to eat and drink a little bit."

"I thought you were staying here too," he said with a shake of his head.

"She'll respond far better to you than she will to me. I'll be here mostly to help her change and bathe when she wants to. Other than that, she's all yours," Alice said with a small grin, "Big brother." 

"Thanks, Ali," Emmett said and walked his siblings out the front door. "I'll take care of her. I'll call you in the morning."

"Please," Jasper teased with a grin. "She'll be here before you can even dial."

Locking the front door as he returned upstairs to sit by her side, Emmett shook his head. He had only suspected abuse before, but after today he was almost certain of it. Her parents weren't home and he didn't know when to expect their return, but he had a few choice words for them. He knew that his siblings would be keeping a closer eye on Angela after this, especially Alice and Rosalie. She was a gentle, shy girl, Emmett thought as he studied Angela's sleeping face. How someone could hurt her was beyond his comprehension. Moving to sit next to her on the bed when she whimpered, Emmett stroked her hair back from her face and drew the blankets tighter around her.

"I'm here, half pint," he told her not knowing if she could hear him or not. "Your big brother's here."

He let her sleep for a few hours before waking her to eat. Helping her sit up, he placed a few small saltines in her hand and asked her to eat them slowly. She seemed almost afraid of the food and he couldn't hide the worried and sad expression on his face. Smoothing his hand over her hair, he asked her once more to eat the crackers, even just one would appease him, and she nodded slowly. She ate the single cracker in a series of slow nibbles, grimacing when the food hit her stomach with the force of a rock. Drinking only an ounce of the ginger ale, she handed him back the glass and the other cracker before lying down.

Tucking the blankets around her, he set the cracker and clear soda on the night stand next to the bed. Watching her sleep for a few minutes, he stood up and moved to leave the room. She needed to sleep, but she also needed to get food into her system to help kick out the remaining traces of Ipecac that were still making her sick. Over the past four hours since he had brought her home, she had thrown up twice, crying herself to sleep after the last time.

"Emmett."

Her voice was scratchy, weak, his name drawn out as she struggled to speak the syllables. He shushed her as he stretched out on the bed on top of the blankets beside her and tucked her into his side. He told her that he was there, promised her that she wasn't alone and that he would take care of her. She whimpered, folded in on herself, her arms folding over her stomach as she curled against him and buried her face in his chest.

"I'm sorry, half pint, I know it hurts," Emmett told her as he rubbed his hand over her arm and kissed her forehead. "Just a moment," he told her as he rolled away from her just enough to pull his cell phone from his pocket and hit Carlisle's speed dial number.

He waited for the call to be answered as he stroked her hair and told her to sleep. She settled down after a few minutes, her hand fisting in his shirt.

"Hey, Carlisle," he said, keeping his voice low. "Is there anything I can do for her stomach cramps? They keep waking her up."

"The only thing that I can recommend would be an abdominal massage, small circles, slow and gentle over her stomach. Don't give her anything other than the crackers or ginger ale. No medicines at all," he told him. "How is she doing?"

"I've gotten her to eat two crackers so far, but she's thrown up twice. Nothing's staying down." Angela whimpered the sound carrying over the line to Carlisle.

"Try massaging her for a few minutes, Emmett, just enough to get her settled down to sleep. I'll be by to check on her as soon as I'm done here. Just get her to sleep, that's what she needs most right now."

They spoke for a few more moments before ending the call. Turning his attention to Angela and slipping his hand under the covers, he began to gently massage her stomach. She whimpered at first, the motions making her almost nauseas until the cramps began to ease and the pain faded away. She quieted down after a few moments, her breaths growing deeper, longer as her heartbeat steadied out into a slow even rhythm. Once he was certain that she was asleep, he removed his hand and pulled the blankets up under her chin.

"Go to sleep, baby girl," he told her as he wrapped her, blankets and all, in his arms. "Just sleep, you'll feel better soon."

Today had been the deciding factor, the last nail in the coffin so to speak. Not only would he be watching over her, but so would his family.


	4. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

She wasn't listening to what the teacher was saying; the man's words were little more than an incoherent stream of sounds. With her elbow propped on her desk, Angela bowed her head and pinched the bridge of her nose as she closed her eyes. Her migraine had been growing steadily worse all day and now it felt as though her brain was on fire. The pain was blinding, spanning down her neck and shoulders to tighten her muscles and tie her stomach in knots. She couldn't reach for the medicine in her purse; there was no way that she could take it and be able to finish class, let alone drive home. The drug took away most of her pain; but it left her jittery, blurring her vision and leaving her unable to focus her mind enough to speak clearly for the first hour after she took it sometimes longer.

Breathing in deeply, filling her lungs and holding her breath for a long count of eight, she slowly and silently released her breath, repeating the exercise three more times before she was able to push the pain back enough to refocus her attention on what the teacher was saying. It was the last class of the day, and it was the last day of school for the next two weeks. She could take her medicine as soon as she got home and even with as much pain as she was in, she really didn't want to be alone. Maybe she'd spend the night with Nurse Marks, where else could she go? Her migraine flared, pulsing stronger and she bit her lip.

_Class is almost over and I have serious doubts I'm going to be able to stand. I should be ok as long as I close my eyes before he turns the lights back on. Last thing I need to do is pass out. _

Squeezing her eyes shut and clenching her jaw when the teacher moved his hand to the light switch, Angela waited until the light flooded through the membrane of her closed eyelids in shades of red before opening her eyes slowly. Blinking at the new wave of pain that the light inspired, she found Edward Cullen to be looking back at her with a note of concern furrowing his brows. Offering a half smile to tell him that she was alright, her expression was unknowingly tired and pained. She stilled, her eyes watching Edward without seeing him as the ghost of a memory flowed through her mind. She could almost feel the cool brush of fingers against her cheek and when she closed her eyes, she could hear Edward's voice in her mind telling her that everything would be alright. As elusive as a dream, the half formed memory disappeared as easily as it had come to her and she blinked in confusion.

Every now and again, she would see flashes of images, snippets of something that her mind almost recalled, involving his family. Mostly it was just their faces she would see, or a whisper of their voices she would hear, always soothing and comforting her. She knew that a few weeks ago she had been terribly sick, but she had very few coherent memories of those three days. All she could really remember was waking up, feeling remarkably better and finding herself to be tucked against Emmett's side. Her kitchen had been fully restocked as well; it was as though everything that had happened with her parents had just been a nightmare.

Her eyes refocused as her attention was pulled from her thoughts and she watched Alice whisper in Edward's ear before she stood and moved from her desk. Glancing away quickly when she realized she'd been staring, Angela gathered her notebook and pens and closed her book, frowning at the white note card that fell out of the text's pages. Staring at the white card that had fallen face down, she couldn't help the sudden apprehension that stilled her mind and caused her heart to skip a beat.

Ben had always insisted that he wasn't the one leaving her the little notes that were always sweet and romantic, if not at times a tad bit creepy, and now she had to wonder if he hadn't been telling the truth all along. He had left for an early Spring Break vacation to a coastal town in Mexico two days ago with Jessica, Mike and Tyler, so there was no way that he could've been the one to leave her the note today. She felt suddenly cold, a bit frightened as she wondered who could be sending her these notes. Who was putting them in her school books? Reaching down and grasping the note, reading it as she lifted it up, Angela frowned at the typed message.

::

_You're beautiful in the blue lace. It's lovely against your skin_

::

Blue lace? The only blue lace she was wearing was her bra and panties. Angela's face paled, her migraine screaming to life as her anxiety rose. Whoever it was that was sending her these notes had seen her in her underwear. The notes and flowers that she had once thought were sweet, but misguided attempts at a romantic gesture, now made her feel unsafe. A cool touch on her shoulder drew her attention and she flinched as she looked up to see the light shining directly behind a very exuberant Alice Cullen. Shaking her head and making a soft sound of confusion, she asked Alice to repeat her question.

"Bella and Rose and I are having a girl's weekend. You should join us!" Alice said as she bounced on the balls of her feet in the black ballet slipper-style shoes she wore.

Angela bit her lip and giggled at Alice's infectious laughter, the note in her hand forgotten. Shaking her head and tucking her book into her backpack, the note slipped from her fingers to fall to the bottom of the bag. Standing and slinging the bag up onto her shoulder, Angela laughed and looked to Edward who grinned and shook his head while shrugging his shoulders as if to say _'You really think I can stop Alice?'_ Laughing when Alice bounced in front of her and asked, or more truthfully demanded, once again that she join them for a girl's weekend, Angela giggled as she bit her lip and nodded. She hadn't had a girl's weekend before and it would be nice. The few times that she had spent with Jessica had always been just about Jessica.

"I knew you'd say yes," Alice said happily if not a bit too decidedly as though she had known what Angela's answer would be before she had asked the question.

"I do have a few things that I need to take care of before I come over though," Angela said as she walked with Alice out of the classroom, Edward trailing behind them.

"Carlisle's done at the hospital at seven, I could ask him to pick you up from your house on his way home, that way you don't have to drive," Alice offered as Angela watched Bella melt into Edward's arms.

"If he wouldn't mind," she agreed and waved goodbye as the Cullen family moved down the hall.

Stepping down the hall, she stopped and stared. Sticking out of the top of her locker was a folded piece of white paper and she honestly didn't know if she wanted to know what was written on it. She didn't want it to be there, she was no longer excited by the notes. It seemed that in just the blink of an eye, the notes had gone from sweet to terrifying. She should've listened to Ben all those times that he insisted he wasn't the one leaving them for her. Closing her eyes as she tried to rein in her fear, she felt suddenly selfish at how glad she was that she wouldn't be alone tonight. Reaching up to grasp the paper with an unsteady hand, her fingers closed around the edge sticking out, pulling it down and tucking it into her jeans pocket as her migraine flared again and she groaned. It felt as though someone had stabbed a knife into her skull and was wiggling the blade around inside her brain. Closing her eyes and releasing a deep, slow breath, Angela grimaced and leaned back against her locker. She clenched her jaw and tried to breathe through the burning, stabbing pain that felt to be cutting her skull in half.

She had been dealing with migraines ever since she was young, but over the years they had steadily grown increasingly worse. Squinting her eyes against the harsh mix of sunlight and florescent lamps, she dug through first her purse and then her backpack in search of her migraine prescription. She knew the dangers of taking her newest medication before driving, but if she was lucky, the medicine wouldn't affect her vision or spatial reasoning until she got home. Cursing when she was unable to find her prescription, Angela closed her eyes against the sting of tears that were too close to the surface for her liking.

Covering her eyes with one hand and squeezing her temples between her thumb and middle finger, her glasses dangled from the same hand that held the note she'd found sticking out of her locker. In the past eighteen months she'd been prescribed three different medicines, each by a different doctor. It was a constant source of annoyance and frustration that she had to see a different neurologist each time. Forks Hospital seemed to be little more than a stepping stone for the higher specialists looking for more exciting cases. The only constant for her was seeing Dr. Cullen in the halls when she entered, but she doubted that he knew she was there so often; and even though she never stopped to say hello to him, it was his ever constant presence when she walked through the doors that made her feel some semblance of safety.

Reasoning that she must've left the medicine at home, Angela closed her eyes and pinched her nose as the pain grew worse. Taking in a deep breath and holding it for a count of eight, Angela puffed out her cheeks as she released the breath as slowly as possible. The breathing techniques didn't make the pain go away, but they did help her control her reactions to it. Wetting her lips and opening her eyes, Angela blinked against the brightness of the lights and stepped away from her locker. Walking out of the building behind a group of rowdy football jocks, she shook her head and hoped that her migraine wouldn't hinder the weekend of fun Alice seemed to have planned.

She'd never been invited over to the Cullen's house before so she wasn't sure why she was now except for maybe the fact that Bella was Edward's girlfriend now. Walking down the first and second rows of cars, she closed her eyes and shook her head. At least it wasn't another night spent alone in an empty house. She was truly glad to be spending the weekend with them. Over the past six weeks, Emmett had become a close friend and as goofy and brotherly as he could be, he made her feel safe and cared for. Sadly though, her birthday that was only a few months away, would still be spent alone.

Smiling was easy. Even laughing and joking and having a good time wasn't that difficult. She was used to her parents' continued and extended absences. She'd receive a post card on her birthday and another for Christmas if they weren't home. No, those things she could brush off, after all she had her friends, didn't she? What was hard, what was infinitely difficult and often caused her to have to fake smiles and pretend that she was having a good time was when she was invited for her friends' birthday parties. Watching as her friends were doted on by their parents, while she accompanied them for intimate family birthday dinners or fun filled parties; even just the memories of the casual slumber parties she'd been invited to from grade school had the power to make her heart ache, and bring her migraines on even stronger.

Walking over to her car, she caught sight of something white sticking up from beneath her windshield wiper. School parking lots didn't have meter maids or parking tickets, so whatever it was, someone had put it there. The sight of the note made her tremble with fear. It was irrational to be this afraid, wasn't it? But even still, she couldn't deny the sudden urge to call Emmett. Brow furrowing as she grasped the folded piece of paper and shoved it in her pocket alongside the note she had found in her locker, she unlocked her car and threw her bag inside before climbing behind the wheel and driving home. It was just a note, she told herself as she dropped her silent phone onto the seat next to her. It would be childish to call anyone just because she was scared of a note.

One note a day she was used to, but three? It was beginning to bother her more and more that she was getting these notes. They were frightening her, especially now that she believed Ben's continued insistence that he wasn't the one sending them to her. Biting her lip and making a last second decision, she swung into the parking lot at the police station and parked her car near the doors. She didn't know if she should go in or not, surely there was information on the internet about stalkers and she was only getting notes – intimate notes – but just notes. Dropping her forehead to rest on the top curve of her steering wheel, she took in a deep breath hoping to calm herself. They were just notes; that's all, just notes. She was probably just working herself up over nothing.

"What am I even doing here?" Angela asked herself as she threw her car into reverse and pulled out of the parking space. "Why would I have a stalker?" Shaking her head and pulling back out onto the street, she headed home.

"Jesus!" Angela shouted, slamming on the brakes harder than necessary when her phone's shrill ringtone broke the silence of her car. "Hello," she answered her phone, out of breath and wishing her racing heart to slow as she pulled through the green light.

Shaking her head when no one answered, Angela repeated her greeting in hopes of getting a response. When none came, she shrugged and disconnected the call, tossing her phone onto the front passenger seat. Ben was gone, so were Tyler, Jessica and Mike; her four friends having headed out together the day before yesterday for an early start to their shared Spring Break vacation. She had opted not to go and was beginning to regret it just a little bit. A trip to Mexico had sounded fun, but even as she drove her car slowly down the street to her house, Angela couldn't bring herself to want that kind of frivolity. Going down to the beach in La Push was one thing, going to another country to blow off steam and act insane for two weeks was completely different.

Pulling into her driveway and turning off the car, Angela stepped out of the vehicle and nearly fell to her knees. Her migraine was not going to go away, was it? _You can't give me just one night without pain can you?_ She thought ruefully as she slowly stepped away from the door and grabbed her bags and cell phone. The knob on her front door turned just a little too easily, but having her key already in the lock and the pain of her migraine distracting her, she didn't take notice that the lock was undone or that the door wasn't completely latched. Stepping inside the silent home and shutting the door, Angela tossed her school bag and purse on the couch and sat down beside them.

"The Treximet leaves me jittery and unable to focus, but does help me sleep. The Imitrex helps me function better but barely takes the edge off the pain." Puffing out her cheeks as she released a long slow and frustrated breath, Angela stood and walked into the kitchen. "So, if I want to enjoy the weekend with Alice and the others, I need to choose one to take. 'Remember…Miss Weber,'" she mimicked the low voice of the most recent neurologist she'd seen and wondered just why it was that she never seemed to see the same doctor twice. "'You shouldn't mix one migraine medicine with another and don't take them with alcohol.' Pfft. As if."

Reaching into her pocket for her cell phone, she felt the notes instead and pulled them out. Pursing her lips as she thought about opening them or leaving the notes unread, she walked into the kitchen, not seeing the single red rose lying on the table. Grabbing a can of Dr. Pepper from the fridge and opening it as she walked through the house and up to her room, she wondered why it was that anyone would choose her to focus their attention on. She could open the notes and read them, but then she might be obsessing about them during her time with the girls. Grabbing the shoebox from her dresser that she had been using to store the other notes and flowers that she had received over the past four months, she debated with whether to toss the notes inside unopened or read them.

Sitting down at her desk and taking a drink of her soda, her curiosity finally won out. Opening the note she'd found in her locker first, she looked at the quarter-folded computer printout. Her face was a mask of confusion as she studied it. It was just a bunch of number ones. It didn't make any sense. The sheet was covered from top to bottom in repeated, medium font, number ones. There were spaces here and there, but she couldn't seem to find any discernible pattern. Shrugging her shoulders and tossing it into the shoe box she opened the note she'd found on her windshield.

::

_Do you like it?_

::

Like what? Shaking her head and tossing that note into the box as well, Angela replaced the lid and pinched the bridge of her nose. Wrapping her arms over her stomach and bending forward, she panted harshly, her eyes tightly shut as she fought away the sudden nausea her migraine inspired. Minutes felt like hours, but soon enough her stomach settled down and she sat up slowly. Rubbing her temples with her fingertips, she opened the desk drawer next to her and pulled out the bottles of her three most recent medications, studying the orange bottles in her hands.

"Imitrex takes the edge off and lets me stay focused and engaged. Relpax really doesn't seem to do a damn thing except increase the pain and keep me awake for days on end, and Treximet just makes me feel zombie-ish…So which one do I take?" The clock downstairs chimed the hour and Angela looked at her cell phone. "It's already six?"

Standing the three bottles next to her can of soda, she opened her desk drawer again and pulled out an over the counter bottle of anti-nausea medicine. Taking one of the pills, she gripped the side of her desk and stood slowly, the Dramamine would have to do until she figured out which of her migraine meds to take. Walking to her closet, she pulled down an overnight bag and began packing it with clothes and her necessary toiletries. Once the bag was packed and sitting on her desk chair, she dropped to her knees and pulled out a large, flat plastic box from beneath her bed. The box wasn't heavy, but at four feet long and three feet wide – meant to hold posters or similar things needed to be kept flat – it was awkward. Setting the box on her bed and removing the lid she looked down at the stack of MRI films and her older bottles of migraine medications.

Six other orange bottles sat among the stack of medical films and Angela sighed, shaking her head before turning around and grabbing her overnight bag from her desk chair. Jogging downstairs and dropping the bag next to her purse, she grabbed her school bag and headed back to her room. Retrieving her laptop from her schoolbag and setting it on her desk, she turned on the computer. The note she had dropped into her backpack earlier was stuck to the edge of her laptop and she bit her lip as she read it again.

"Get a grip, Ang, you have to change during gym class. Probably just some pimply-faced kid who's too afraid to face you," she told herself and dropped the note into the shoebox.

Moving to the box on her bed, Angela withdrew the small well-worn leather bound journal from inside. Her first neurologist had advised her to keep a journal detailing her reactions to the pain medications so that she would have a written account if anything unforeseen happened. He had never said as much, but with the increasing severity of her migraines, Angela wondered just what that "something unforeseen" might be. Turning back to her laptop, she pulled up a webpage and searched for anything that she might be able to mix her with Imitrex to help with her pain. Imitrex was the only one of her medications that allowed her to function, but the main problem she had was that in the course of only three months, her migraines had outgrown its effectiveness for reducing her pain.

Hearing a knock at the front door as she read through the more informative sites regarding drug interactions, she called out distractedly for whoever it was to come in. Arching a brow and sitting back against her chair, forgetting that there was someone downstairs waiting for her, Angela bit her lip against another flare from her migraine. Pressing her fingertips against her temples as she whimpered, she once again resorted to her breathing exercises to push the pain away enough to focus on what she was doing. Mixing the medications really wasn't an option at all according to the listed dangers and side effects of what could happen, everything from nosebleeds, which she already had, to heart attack and stroke.

Carlisle entered the house, a grin of amusement twitching his lips. Bella had done the same thing a few times before, calling out for him to come into the house from upstairs while still working on whatever it was she was doing. Calling out to Angela to let her know that he was there, he moved further into the living room, assuming that she would be down in a few moments. His brows drew together as he looked over the pictures on the mantel above the fireplace. There were several pictures of a man and woman, her parents he reasoned, but the only picture he saw of her was a photo from what looked to be the winter formal. It didn't make sense to him, why weren't there any pictures of her growing up or standing with her parents?

Looking up at the sound of the ticking wooden grandfather-style clock sitting on the far end of the mantel he found that nearly twenty minutes had passed since he had first entered the house. Walking across the carpeted floor he moved to the stairs and breathed in deeply as he ascended slowly. The only scent was Angela's; it didn't make any sense to him, why couldn't he smell the other scents of her parents that should be there? Following the girl's scent to the room down the hall, he stood outside her open door and saw her studying the computer in front of her. Looking around the room, his sharp golden eyes caught sight of the large plastic box sitting on her bed and he frowned again. He could see the edges of what looked to be medical films lying in the box from where he stood.

She had meant to call out to him, to tell him that she would be downstairs in just a moment, but her words failed her when she came across comments made by people who were taking the medication. It was ill advised, but over fifteen of the comments stated that as long as she was careful she could mix Imitrex and one other medication - Dexamethasone. She had that medication, too, although it was combined with Hydrocodone into one pill. It was her very first migraine medication and the only thing it really did was put her to sleep. Standing up and moving back to the box on her bed she began shifting through the films and bottles in search of the one she was looking for.

He watched quietly as she sat back before rising from her desk chair to move to the box on her bed. He saw her wince, heard the soft whimper that she tried to hide as her fingers touched her temple before she began picking up the corners medical films. Hearing the distinct rattle of medicine bottles, his curiosity grew. Raising his loosely fisted hand to rap the knuckle of his bent index finger on the doorframe by the hinge of her open door, he was slightly concerned when she turned her eyes and looked up at him slowly. Her eyes looked to be somewhat unfocused and she seemed to be as surprised to see him standing there as he was to see her holding the medical films.

"May I?" he asked and she nodded, turning her attention back to the box on her bed as he stepped into the room and came to her side.

His golden eyes studied her. He had found it odd when he had entered the house and only found her scent permeating the home. There should be other scents, the smells of her parents, but there weren't. He couldn't help wondering where her parents were and how long it had been since they were here with her. Emmett's suspicions of abuse combined with the incident earlier that month regarding the laced water had him understandably worried. Her small expression of triumph drew him from his thoughts and he saw her holding a prescription bottle in her hand. It looked old and he followed her with his eyes when she moved back to stand beside her desk and saw three other bottles of medicine lined up next to an open can of soda. His brows furrowed as he looked from her desk to the box on her bed, there were so many prescriptions.

"Angela, are all these yours?" Carlisle asked as he looked down at the box and up at her to find her grimacing and pinching the bridge of her nose with her eyes tightly shut. "Here, sit down," he said, guiding her with his hands on her arms to sit on her desk chair before cupping his palm over her forehead.

She wasn't fevered, but she was most definitely in pain. Looking at each of the bottles in turn, he found them all to be migraine medications. This new bit of information certainly explained why Emmett believed her to be in pain and exhausted all the time and why he would suspect physical abuse. The three bottles on her desk had all been prescribed within the past six months, and were among the strongest that were available. He couldn't see the label of the one that she had clutched tightly in her hand, but the other five that were in the box with the MRI films had all been prescribed within the past four and a half years.

"You've had more than one prescription?" he questioned, a note of concern in his voice as he knelt in front of her. "Angela, look at me," he waited as she opened her dark eyes slowly and frowned at the redness he found in them. "When did your migraine onset?"

"Um…" she breathed in deeply, flinching when the bright lights from a passing car shined through her bedroom window and across her face. "Biology," she shook her head. "Second period."

"Did you take any medicine then?" he asked watching as her eyes moved in and out of focus with the pain she felt.

"No," Angela squeezed her eyes shut for a moment, biting back a whimper of pain, and shook her head before looking at Carlisle again. "I don't take the new medicine when I'm in school. It reacts weird."

"How so?" he asked gently as he studied the lines of pain on her face. It worried him that she was trying to be so silent in her pain.

"I don't know, it kind of makes me jittery, shaky not hyper," she clarified as she struggled to find the right words to describe its affects. "It's hard to focus my mind on anything and half the time my vision blurs so much that I can't see anything."

Nodding as he held her wrist and took her pulse, Carlisle looked at the bottles on her desk to find the medication she was speaking of. Treximet was the most recent of her medications, the date on the bottle less than two weeks old. He was surprised she had it, as the medication wasn't recommended for adolescents or teenagers. Releasing her wrist and taking a pen light from his pocket, he warned her that it may cause additional pain, but that he needed to look into her eyes. Clenching her jaw and taking a deep breath, Angela opened her eyes wide and forced them to stay opened as he lifted his hands to her face. Cupping her jaw in his hand and chaffing his thumb gently over the curve of her cheek in a comforting manner, he shined the light back and forth over her eyes and was concerned by the sight of the broken blood vessels he found.

"Have you taken any medication at all yet?" he asked as he dropped his hands from her face and put the instrument back into his pocket.

"No," she said and blinked away the spots dancing in her vision. "I was…" waving her hand at her open laptop, the page still open to the comments about mixing the prescriptions, she watched as he quickly scanned over the comments. "I was trying to find a balance between pain relief and being functional."

"It's never a wise idea to mix medications, especially not ones of this potency," he cautioned her gently. Standing and turning to face the box, seeing the films once again, Carlisle looked back at the young girl sitting in the chair. "Why do you have so many films?" he asked, picking up the top MRI film and looking at it, his doctor's curiosity taking over.

"My parents," she said, the familial term holding a questionable note of nearly hidden disdain, "thought that my telling them about headaches that lasted for days was just something to get attention with. When I was eleven and passed out from one during a shopping trip in Seattle, they decided to take me seriously. They took me to three different hospitals before finally believing that I had "stress headaches" as they liked to call them. It took a neurologist in Olympia sitting down with them and displaying all of my MRIs up until that point to make them understand that these really are migraines and couldn't be solved with an aspirin. Ever since then, every time that I've had a new MRI done, the doctors insist that I keep a copy of the films. Not that I can read them."

Had Angela looked up, she would've seen the worry clouding Carlisle's face. The MRI he was looking at was dated six months ago and showed a few small dark spots, lesions on her brain. He had read in last month's medical journal that the most severe migraines had been known to cause lesions, dead spots in brain cells, sometimes even strokes or seizures. Setting the film back down on top of the others, Carlisle turned to her, his expression serious and concerned. There was no doubt in his mind that the incident a few weeks earlier with the Ipecac had only made her migraines worse. He had visited her that first night, disregarding any first impressions of the house in his worry for her, but even then he hadn't seen evidence of the migraine medications and he couldn't help wondering why she kept them hidden.

"Are you certain you're up for a girl's weekend?" he asked kindly, and smiled when she laughed.

"I need a girl's weekend," she admitted with a smile. "I'll be ok."

Sniffling and raising her hand to wipe her nose, she cursed when she saw a smear of blood on the back of her finger. No matter how used to the nose bleeds she was, they still scared her and she could feel the sting of tears behind her eyes. Looking up at the gentle touch on her arm, she found Carlisle to be kneeling in front of her once again. Nodding her thanks as she accepted the tissue from him, her cheeks flushed with embarrassed color. Dabbing at her nose and thankful when the blood turned out to be nothing more than a few drops, she let her hand fall to her lap and ducked her head. She was ashamed of her blood; he realized and watched her try to hide both her blood and her pain as if she had done something wrong. Pursing his lips and tipping the girl's head up with a curled finger beneath her chin, Carlisle looked into her eyes and released a soft sigh.

"There's nothing to be embarrassed about. I'm a doctor, Angela," he reminded her gently and tucked her hair behind her ear. She reminded him a bit of Bella and of Esme. "A little blood isn't going to upset me. How often do the nosebleeds happen?"

Shrugging her shoulders and biting her lip before answering, her voice was soft when she spoke. "It used to be just one out of every ten migraines, now it's one out of every three."

Unable to hide the alarm on his face, Carlisle did his best to keep his voice comforting. "Angela, have you told your doctor about this?"

Her laugh was humorless and tired. "Which one? It's never the same doctor."

"Your parents then?" he asked hoping that she had informed someone.

Her reaction was not what he was expecting. She was quiet for a moment, and still, before she began biting her lips between her teeth to silence the laughter bubbling forth. Covering her mouth with her hand, she shook her head, trying to stifle the laughter that he didn't understand. He watched her drop her hand to her lap and waited silently, his brow furrowed as he watched her fight to quiet her amusement that seemed to be tinged with something darker. Covering her eyes with the fanned out fingers of her right hand before rubbing the bridge of her nose, Angela grew quiet and looked at the man sitting in front of her trying not to laugh again, or cry as she wanted to.

"My parents for the most part still think that my migraines are just my way of getting attention, but because of the MRIs and all the doctors they took me to all saying the same thing, they just kind of ignore it." She laughed humorlessly and shook her head. "I spent my twelfth birthday inside of an MRI tube. Two months after that I got my first prescription and then…well, let's just say that I got really good at taking care of myself."

_Taking care of herself?_ Carlisle thought as an insane urge to wrap her in his arms and protect her shot through him. What kind of parents left their child to take care of herself? What kind of people didn't care or believe that their own child was in so much constant pain? She deserved far better than this. His phone buzzed in his pocket, signaling he had received a text message and he pulled out the device, smiling when he saw Alice's message.

_Just bring her home for the weekend. Things will work themselves out._

"Angela," he spoke her name, bringing her attention back to him from where she had been studying the bottles. "Would you be adverse to me taking these with us?" he asked motioning to the medications before her and the box on her bed.

"You think you can help?" she asked him with so much hope in her eyes that it made his heart ache.

"I'd like to try," Carlisle said and handed her the open can of Dr. Pepper sitting on the desk. "You should take something to help with your migraine before we leave." She nodded and took an Imitrex, looking at the bottle of her first medication for a moment before handing it to him along with the other two prescription bottles from her desk. "Would you allow me to review your medical file?" he asked reading the label of the bottle she had intended to mix with the Imitrex: _'Dexamethasone Hydrocodone'_ the date on the bottle was four and a half years old.

Angela covered her mouth with her hand when he turned away from her. She wanted to cry; he believed her and he wanted to help her, she couldn't remember the last time a doctor had wanted to help her instead of just study her. Dropping the bottles into the box and placing the lid on top, Carlisle snapped the lid into place and picked up the box. He could smell the salt in the air, knew that she was close to tears and gave her the time to compose herself, her earlier actions telling him that she wouldn't want the attention crying would bring. Stepping toward her open door and looking back at her, he waited as she shut down her laptop. Breathing a short laugh and rubbing her forehead, Angela stood and followed him down the stairs with the Imitrex bottle in her hand.

"Dr. Cullen," she said, finally finding her voice as she retrieved her overnight bag from the sofa.

"Please, call me Carlisle," he said with a kind smile and watched as she nodded.

"If you think you can help me manage these migraines, you can take whatever you want." Plucking her purse from the sofa and dropping the bottle of medicine into it, she followed him outside, pulling the door closed and locking it as he watched her. "Each time a doctor gives me a new medication, they promise that it will take the pain away, and each time it seems that the pain gets just a little bit worse. So, if you can do something, if you can help…"

Her voice trailed off and he could see the warring emotions of hope and fear in her eyes. She looked to be struggling not to cry and it upset him that she had been forced to deal with this on her own. Taking her bags from her and setting them in the back seat with the box of her films and medications, he turned to her. Holding open the front passenger door and waiting for her to sit inside, he knelt down beside her and looked into her eyes, his expression serious and compassionate.

"I'll do whatever I can, Angela. We'll get a handle on these migraines." She nodded and he could see the tears glistening in her eyes. "Now, we shouldn't keep Alice waiting much longer. She's not exactly known for her patience," he told her with a smile.

Angela laughed as he shut the door and climbed into the driver's seat beside her. They were in front of his house before she knew it and Angela was awed at the sight of the glass walled estate. It was beautiful, absolutely breathtaking. She was slow to get out of the car, her eyes unable to leave the structure of the Cullen's home and it made Carlisle smile. Emmett jogged down the steps and the girl smiled as he came to a stop in front of her.

Carlisle watched as Emmett enfolded Angela in his arms, hugging her close as she snuggled against him. The way his son held her and the way she reacted to him reminded the good doctor of how Bella reacted to Emmett. While Alice had always been content and playful with the sibling relationship, both Bella and now Angela, seemed to take comfort in his unyielding protection and goofy behavior. Stepping back from the girl, Emmett's lips twitched.

"Hey there, Angela," he greeted with a cheesy grin that made her laugh. "Alice said that I have to get you upstairs fast or she's going to dress me up, too." Angela laughed as he turned around and knelt down in front of her, offering her his back. "Hop on, Half Pint."

"I can't believe you're afraid of Alice," she said, climbing onto the wide expanse of his back. "You can take her, she's tiny."

Carlisle laughed at Emmett's next words and shook his head as his son ran, at a human's speed, up the stairs and disappeared inside the house with Angela laughing all the way. Edward stepped out of the house and took her bags from Carlisle, watching as his father took the plastic box from the back seat. His brow furrowed as he followed the blonde man inside, Rosalie snatching the bags from him as she moved upstairs. He could tell that Carlisle was blocking him for the moment and he didn't understand why.

"What's in the box?" Edward asked as he followed Carlisle into his office.

"Where's Esme?" Carlisle asked instead, not wanting to discuss the box or its contests and owner without her.

"In the library," Edward answered and followed his father through the house.

Carlisle set the box aside on the large oak wood table that held a common desktop computer, the machine's specifications the best found on the market. Moving to the far side of the room and bringing close a portable medical board that looked much like a dry erase board save the clear white plastic that covered the bright lighting. He spent the next hour discussing Angela's migraines and her allusion to the fact that she was having to deal with them alone.

"It would explain Emmett's suspicions and the thoughts I read from her in class today," Edward said with a silent nod.

"Oh?" Carlisle asked, his attention focused on his son.

"The lights were off for a movie, she was afraid she would pass out when the teacher turned them back on. It didn't make any sense to me at the time, but now…" Staring at Carlisle with a worried frown, Edward glanced back at the MRIs that his father had hung on the board. "They're increasing in severity?"

Nodding and looking at bottles in his hands, he set them on the table in chronological order. Closing his eyes after reading the prescriptions in order, Carlisle shook his head sadly.

"Not only severity, but duration as well, it seems. Most of these medications are not recommended for adults under the age of forty due to their side effects and potency. For them to have been prescribed to a girl under the age of eighteen… She has got to be in near constant pain."

"Why would anyone leave their child or loved one alone to deal with something like this?" Esme asked with a shake of her head.

Holding his arm out to his wife, Carlisle accepted her weight against his body and tucked her into his side. Her heart was open and loving, her fondness of being the mother of their family apparent in every action she took. The very thought of someone disregarding the safety and comfort of their own child was abhorrent to her. Turning her eyes up to stare at her husband, Edward stood to the side and read their matching thoughts as his vampiric parents spoke without words. It seemed that if his parents had their way, their little family would be growing a bit larger and he honestly couldn't say that he disagreed.

"Carlisle," he waited for his father's golden eyes to find his before voicing his question. "About our suspicions, do you think it's more neglect now, since her pain is due to the migraines? The way she looked in school, how sick she was and that her own parents did that to her, I can't get it out of my mind."

"Neither can I," Carlisle said, Esme's frown deepening, her heart aching as she recalled what her husband and sons had told her regarding Angela's forced illness. "For now I think it's best that we just watch out for her, see what we can do."

"I have never been shooed from a room so fast," Emmett said with a laugh as he stepped into the library and looked at the MRIs on the light board. "What is all this?"

Explaining to his son about Angela's migraines and what kind of toll they were having on her, Carlisle watched as his son's expression grew dark. He didn't need Edward's talent to know what Emmett was thinking, his son's thoughts written on his face. Glancing back to the box on the table next to him, he found a small journal in the corner and opened it as he lifted it. _Good girl,_ he thought praising Angela silently for her diligence in keeping track of her reactions to the medications and their effectiveness on her migraines.

"Half Pint's in pain all the time?" Emmett asked as he looked from the bottles of medications to the MRIs and then finally back to Carlisle. "How bad is her pain?"

"I don't know, Emmett. I'll talk with her, see what she can tell me that her charts and journal can't. The way she acted," Carlisle said in a cautioning tone, "be careful with her, both of you. For whatever reason she seemed almost afraid that I was there while she was experiencing one."

"Afraid?" Emmett asked, unable to hide the tension in his voice. "And just why would she be afraid?"

"Emmett," Esme stepped forward and touched his arm as she looked up into his face. "I know you're concerned, so am I, so are we all. We just need to be careful," she told him.

Laughing softly when Emmett wrapped his arms around her, Esme returned her son's embrace. She understood what he was saying with his actions. In the way that was uniquely his, he was promising her that he would be careful, but that he would also protect Angela the same way he did the rest of his family. Pulling back, she touched his cheek and smiled. Her son had adopted himself another sister. Only time would tell what would happen now.


	5. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Angela slid off of Emmett's back easily and looked up at him before peering in through the open door of the room they were standing in front of. Yes, Alice had invited her for this girl's weekend, and yes, Bella was one of her closest friends; but for reasons she couldn't clearly identify, she felt as though she were intruding. Biting her lip and looking down at her hands, her indecision froze her in place. Leaning into Emmett's side when he wrapped his arm around her, she silently thanked him for being there as her migraine flared again. Closing her eyes and hoping she only looked tired, Angela fought to push her pain away. She didn't want to tell Carlisle that the Imitrex wasn't working, her parents had taught her all too well what would happen if she spoke up to tell anyone about her pain or that whatever medicine she had been given hadn't taken it away.

Feeling Emmett kiss her hair, she kept her head bowed as she clenched her jaw and took a deep steadying breath in slowly through her nose before looking up at him. He tucked her hair behind her ear, rubbed her back and hugged her close, the gestures so brotherly it made her heart ache. She closed her eyes as he hugged her, the embrace lasting only a moment and silently cursed herself for selfishly wanting more. This weekend had barely started and already she was warring between wanting to leave and never wanting it to end. She knew that when this weekend finally did end, when she was taken back to her empty house and left there alone, that her heart would ache until she cried herself to sleep because of it.

Jessica Stanley and Bella Swan were both only children, they didn't have any siblings, but even still their parents wanted and doted upon them. Angela could only reason that because of this, it meant that there was something wrong with her. After all, why else would her parents abandon her? Why else would they lecture her for hours on end? If her parents didn't want her, if she was left all alone, the only logical answer was that it was her fault. Wasn't it?

"Get out of here, Em," Rosalie said as she walked up the staircase to find her husband standing with his arm around Angela. "This is a girl's weekend and you are not a girl."

Giving his wife a shrug and a lopsided grin, he looked down on Angela and hugged her close once more. Making her promise to tell him if she needed to be 'rescued' he jogged down the stairs and out of sight. Taking her purse from Rosalie's outstretched hand, she watched her silently. The blonde girl was perfect in every aspect, from her hair to her shoes and her beauty intimidated Angela, the girl feeling little more than plain in comparison. When Rosalie spoke to her, guided her into the room, Angela couldn't help wondering why it was she thought she could hear the girl singing. She had never heard Rosalie sing before and as far as she knew, the girl was not a member of the school choir. Brushing the vague whisper of sound off as little more than a fantasy, she let Rosalie guide her further into the room.

Bella looked up from her seat on the far side of the room and offered her friend a smile of encouragement. It was strange to her, how timid Angela seemed to be. Her friend had never been particularly outgoing or outspoken before, but until that moment she had never realized just how shy Angela was. The crinkling around her eyes caused Bella to narrow hers in confusion, why did it seem that her friend was in pain? Alice instructed her to close her eyes and Bella did so, feeling the cool cream of the hypo-allergenic cleanser dabbed on and around her eyes before being wiped away by a damp cloth. When next she opened her eyes and looked at Angela, the girl seemed to be a bit more relaxed and enjoying herself.

"Don't worry, Bella," Alice whispered to her with a knowing smile. "Everything will be just fine. You'll see."

Bella smiled and shook her head at Alice's exuberance. She didn't understand how someone as tiny as Alice could seem so…huge. Well, maybe not huge, she reasoned with a shake of her head and offered Angela a helpless shrug. Somehow, Alice was able to be everywhere at once without moving from her spot next to Bella. She had laid out a rather impressive array of makeup and hair products on the counter under the lighted mirror. Expensive looking makeup brushes were laid out in no discernible order alongside hair brushes, combs, curling irons, a pair of trimming shears and a vast selection of hair clips and pins. Bella was glad to see that Angela was enjoying herself, despite the almost uncomfortable look in her eyes.

Rosalie shook her head as she stepped inside the room behind Angela and guided her to sit in the stool next to the counter. Her lips twitched as she fought to keep from laughing at the uncertainty in Angela's gaze. Opening her mouth to question Alice and Rosalie's intentions, she sighed softly and snapped her teeth shut. Nodding and laughing with a shake of her head, she shrugged and gave into her growing excitement. Her migraine had finally ebbed down to the point where it was manageable for what she was used to dealing with and Angela was more than determined to enjoy her time here while it lasted.

"Haven't you ever had a girl's day or weekend before?" Rosalie asked as she watched Angela set her purse down on the floor.

"No," Angela confessed softly with a shake of her head as she sat down. "Jessica invited me for one before, but all we did was spend the night talking about the boys she liked. I'm not really sure what to do."

This new information delighted Alice and the diminutive dark haired vampire clapped her hands excitedly as she bounced on the balls of her feet. She was excited to be able to decorate Angela and told her so, laughing when her dark eyes widened with curiosity and just a bit of apprehension. Tipping her head to the side as she studied Angela's near flawless complexion, Alice's smile softened with the barest hint of sadness as a sudden understanding dawned. Angela didn't see herself as beautiful. Her smile brightening with determination and excitement; Alice planned to change that perception this very night.

"We will make you glorious!" Alice proclaimed with a smile.

"Ok," Angela agreed with a giggle and shrugged. "Just don't make me look too crazy."

Rosalie undid the clip holding Angela's hair back from her face and gently ran her fingers through the girl's long dark hair before picking up a brush from the counter. Arching a perfect blonde brow as Alice stepped up to Angela and pulled the sides of her hair over her shoulders to look at the length, Rosalie shook her head. She was almost certain that Alice would be the one to end up scaring this human girl off.

"Crazy is not my intention. Simply fabulous is what I have in mind!" Alice smiled brightly with a bounce. "I finally get my hands on both of you. Makeup, fashion, hair." Alice squealed with excitement and bounced.

"Fashion?" Angela questioned and bit her lip as she frowned. "I just brought jeans and t-shirts."

"Well then you're in luck," Alice told her with a shake of the long black comb she was holding. "We've got clothes around here to fit you in and if not, then we'll go shopping!"

"Shopping?" Angela stilled and looked back at Rosalie.

"Don't worry," Rosalie said with a chuckle. "If Alice gets…scary, I'll have Jasper come in here shirtless. It always distracts her."

"You. Hush. Hair," Alice commanded staring at Rosalie before pointing at Angela. "She needs a trim at least," Alice assessed flipping the ends of Angela's hair up to look at the strands.

"I don't get it," Angela said after a few moments, Rosalie brushing her hair out in long slow strokes. "You're tiny; easily the tiniest person in this house yet everyone pretty much bows to you like you're the Queen of Sheba."

"Don't give her any ideas," Rosalie said, her cool hands brushing against the back of Angela's tense neck. "You can relax, you know," she told the human girl, gathering her hair and running the brush underneath her hair. "No one's going to bite you," she joked with a secretive smirk.

"I'm not afraid of anything," Angela said with a confused frown, her eyes closing as she let herself enjoy the feel of Rosalie's ministrations to her thick locks. "I get migraines," she admitted quietly, hating having to admit to the pain. "The medications can leave me a bit tense."

Nodding quietly and looking up at Alice who was staring at her with wide eyes and a bright smile, Rosalie dropped the brush to the counter and stepped into the hall. Angela heard her call for Emmett and looked in confusion at the door. Wondering if she had done something to upset the blonde girl, she looked back at Alice and jumped slightly when large cool hands closed over her shoulders from behind. Rosalie pulled a chair up in front of Angela and lifted a three tiered carousel onto the counter. The chrome and shining black plastic carousel held thirty bottles of nail lacquers in a rainbow of colors and shimmers as well as the tools necessary for a full manicure. She watched as Rosalie reached for a small plastic box and brought it closer, the container holding the tips and materials needed for a French manicure.

"Feel privileged, Angela," Rosalie said with a grin as she watched Emmett gather the girl's dark hair in his hands and toss it over her left shoulder. "I don't normally loan him out, but to truly enjoy this girl's weekend, relaxation is essential."

"Loan you out for what?" Angela asked, tipping her back to look at Emmett.

In lieu of answering her with words, Emmett gave her a lopsided smile and moved his hands over her shoulders, adjusting his grip before squeezing gently to massage her stiff muscles. Angela groaned out loud, her eyes rolling back before falling closed as her head fell forward. The gentle laughter from Rosalie and Emmett made her blush but she didn't speak a word, intent instead on enjoying her friend's masterful hands. She felt Rosalie pick up her left hand, gently massaging her wrist and hand before she felt her palm set down on a flat smooth surface.

"Work on her shoulders, neck and back," Rosalie told Emmett, "I'll take care of her hands."

"My hands?" Angela questioned, her words slightly slurred as she tipped her head up to look at Rosalie.

"Full manicure, with color and even tips if you want. Alice went crazy planning for this weekend and you and Bella get to be our little dress-up dolls."

Angela snorted in amusement and lifted her right hand taking off her glasses and tossed them onto the counter next to her. Closing her eyes and leaning back into Emmett's hands, she breathed in deeply and sighed contently. She couldn't remember ever having received a massage before, Ben certainly had never given her one. Then again, the boy had decided to let her know Wednesday night before he left for Mexico, that he was interested in Jessica instead. It was just her luck, she reasoned, she had never seen herself as being all that pretty and Ben had finally noticed that she wasn't.

Pushing the unhappy thoughts to the back of her mind, she focused her attention on the feeling of Emmett's massage instead. The Imitrex wasn't helping with her migraine at all, but his massage was giving her much needed relief from the stiffness of her neck and shoulders. She was glad that she had a reason to keep her eyes closed as she was becoming increasingly sensitive to the light, but refused to admit to her pain. Sinking back into his hands with a soft half moan half whimper, she felt his ministrations combined with the strain of her migraine draw her closer to sleep.

"Don't let her fall," Alice said softly, looking at the girl sitting in the chair, the piece of furniture little more than a stool with a four-inch lip in the back.

"I won't," he smiled and moved his hands to her hair, his fingertips gently massaging her scalp.

Shifting his weight as he moved closer, his foot accidently knocked over Angela's purse, her bottle of Imitrex rolling out across the floor. The orange bottle hit Rosalie's five inch heeled foot and she bent down to retrieve it. The little she knew about medicine told her that the milligrams prescribed were nearly double what they should be for someone Angela's size and weight. Setting the bottle on the counter she looked at Angela, the girl half asleep thanks to her husband's expert massage, and wondered just how intense the girl's migraines were.

Bella smiled at the sight of Angela, her half-asleep friend looking as though she were on cloud nine. Her dark eyes glanced up at Emmett and she saw the expression that he looked down on Angela with. It looked as though her big brother had adopted a new human little sister. Emmett was the cautious one of the bunch, careful and protective, but he also had a sentimental goofy side that drew people in when he let them see it. Over the past several weeks at school she had watched Emmett gravitate slightly toward Angela, without making it obvious he was doing so. He watched over her more often and would sit next to her when the Cullens joined the lunch table she shared with her human friends. Nodding to herself and loving Emmett for the way he could make her feel protected and safe without feeling overly attentive, Bella met his gold eyes and smiled.

Shrugging at Bella as if to say 'it's what I do', Emmett moved his hands and gently pressed his thumbs into Angela's neck. She made a sound, somewhere between a sigh and a moan and rolled her head. She looked and felt so tiny to him; just a fragile little human girl, but from what Carlisle had told him a few moments ago, Angela was in near constant pain. He'd listened as their patriarch discussed her migraines, and how according to the many prescriptions she had, that the debilitating headaches were growing more severe in duration and intensity.

A little more than five weeks ago, he had been walking with Angela toward the school newspaper office when she'd fallen. The memory of that moment was burned into his mind. She had seemed so exhausted and frightened at the time that he had initially thought her excuse of clumsiness was a cover for possible abuse and so he had stayed close to her as much as possible. Moving his hands down to massage between her shoulders and down her spine, her near fall made more sense to him now. A lot of humans had migraines, they weren't anything to be ashamed of and he couldn't help but wonder why she tried so hard to hide them.

"You can't be serious," Bella said, drawing his attention and he chuckled when Alice picked up the trimming shears and snipped them in the air as she brought them closer to Bella's hair.

"Isabella Swan, I'm going to make you beautiful," Alice smiled. "Nothing drastic, just a little sprucing."

"Alice Cullen, you scare me," Bella said with mock seriousness and Emmett laughed at the brilliant smile on his sister's face.

"Thank you!" Alice gushed.

Moving around Bella with a comb, a spray bottle of water and the shining stainless steel shears, Alice set to work on trimming and cutting Bella's hair. Turning his attention on Rosalie, he watched her pick up a nail buffer, polishing Angela's nails before picking up a nail file and expertly shaping the short human nails. Smiling when his wife looked up at him, Emmett nodded down at the human girl he was massaging, his expression curious.

"She's not asleep yet," Rose assessed quietly, "but she looks pretty close to it."

Looking behind Emmett as Esme entered the room carrying a tray laden with snacks and sodas; Rosalie shook her head and tapped Angela's hand to rouse her. Nodding toward the tray, Rosalie watched Angela look at first the tray then up at Esme, frowning at the pang of sadness in the girl's eyes. There was root beer sitting on the tray for Bella and a Dr. Pepper for her. She hadn't told them what kind of soda she preferred, but Bella or Emmett must've said something. The simplicity of the gesture made Angela's heart constrict. That any of them had taken the time to find out what drink she preferred made her want to cry, but she fought against the emotion, knowing that none of them would understand.

"Thank you, Mrs. Cullen," Angela said her voice soft and holding a note of surprise.

"Please, it's Esme," the woman told her with a smile, her hair falling over her shoulders in caramel colored waves.

"Or Mama C," Emmett said with a cheesy grin to which Rosalie, Bella and Alice laughed while Angela just quirked her eye brows in confused amusement.

"Don't listen to him, he's a trouble maker," Esme said, narrowing her eyes at Emmett even though she was smiling. "If you girls need anything just let me know. I hope you enjoy your stay, Angela. Don't let Alice or Rosalie scare you too much."

And there it was, Rosalie thought as she watched Angela follow Esme's retreating form with her eyes. She knew that look; she had felt those same feelings of longing and loneliness before in her youth as a human. It was the unconscious expression that told of being left alone too often and being held to too high expectations. In truth, Rosalie really couldn't stand much if any of the humans at the high school, they were too fickle and selfish; but something had drawn her to Angela. Something had told her that she and the human girl were far too similar and that she would understand more about Angela than anyone else.

"Your parents don't mind you staying over for this three day girl's weekend event?" Rosalie asked casually as she buffed and rounded the nails of Angel's right hand.

"No, they're…" Angela's words died off for just a moment and Rosalie swore she heard the girl's heart skip a beat. "They're out of town on business."

Nodding without saying anything, Rosalie looked between the items necessary for artificial nails and the turnstile of nail colors. She wondered just how often her parents left her alone and if Angela even knew when to expect them back.

"Tips or just color?" she asked Angela and watched the girl frown.

"I've never had my nails done before," she admitted and shrugged. "I don't know."

"Tips it is."

Rosalie spent almost an hour working on Angela's hands, making certain that everything was just right before trading off with Alice to do Bella's nails while the shorter girl worked on Angela's make up. Brushing her hair back from her face and securing it with clips, Alice retrieved a dry, pretreated facial cleansing cloth and ran it under the nearby sink for just a moment before scrubbing it against itself and building a fine lather. Motioning with one hand for Emmett to step a bit closer to Angela, Alice guided her to lean back against Emmett's chest and smiled.

"Just close your eyes and relax," Alice instructed her. "I'll let you know when I'm finished."

Emmett's massage had relaxed her to such a point that she felt her migraine begin to recede by just enough that the light no longer bothered her. Closing her eyes and leaning back against Emmett, she felt her friend remove the two large clips and begin to slowly comb his fingers through her hair, the feel of it lulling her into a near sleep state. Her thoughts drifted from the activities of the moment to the paper she was supposed to be writing and the difficulty she was having with gathering information for it.

"I need to hit the library sometime over the break," Angela mused aloud as Alice washed and dried her face.

"Thinkin' bout school already, Half Pint?" Emmett asked and Angela snorted with amusement at his nickname for her.

"I'm supposed to write up this piece for US History that will also be doubling as an 'article of interest' for the school newspaper. The topic is the Civil War, but more specifically in regards to the Confederate Army regiment out of Texas. I found a lot on the Confederate Army in general, but nothing on any specific regiments, and most of the information I've found so far pertains to West Virginia/Tennessee areas or Georgia and the Carolinas."

Emmett grinned down at Alice over Angela's head and winked. "Talk to Jasper. He has loads of knowledge on the Texas Calvary. Guess you could call him a history buff."

"Really?!" Angela said and tipped her head back as she looked up at Emmett with excitement. "That would be great!"

Giggling when Alice cupped her cheeks in her cool palms and directed Angela to look down again, the girl smiled and closed her eyes, leaning her head back against Emmett's abdomen as Alice worked on creating what she called 'her masterpiece'. Alice took her time with the makeup, every now and again telling Angela to open her mouth and popping cubes of cheese or bits of fruits and cookies inside for her to eat. The thought of inviting Angela over for the girl's weekend had been rolling around in her mind for a few weeks, but it hadn't been until just before the teacher had flipped on the lights in the classroom that Alice had seen the vision in full and asked her. Angela needed them, and her vision told her that bringing her over, letting her get used to her vampire family was the right decision.

Moments before Carlisle had brought her home, Alice had seen another vision of Angela as a vampire running with them. She was beautiful and graceful and happy. It had been strange to realize that the happiness Alice had seen and felt from Angela in her vision was something she had yet to see on the girl's face. What was it that kept Angela from being happy, she wondered. Breathing in sharply and opening the bottle of Imitrex to dig out a pill, she popped open the can of Dr. Pepper and held both ready seconds before Angela groaned and bent forward pinching the bridge of her nose tightly.

"Here," Alice said watching as Angela opened her eyes just enough to see the proffered items.

"I took one before Doctor – before Carlisle brought me over, I can't take another one," Angela said breathing harshly and feeling tears sting her eyes.

"You need it, Sweetie," Alice said, her face a mask of concern.

"I can't," Angela panted harshly, her voice quiet as she clenched her jaw against the rising pain.

_Not now. Please, not here_. Angela bit her lip against the sudden flare of her migraine. The Imitrex had momentarily stopped her pain from growing worse, but her migraine had suddenly flared stronger, breaking through the dam the medication had created. She fought to stay silent, fought to keep still against the pain screaming inside her head, blinding her in its severity. Unable to stifle the soft whimper that broke from her, Angela kept her eyes tightly closed, surprised by the gentle feel of arms wrapping around her and pulling her forward.

Alice moved closer, stepping up to Angela and drawing the human girl into her arms as she suffered her migraine. She heard Bella's concerned voice as she moved from her chair, Rosalie at her side. Alice guided Angela to rest her forehead in the curve of her throat as she stroked her hair and looked at her siblings. Among them, Rosalie was the one in the room with the most medical knowledge, having decided to attend medical school in the late sixties. Her knowledge may be rudimentary and perhaps a bit outdated, but she would know better how to help Angela than either she or Emmett would.

"What's happening to her?" Bella asked as she looked at Angela in alarm, her friend incredibly tense.

"Her migraine's flaring," Alice said softly. "She needs to take another pill."

"If it's not working, taking another one won't do anything," Rosalie said as she looked at the girl and lifted her wrist to check her pulse. "There is one other thing we can try. Emmett, press gently here," she said pointing to twin spots on either side of Angela's spine six inches below her shoulders. "Alice," she began only to see that her sister already had her hands buried in Angela's hair under the nape of neck.

"Just below the base of her skull," Alice said softly. "Gentle, but firm pressure."

Rosalie kept her hand around the girl's wrist, monitoring her unsteady heartbeat. With more than one human in the room, it was difficult to distinguish one heart beat from another by sound alone. Instructing Angela to breathe slowly and deeply, Rosalie watched her and waited for the girl to regain some semblance of equilibrium. It was a long five minutes later that Angela relaxed and sat up slowly, smiling softly when Emmett began massaging her shoulders and neck once more.

"Look at me, Angela," Rosalie said as she released the girl's wrist to tip her chin up and sighed. "Your eyes are pretty red; do you want to lie down?"

"I'm fine," she said quickly with a slight shake of her head. "It's not so bad, they've been worse."

Alice shook her head when Angela closed her eyes, her voice too low for Angela or Bella to hear as she told Rosalie and Emmett not to say anything else. Smoothing her hand down over Angela's hair, she tucked it behind the girl's ear and smiled when she opened her eyes. Telling her that she needed to apply concealer next, she asked Angela to lean back against Emmett and relax as she applied the makeup. She needed to talk to Carlisle, needed to research Angela's condition a bit more. Perhaps it was her migraines that made it so difficult for Alice to see Angela clearly in her visions.

**:::::**

Jasper stepped inside the Cullen's home, licking his lips and delighting in the taste of the mountain lion that lingered there. Walking into Carlisle's study and not seeing him, he took in a deep breath and opened his talent to find his adoptive father's emotions. The sudden blinding, burning pain that filled his head sent him crashing to his knees, knocking over a stack of medical texts in the process. He breathed harshly, taking in air he didn't need in an effort to calm himself as he tried to push the pain away, but it wasn't working. It seemed to be long moments later that he felt himself lifted between two people, his eyes refusing to focus enough to see anything in detail, and heard Carlisle's and Edward's voices calling to him.

"Outside…take me outside," the southern vampire groaned in pain as he panted.

Edward and Carlisle were quick to comply, holding Jasper between them and running out into the night. They flew through the forest with Jasper held between them until he began to respond to their concerned inquiries and was able to calm himself. Blinking away the harsh sense of vertigo that lingered, he stepped away from his adoptive father and brother to lean against a tall pine tree. It took a few moments before he was able to stand straight, his mind blessedly free of the pain.

"What happened?" Carlisle asked concerned as he studied his adopted son.

"I'm not really sure." Jasper leaned back against the tree and looked at them both. "I opened my mind to find your emotions and instead my head was filled with such intense pain that I couldn't see or think clearly. I have never felt anything like that before, it was as though my brain itself were on fire. I don't understand it."

Edward stilled, reading the thoughts from Carlisle before the doctor spoke them. It didn't seem possible, as Jasper had never mentioned being able to feel physical sensations before, but then again there was still a lot about Jasper's talent that even Jasper didn't know. Perhaps his brother's abilities were growing.

"You felt Angela's migraine. If it's that serious then that means the Imitrex she took earlier had little or no effect." Looking up at Jasper, he met the young man's gaze with a concerned expression in his golden eyes. "She's going to be staying with us for the next few days. Did you need to stay away or..?"

"No," Jasper shook his head unable to believe what he was being told. "Carlisle, no one should have to be in pain like that. Isn't there something that you can do for her?"

"Unfortunately at this point, no," he said and followed Jasper, Edward trailing behind them as they walked back to the house. "If the Imitrex isn't working she'll need to take a different medication, but I can't give her anything different for at least four more hours or I risk mixing medications and causing her pain to be worse."

"If there's nothing that you can do," Jasper said thoughtfully, the plan forming in his mind as he opened his talent and accepted the building pain as they grew closer to the house. "Then maybe there's something that I can do."

**:::::**

He had to stop more than a few times along their walk back to the house as he adjusted and steeled himself against the intense pain. Sitting in the stuffed black leather armchair in the living room, Jasper kept his eyes closed as he worked his talent around Angela's migraine. It had taken him a while to be able to wrap his talent around the pain filling his mind and put up barriers. He wasn't certain how effective his efforts were, but he wasn't about to give up either. The pain he felt, the fire burning through his brain, no one should ever have to feel anything like that.

The sound of footsteps on the stairs and a heartbeat drawing closer captured his attention and he opened his eyes. Glancing to the side he saw Angela step off the stairs, a notebook tucked under her arm and a pen in her hand. Her hair was styled elegantly, caught up by her temples and throughout her hair by tiny black and white butterfly clips, pulling her hair back from her face. Her midnight locks were brushed to a smooth shine and curled into rolling waves that fell over her shoulders and down her back. Her makeup was expertly done, shimmering powders coloring her cheeks and around her eyes, giving her an almost fairy like sheen and he smiled recognizing Alice's handiwork. His sharp eyes moved down her arms and saw her hands tipped with acrylic nails painted a deep merlot and crossed with pin stripe white lines.

She seemed to be looking for something or someone and he was surprised when her eyes lit on him and she smiled. Walking into the living room, Angela moved to the couch and sat down against the side. Tipping her head to the side, she looked at him and tucked her feet under her. Opening her notebook and uncapping her pen, she studied him.

"So this is where you've been hiding," Angela said and he chuckled.

"Didn't realize I'd been lost," he drawled with a crooked smile and tipped his head at her.

Angela giggled and bit her painted lip. "Emmett said that you're the one to talk to."

Raising his eyebrows in question, his smile widening, Jasper nodded and motioned for her to continue. He watched her duck her head, a sense of wonder emanating from her. She touched her hand to her temple and he felt happy confusion, as though something that should be there wasn't and she was grateful for its absence. It had worked, he realized with pride and pleasure, he was able to take away her pain. She looked up and gave a hesitant smile before speaking.

"I have a research paper slash article due two days after Spring Break and I keep coming up rather empty on material. The subject is the Civil War, but here's the tricky part…my focus is supposed to be the Confederate Army Regiment that came out of Texas. I can't find anything on them – West Virginia down the coast to the Carolinas, sure, but nothing on the Texas Calvary."

Jasper threw his head back and laughed before turning his attention back on Angela. She had no idea just how close to that particular subject he was. Quieting his amusement, his smile ever present and bright, he nodded to her notebook.

"You could say I'm an expert in the field," he joked. "Ask away, Miss Weber," he said cordially, his southern drawl a bit more pronounced.

"Really?" she said her eyes shining as a wide smile split her face. "Ok, great!"

He spent nearly two hours sitting in the living room talking with her. Her questions were logical and inquisitive, at times referencing historical material that discussed the Confederate Army in general and asking if there were any differences to the Texas Calvary. He would watch her, answering slowly while she scribbled down his answers in her notebook. Anytime that he felt a flare in her migraine, he would wrap his talent around it before she was able to do anything more than wince.

It was refreshing to talk with her. She wasn't simply researching the topic and taking information, but truly interested in what she was learning and analyzing it from all sides. He was surprised when she asked him if he had ever thought of what it was like to be a Confederate soldier, telling him that his knowledge was so vast that it sounded first-hand at times. He answered all her questions and even some she didn't ask. Feeling her growing tired, he asked for her notebook and said that he wanted to look over the information that she had gathered previously to see if there was anything that he may be able to help fill in the gaps on. Angela agreed with a sleepy smile and handed him her book and pen, leaning against the throw pillow propped against the arm of the couch as she watched him read.

Looking up at the girl as he finished reading her notes, Jasper smiled to find her sleeping. He was slow and careful as he began releasing his hold on her migraine, watching her for any signs of pain or discomfort. He was pleased when he was able to release it completely without her stirring and stood. Setting her notebook on the low coffee table, he moved to the couch and scooped her up into his arms. She felt almost weightless as he carried her through the house and up the stairs. Laying her down in the guest bedroom, the covers already pulled back, he removed her shoes and carefully removed each of the tiny clips in her hair so that she didn't roll on them during the night. Tucking the blankets around her shoulders, Jasper whispered 'good night' to her and left the room, closing the door quietly behind him.

Walking downstairs and into Carlisle's study, he found the rest of his family to be gathered together, save for Bella who was sleeping in Edward's bed upstairs. He looked around at each of their faces in turn and listened as Carlisle gave him a recap of the conversation at hand. Nodding as he looked out at the stars glistening in the night sky, Jasper smiled gently.

"I can feel it, too. I wasn't sure what to make of it at first, but she belongs with us. She may not become one of us right away, but she belongs here. She needs us."


	6. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Angela's eyes opened slowly as she breathed in deeply, yawning as she sat up. It took her a moment to remember where she was as the room was unfamiliar, but she could never recall having slept so well before. Reaching her hand out for her glasses she caught sight of her nails and smiled. Rosalie had done a fantastic job, they looked professionally done. Slipping her glasses on as she rose from the bed and pulled up the blankets, she made up the bed as neatly as possible, sweeping her hands over the comforter to smooth out any wrinkles. Stepping over to the walls, her brows quirked at the ribbons of burnt oranges and violent reds that colored the soft cream carpet beneath her bare feet, raising her hand to the floor length curtains that hung from the ceiling she pushed the delicate dark cloth back and gasped.

She couldn't move, could barely breathe as she stared out through the wall of polished clear glass that made her feel inseparable from the world outside. Her hands remained wrapped loosely around the cloth of the black satin curtains with the wine red muslin overlay as she stared outside. She hadn't realized last night how close to the forest the house was but now as she watched the sunrise through the trees she couldn't help but think that the strands of light looked like breath, delicate and untouchable. From her vantage point at the window the weeping pines outside looked feather soft and she believed for a moment that she was a part of the scenery itself rather than just observing it.

She didn't hear the door open behind her, didn't hear Carlisle's voice as he called her name before stepping into the room. He watched her standing in front of the glass; saw her reflection in the smooth clear wall as she stared out at the sun rising over the forest. He looked to his side at the feel of his son's presence behind him and his lips twitched in a soft smile when he found Jasper to be silently staring at Angela. Her emotions were hypnotizing. The sense of wonder and awe she felt captured him unmercifully, luring him in like a moth to a flame and he was powerless against it. He spoke softly to Carlisle, his voice too soft for a human to hear as he told his adoptive father that he would bring Angela down for the breakfast Esme had prepared. Nodding once to his son, Carlisle turned away and walked out of the room, stopping just outside the door to look back once more at Angela before he continued down the hall.

Jasper spoke her name as he stepped up behind her, not surprised that she didn't seem to hear him, so enraptured was she by the sight of the morning light shining through the trees. He stood next to her on her right, waiting for her to see his reflection in the glass, but her focus was so captured by the scene before her eyes that he wasn't even certain she would hear him if he shouted at her. When her hand reached out to touch the cool glass, he caught her wrist gently, surprising her.

"You have to be careful," he told her, keeping his voice low so as not to break the beauty of the moment. "This wall is the same in every room," he said and smiled as she watched him lift his hand to edge of the glass. "And just like each of its counterparts," he pressed against the unseen magnetic latch, "it opens."

Angela's mouth opened, her eyes widening as the early morning breeze drifted in and swept her hair up gently at the sides. She could smell the grass, the trees, hear the sounds of the birds singing outside. It seemed impossible that the delicate glass wall was soundproofed, but the evidence was undeniable. She hadn't heard the birds before he opened the window, but now their songs carried in startling clarity to her through the wind. She blinked as she looked up, unable to believe her eyes as a butterfly fluttered into the room. The gossamer wings of the insect were painted in shades of oranges, blacks and browns, the colors blended and bleeding into one another in a way that could only be created in nature.

"Am I awake?" she asked softly, not realizing she had voiced her disbelieving question out loud.

"Yes," Jasper confirmed with a soft chuckle. "It's a Milbert's Tortoiseshell," he identified the breed of butterfly as they watched it land on the bedspread and lay its wings flat. "Esme made breakfast; I wanted to make sure you got some before it was all gone."

"Breakfast?" Angela questioned as she turned and gave Jasper her full attention.

"Yeah, you know, food you eat in the morning," he said with a smile. "Did you want to change before coming down?" he asked and chuckled when she blushed.

"I don't remembering actually coming up here last night," she confessed as she moved over to gather her bag from where it rested on the floor by the foot of the bed.

"That's because you didn't," he told her as he watched her lift her bag and open it. "You fell asleep while I was reading over your notes. I tucked you in," he said and watched her as the most confusing flux of emotions emanated from her.

The blood beneath her skin rushed up to color her cheeks, dusting her skin with a hint of pink. She was humbled by his care, but also seemed to be somehow embarrassed by it. His brows furrowed in concern and he absently rubbed his chest over his heart, the overwhelming feeling of loneliness coming from her robbing him of his voice. He watched her for a moment, hoping to gain some insight into her, but only found more confusion. Turning to leave so that she could change, he asked if she knew where the kitchen was. A wash of sadness flooded through her along with a feeling that seemed out of place and foreign to him.

"She doesn't need to fuss, especially not if I'm the last one up as it looks like I am."

Hoping to offer her aching heart some semblance of comfort, he stepped forward and tucked her hair behind her ear before resting his hand against her arm. His smile was warm and inviting, while his amber eyes drew her in. Wrapping his talent around her gently, he used his gift to offer her a sense of belonging, a touchless hug.

"If there is one thing in this world that Esme loves it's being a mother. In her eyes she's not making a fuss. Just watch out, Angela," he said as he dropped his hand and moved back to stand just outside the room with his hand on the doorknob, "she might adopt you if you're not careful."

He pulled the door closed and left her to change, not surprised to find Edward waiting for him in the hallway. He didn't have to say anything; his brother had already read his thoughts. Looking behind Edward, he found Alice standing on the stairs, halfway to the landing, her eyes sad. Tipping his head, Edward led his siblings into his room and pursed his lips in thought as he stared outside the glass wall.

"How bad is it?" Jasper asked as he looked between his psychic wife and telepathic brother.

"I'm not sure," Edward said after a moment. "There weren't really any thoughts from her, mentally she was just…still," he said for lack of a better word. "I was reading you," he told his brother.

"It's still hard to pinpoint much of anything," Alice said in reference to her attempts to find Angela's future. "I know that she will be one of us, but I don't know when or why. I knew that she would say yes to the invitation for this weekend, but I only knew that five minutes before I asked her and I had been searching for the answer for days. I think in a way her migraines are blocking me. It's as though her migraines are making her future uncertain."

"How so?"

The three of them turned in unison to see Carlisle standing in the open doorway, his blond brows furrowed in concern. He had come up after greeting Angela when she had stepped into the kitchen, her expression troubling him. She had stood still in the kitchen's entryway looking as though she might cry and he had thought that perhaps something had happened before she came down that would explain the emotions she tried to hide.

"I don't know," Alice shook her head and furrowed her brow as her eyes took on a faraway look. "It feels like…" she struggled for the words to describe what her visions made her feel. "It's as though tomorrow isn't a guarantee for her. Almost like…" she shook her head. "It doesn't make a lot of sense, but the only other time that I've had difficulty sussing out someone's future like this before was with Maria back when we were in Denver."

"Maria," Carlisle repeated the name as he thought back to the girl Alice had met at the university there in the late seventies. "Alice, Maria died of leukemia not long after you two met. You think Angela's dying?"

"I don't know," she shook her head, her brow furrowed in confusion. "All I know is that my inability to see Angela's future feels similar to when I tried to find Maria's. Her tomorrows weren't certain either."

**:::::**

Carlisle turned away from his study of the MRIs in front of him when he heard the soft knock on the doorframe behind him. Smiling warmly to Angela, he beckoned her forth with a soft nod and watched her enter slowly. She was fascinated by the sight of the books lining the walls and even the stack of the new edition encyclopedias standing in the middle of the oak table in the front half of the room. She bit her lip as she stepped closer to him, her brows furrowing as she looked at the MRIs – her MRIs – lined up on the mobile light board in front of him. The darkness of the surrounding night made the backlit films stand out in greater contrast and she wondered how many more of the scans it would take until someone was able to find something that would take away her pain.

"How was the shopping trip?" he asked her with a knowing grin.

"Fun," she said with a happy, but somewhat uncertain expression. "A little…scary, but fun. Alice wouldn't let me pay for anything," she said, feeling guilty that the girl had spent money on her.

Carlisle chuckled and nodded, telling her that he knew how Alice could be when it came to clothes and to think nothing of the expense. His energetic daughter had even declared him to be unfashionable at one point and had taken him shopping for an entirely new wardrobe. He smiled at Angela's soft laugh to the news and studied her face for any signs of pain, his vampire senses assessing her in fractions of a second.

"The Imitrex isn't working at all, is it?" he asked her after a moment.

Angela looked away, keeping silent as she shook her head. The way she hid her pain, the fact that she hadn't told him before that the medicine wasn't helping her at all; these things were only increasing his suspicions that she had been mistreated because of her migraines. Nodding as he looked over the prescriptions sitting on the table next to him, he confessed that he had read through the journal she kept detailing her reactions to the medications and praised her for her diligence.

"I am curious though," he said as he handed her the journal. "You didn't note anything regarding the Relpax or the Treximet. Have you not had time to?"

Angela flipped through the pages without reading the words written and felt as though she had somehow let him down by not noting her reactions to her two most recent medications. She wasn't sure what to say. Her parents had always told her that despite the MRIs, they still believed her migraines to be made up, to be a pain that she imagined simply to get attention. What if they were right? What if the reason that none of the medications really worked was because her pain wasn't real? But if that were the case, wouldn't she be able to just think her migraines away?

"Angela?" He watched her look up in confusion and was concerned that it had taken him saying her name four times to gain her attention. "I asked if you could tell me what effect the Relpax had," he said, repeating the request she hadn't heard earlier.

"A bad one, a useless one," she said softly, her face averted.

Carlisle sighed silently and stepped closer, wrapping her in his arms and hating how scared she seemed to be, he could feel the trembling she tried to hide. He had seen in her expression and the way she stood that she was afraid to talk about her migraines and it bothered him. He held her quietly for a moment, waiting for her to relax and stroked her hair gently. He didn't want her to ever feel afraid around him or his family. He especially didn't want her to be afraid to tell him that she was in pain or feeling ill. Pressing a kiss to her hair, he spoke to her gently as he held her close and rubbed her back.

"I get the impression that you don't know you're safe here, Angela and I want you to know that you are." He leaned her back just enough to see her face and looked into her dark eyes. "You are safe here; Sweetheart and I want you to know that you can tell me when your medications aren't working. I want you to come to me if you're in pain, or even just feeling ill. You don't ever have to hide or be afraid. You are safe here," he told her again and kissed her forehead in silent confirmation of his promise of protection.

Tucking her hair behind her ears, he stepped back and offered her a warm smile. Nodding to the journal she still held in her left hand, he asked her to describe for him her reaction to the Relpax. Her brows furrowed and she shook her head as she tried to remember.

"I'm not really sure," she said slowly, her face a mask of confusion. "I know that it didn't take away my pain. In fact, I think it may have made it a little bit worse. All I know for certain is that I couldn't sleep. I didn't sleep at all Sunday when I took it, or the next two days. I don't remember the rest of the week at all until Saturday morning when I woke up in my bed. I know that I didn't miss any school, but I honestly don't remember any of it. I'm sorry; I know that doesn't really help."

"No, it helps," he said as he made notes on a clipboard. "The medical explanation of what you just described is a combination of drug induced insomnia coupled with clinical exhaustion, it brings on a temporary condition known as TGA or Transient Global Amnesia. Basically what it means is that you were so exhausted you were unable to retain your short term memory during that time and as a result you have no memory of that time. What is it?" he asked her, unable to discern her expression.

"None of the other doctors ever explained anything to me. They never even went over the scans with me except to confirm what I already told them – that I have migraines," she told him.

Carlisle closed his eyes for a moment, the revelation of her words disheartening. No one had ever taken the time to truly talk with her about her migraines, instead handing her different prescription and dismissing her as though her pain was meaningless. The knowledge of it saddened and angered him. He wondered how much more frightening her migraines were to her simply because no one had ever sat down and actually talked with her about them instead of talking at her.

"Please, have a seat," he said motioning to the chair she was standing next to as he sat down as well. "Tell me something," he said as he set the clipboard on the table and laid his pen down on top of it. "On a scale of one to ten, how much pain are operating with on a daily basis?"

"Just normal day to day?" she asked and he nodded. "About a seven or an eight."

"And the migraine you experienced yesterday, the pain you were in when I came to gather you last night?"

"About a ten," she answered slowly, her voice and expression telling him that she was still apprehensive about discussing her pain. "But they've been worse than that…a lot worse. Over the past two years they've gotten pretty bad. They last longer and the pain is greater."

"Have you ever missed school or work because of the pain?" he asked gently and was both surprised and concerned by the sudden alarm in her face.

"Only once," she said quickly as though confessing to an unintentional crime. "I don't let them make me miss school."

He wanted to ask her about her sudden upset, but was stopped by Esme coming in to call Angela for dinner. He wasn't certain what to make of her response, her fear, but he wanted to know why she was so upset by the question. Pursing his lips and looking at the discarded journal on the table, he saw something sticking out of the back of it and found a stack of fifteen business cards all from neurologists. Most of them read 'Forks Hospital', but five of them were for different hospitals in other cities. It was too late now, but he would call in the morning to gather any additional medical information these other five doctors had on Angela.

**:::::**

Angela lay in her borrowed bed, blinking up at the ceiling as tears leaked from the corners of her eyes. She hadn't wanted to tell anyone that a migraine had onset during dinner, instead saying that she was simply tired from the activities of the day. The pain was burning inside her brain, almost paralytic in its intensity. Lying on top of the neatly made covers, she hadn't even bothered to change out of the clothes she'd worn that day. Feeling her phone vibrate in her pocket, she retrieved the device and activated the screen without putting her glasses on.

_I miss watching you sleep._

Stilling as she looked at the message written on the screen, the glass walled room suddenly felt suffocating and she left it quietly. The house for the most part was dark, though light spilled from under closed doors as Angela padded silently over the carpeted hallway and down the stairs. Slipping through the kitchen and out the backdoor she walked barefoot over to the large boulder that sat near the forest and looked up at the moon. All she wanted was to feel safe, to be protected, but she knew that all too soon she would be alone again. Her weekend with the Cullens was drawing to a close and soon she would be in her house alone with no one to call if she got scared. She hadn't said a word to them about her stalker, or rather suspicions of having a stalker, she thought. Did she even have a right to tell them? This was her problem, was it really fair of her to involve anyone else? Her phone buzzed again and she took it from her pocket.

_Why are you avoiding me, Angela?_

The light from the half moon shone down on Angela, bathing her in a soft silver glow. She felt her stomach twist with fear as she rocked back and forth slightly. Raising her hand up to cover her mouth, she felt close to tears and struggled to keep from crying. She was terrified of going home, of being alone with this person after her, but her weekend with the Cullens was soon to end. Shaking her head, she pulled her feet up onto the boulder and rested her cheek on her bent knees. The Cullens had already been so nice to her, how could she tell them about this? Biting her lips between her teeth and looking up at the night sky she found it to be lacking the comfort she usually found, the star filled wonder hazy and slightly out of focus because she'd left her glasses inside.

**:::::**

Standing beside the sink and looking out the kitchen window, Jasper watched the girl sitting under the night sky. Even from inside the walls of his home he could feel her pain, her fear and helplessness. He could feel her loneliness, too. It was that sense of abandonment, the constant cloud of insecurity and nearly blinding physical pain that made him want to help her even as a part of him told him to stay away. Before this weekend, he had always thought the intense pain he felt to be a culmination of everything that he felt from the near three hundred students that milled the halls of Forks High School on a daily basis, he'd never realized that the physical pain was hers alone. How could one person, especially a human as tiny as she, endure such pain on a daily basis?

"No," Alice said and he looked back at the others in the kitchen with him. "No," she said softly again, touching her temple as she looked at nothing, focusing instead on the vision in her mind. "She won't talk to you," she said and he watched Carlisle's hand drop form the handle of the door leading outside. Opening her golden eyes, she looked intently at Jasper. "She'll talk to Jasper. She'll talk to you," his love told him again. "Go to her. She'll talk to you."

"Take the blanket with you," Carlisle said, holding out the aforementioned thick, brushed fleece blanket. "It's a bit cold out for her."

Nodding and moving toward his adoptive father, Jasper was stopped by a warm hand on his arm. Looking back at Bella and offering her a soft smile as he tipped his head inquisitively, he waited for her to speak. Her brow furrowed and he could feel her indecision, knowing that she was trying to think of how best to speak her thoughts.

"Sometimes," Bella began and looked up, her brown eyes meeting his butterscotch orbs. "Sometimes, it's as simple as being held. Feeling the arms of a friend or lover around you and knowing that they'll protect you. Sometimes just being held and feeling safe like that can make all the difference."

Nodding his thanks to Bella and taking the blanket from Carlisle, Jasper stood with his hand on the door handle and looked out at Angela. She was facing away from the house, but with as shy as he knew her to be, he knew she wouldn't do well with the attention his family was paying her. He felt her fear and loneliness spike once more and groaned as the stabbing burning pain behind his eyes grew worse. Shaking his head and standing still and silent for a moment, Jasper opened the door and stepped outside into the chill night air.

'_Edward, get everyone away from the windows.'_ Jasper spoke to his brother through his thoughts. _'She'll spook if she knows she's being watched.'_

He didn't wait or look back to see if Edward had responded to his message, but kept walking through the grass, his steps soundless as he moved closer to Angela. Opening his mind completely to the pain of her migraine, he focused on the blinding, burning pain and did what he could to move it away. If he could lessen her pain, even just a little, it would be enough.

**:::::**

Angela hugged her arms around her bent legs and wished she could make sense of everything. Biting her lip, she looked deep into the forest surrounding the estate and wished the deep feelings of loneliness would go away. It was her second night spent with the Cullen's and throughout the day Esme had doted on her as though Angela was her own daughter. She'd never felt that kind of affection or love from her own parents, they had seen her as more of a social tool. She had been a way for them to say to other people that, 'yes they had a daughter' and 'look, isn't she beautiful?' But she had never meant enough for them to want to spend much if any time with her.

Her phone buzzed in her hand again and Angela's brow furrowed. Pressing down on the optical track pad and opening the newest text message, she shook her head and covered her eyes with her hand. It was just past one-thirty am, who was this person and why were they texting her? How did they get her phone number and more importantly, how did they know she wasn't home? The pain that had been making it impossible for her to sleep and left her near tears for the past six hours suddenly and mercifully abated. It didn't just lessen, it was gone. Gasping as the softness of a warm blanket was draped over her shoulders, Angela looked up to see Jasper standing beside her.

"It's a bit cold out here, isn't it?" Jasper asked her, keeping his voice low and soothing as he sat next to her on the large boulder. Angela shrugged her shoulders and bit her lip, looking anything other than certain. "Are you alright?" he asked her quietly.

"I don't know," she finally said after a long moment of silence. "I feel like I'm losing my mind."

Her words were so soft they were almost whispered, the sadness and uncertainty making him flinch. Remembering Bella's bit of advice, Jasper scooted closer and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling Angela close and silently encouraging her to rest her head on his shoulder. From her position with her head tucked under his chin she couldn't see his face and he took the opportunity to close his eyes and open himself to the emotions she was feeling. She was scared, maybe even a little terrified, and the sense of abandonment that she always seemed to carry with her broke his heart.

Turning so that he had one leg bent up on the boulder and the other hanging down over the rock; Jasper pulled her closer and wrapped both arms around her. Wrapping the blanket a little tighter around her when she shivered, he rubbed her back in slow soothing circles and listened to the sound of her heart beating. It felt as though her spirit was calling out to him, to his family, something about her spoke to him telling him that she needed to be protected.

"What's wrong?" he asked her after a few moments of silence. "Why do you feel like you're losing your mind?"

He felt her hands twist in the blanket as they rested against his chest, could feel her uncertainty grow as her fear made her tremble. Infusing gentle ribbons of safety and comfort to her, he waited for her to speak. She really was a very timid girl, but most didn't know that as she was almost always taking pictures or working on stories for the school paper. No one understood that she used her camera to hide behind, or kept her work for the paper as a buffer. Jasper wondered if anyone else knew that when she spoke it was about things for the paper or for school, or things that her friends were doing, but it was very rarely anything about herself.

"This seems so stupid…" her voice was low, trembling with the fear she was trying to hide. "I've been getting these little notes for months now, sometimes a flower too, but I always thought they were from Ben even though he kept denying it."

Moving just enough to stretch out his bent leg behind her on the boulder and pull her closer, Jasper felt Angela's gratitude for the embrace and felt her comfort grow.

"What changed your mind?" he asked her and brought her hair out from where it was trapped beneath the blanket. "What made you believe that it wasn't Ben who was sending them?"

A complete sense of safety and comfort fell over her when he began to comb his fingers through the ends of her hair and he repeated the motion slowly. He had always used his talent for controlling emotions to offer someone comfort before, it was strangely pleasant to be able to offer the same comfort through his actions.

"Friday…Friday I found a note in my textbook, then one sticking out of my locker after school and another one under the windshield wiper on my car. I wouldn't have thought anything of it, except Ben left for Sea-Tac airport Thursday morning. There's no way that he could have left those notes. And now…"

"And now what?" he asked, keeping his voice soothing and low, feeling her nearing sleep.

"I got three texts a little bit ago from a number I don't recognize."

"Can I see them?" he asked and felt her move beneath the blanket.

Pulling back just enough to get her hand out from under the folds of the thick fleece, Angela opened the message log and handed him her cell phone. The words he read made his lip curl with the desire to hunt whoever was stalking her.

_I miss watching you sleep._

_**Sent at 11:45PM Saturday, April 15**_

_Why are you avoiding me, Angela?_

_**Sent at 12:05AM Sunday, April 16**_

_It's lonely without you. Won't you come home?_

_**Sent at 1:03AM Sunday, April 16**_

He was about to hand the phone back to her when he realized that she had fallen asleep in his arms. Tucking the device into his pocket, Jasper tucked an arm under her bent knees and lifted the blanket wrapped girl against his chest before standing and moving away from the boulder. His steps were slow as he walked back to the house and, hugging Angela tightly as he cradled her to his chest, he silently promised the sleeping girl that he and his family would protect her.

"Do you have anything to help her sleep, to keep her pain away?" Jasper asked Carlisle as he carried Angela into his office. "I've been blocking her migraine for a while now, but its growing stronger than I fear I'm able to manage and I don't want to let it go without her having something else to keep the pain away."

"How strong is it?" Carlisle asked, keeping his voice as low as Jasper's so as not to wake the girl sleeping in his arms.

"If I were human," he said, looking down at Angela to make certain she was still sleeping. "I'd be unconscious."

Preparing a syringe with enough morphine to take away her pain and help her sleep, Carlisle injected the drug into her arm and nodded to Jasper. He released his hold over her migraine as slowly as possible, waiting and monitoring her as the morphine took effect. She didn't wake once during the invisible transfer and he was thankful to be free of the deep throbbing that controlling her pain had caused him. She felt completely exhausted in his arms and Jasper couldn't help wondering just how long it had been since she was last able to sleep peacefully without the pain of a migraine waking her.

Jasper walked with her cradled in his arms, carrying her upstairs. He knew that he should put her down in the guest room and leave her to sleep, but he couldn't bring himself to let her go. Turning and walking into the bedroom he shared with Alice, he found her to be standing by her side of the bed, the covers pulled back and a double stacked row of pillows lining the entire head of the bed. She had known what he wanted, what he planned for as she always had. Moving to his side of the bed and kneeling down with one knee on the mattress, Jasper laid Angela down in the middle of the bed and kicked his shoes off.

Alice handed him a pair of cerulean silk sleep pants and matching button down shirt, before she carefully removed the blanket from around Angela and slipped into the bed wearing a black knee-length negligee. Vampires didn't sleep; they had no need for it, but that didn't mean that they didn't enjoy wearing sleepwear and staying in bed. Climbing into bed once he had changed, Jasper turned on his side and wrapped Angela in his arms, Alice tucked tightly against her back. Closing his eyes and laying motionless, he held them both and knew that sooner or later he would need to tell the others about Angela's stalker.

**:::::**

"_What?_" Edward fairly snarled when Jasper stepped into the library where he, Rosalie and their adoptive parents were currently standing.

"Yes," Jasper said with a sigh and closed the door. "Alice and Emmett are with Angela right now. She wanted to go see a lecture that's being held at the community theatre and they went with her."

"Wait," Rosalie said, frustrated that Edward had gone from calm to enraged in the blink of an eye without any idea as to the reason. "What the hell's going on?"

"It seems as though Angela has a stalker," Jasper said as he looked at the MRI films hung on the lighted board in front of them. "That's what had her so upset last night. Her migraine had flared again, that's what woke her, but she received three texts from an unknown number."

Jasper spent the next thirty minutes telling his family what he knew about the notes Angela had been receiving and why she hadn't spoken up sooner. Shaking his head and admitting his ignorance when asked if he had any idea who the stalker might be, the southern vampire looked back toward the door. They weren't close enough for Edward to hear their thoughts yet, but Jasper could feel Angela's migraine like it was some kind of homing beacon. Looking back to find Edward staring at him with wide eyes and radiating disbelief, he nodded.

"Is her pain always that intense?" Edward asked Jasper.

Carlisle's head snapped to the side, his attention riveted on Jasper. "You can feel her pain, from here? How far away is she?" he asked both curious and concerned.

"If I had to guess, I'd say at least a mile, maybe two."

"Hello, Alice," they all turned their attention on Esme, the woman speaking into her cell phone. "No, everything's fine here, I was wondering though…Yes, that's right…you are? Really? Ok, thank you. Make sure she enjoys herself."

Esme dropped her phone back into her pocket and looked at each one of them in turn. "She's with them at Bella's house. The lecture ended about fifteen minutes ago."

"How strong is the pain you're able to feel from her?" Carlisle asked Jasper and watched as his adopted son frowned.

"It's almost more of an annoying throbbing then any real pain right now," Jasper said after a moment. "The closer she gets though, the stronger it will become."

"Are you actively searching for her?" he asked, writing notes down on a legal pad that he'd been using for notations while studying her MRIs.

"No. I don't have to search for her. Her pain is…it's incredibly intense and always present, but more than that…the way it grows and fades with her proximity, is reminiscent of a homing beacon. If we didn't know where she was right now, I could find her based on her pain."

Rosalie looked at him in shock. "That's as disturbing as it is worrisome. Jasper, how much pain is she in?"

"Edward and Carlisle can tell you that first night when she was here and I had come back from hunting, her pain sent me to my knees."

Esme's eyes widened and Rosalie cursed. Neither one of them had been told about Jasper's reaction to Angela's migraine; this was the first time that they were hearing an accurate description of the pain she felt. Shaking her head in disbelief and anger, Rosalie turned on Jasper, her expression tense.

"That first night, she had a flare up of her migraine, but wouldn't take anything for it because she'd already taken something before leaving her house. She said…she said that comparatively it wasn't that bad." Rosalie shook her head. "Her pain seemed to disappear after a while so I believed her."

"That was me," Jasper told her, surprising them all. "I've found that I can put up a barrier of sorts around her migraine. I can keep her from feeling it."

"So then that was just a bad migraine, one of her worst ones?" the blonde asked and looked between her adoptive brother and Carlisle.

"No," Jasper crossed his arms over his chest and looked at the floor, sighing before looking back at Rosalie. "That was a pretty constant state of pain for her. Sometimes it lessens, but more often than not, it gets worse. I've been monitoring her pretty closely since then. Blocking her pain when it flares, easing it when the migraine meds don't work."

"How often do you need to do that?" Carlisle asked in full doctor mode.

"That first night and most of the next day… Yesterday, it was bad, but she didn't seem bothered by it. This morning I was fine and then about two hours ago I was ready to start begging you two to take me out of here again."

"What stopped you?" Carlisle asked curiously and looked up from the notes he was making. "Were you able to adjust to her pain?"

Jasper shook his head. "I followed her in here, though don't ask me why," he said, the expression on his face clearly stating he thought himself stupid for doing so. "She took two pills and the pain was almost gone within about twenty minutes."

"Two?" Carlisle asked with a frown. "Do you know which ones?"

Jasper moved to the table that held Angela's prescription bottles and tossed the two he'd seen her take to Carlisle. Curling his lips inward to press against his teeth, Carlisle released a heavy breath through his nose and jotted down the medications. The girl was playing chemist, doing whatever she could to abate the pain and if she wasn't careful there could be dire consequences.

"Like what?" Edward asked. "Which ones did she mix?" he asked, his father's thoughts too fragmented to follow readily.

"Dexamethasone Hydrocodone and Imitrex." Carlisle read the labels. "Mixing any of the medications, especially these two has the possibility of causing stroke, seizure, ruptured blood vessels – "

"All the side effects of the migraine itself," Rosalie cut in.

"Heart attack," he continued, his reproachful gaze answering her interruption, "liver or kidney damage, brain damage or even death."

"Rosalie!" Esme called out disapprovingly when the blonde girl fairly growled as she paced. "What has you so upset? Angela's migraines, or something else? Are you angry that she's here?"

"No!" Rosalie shouted and Edward frowned.

All he could read from his sister was detailed information over taking apart and reassembling the engine for a 1965 Ford Fairlane. He hated it when she blocked him, especially when she was like this, edgy and temperamental. Looking at his brother, Jasper's reading of her emotions telling him that she wanted to run, or break something had him on edge.

"What's your problem?" Edward finally asked, frustrated with his sister's mood.

"Something Angela said, the reactions she's had to Esme. I can't…I can't say anything until I know for sure," she finally said, her pacing coming to a stop. "But I've seen her reactions before. Let me talk to her a bit more. I need to know if my suspicions are accurate before I say anything. I don't want to be wrong about this."

"Rosalie," Esme said, her voice sounding as though someone had punched her in the stomach.

The only reactions that Esme could think Rosalie was referring to as familiar would be from something both she and her adoptive daughter had experienced. For her it was at the hands of her abusive human ex-husband, for Rosalie it had been much worse.

"No, not that," she was quick to assure her adoptive mother, knowing what it was that she was thinking. "Not that."

**:::::**

"Chief Swan," Angela asked, following him into the kitchen while Alice and Emmett talked with Bella. "I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions. I'm doing an article for the school newspaper."

"Sure, Angela," Charlie said and waved to the empty chair across the table from him as he sat down. "What's your article about?"

"Stalkers and how to recognize if you have one," she said and saw his surprise. "High school seems to be the beginning of secret admirers and people wanting to let you know their interest without revealing their identity. How do you tell the difference between someone who's shy about admitting their feelings in person versus someone who could be a potential danger?"

Taking in a deep breath and nodding silently, Charlie took a drink from his can of beer. Picking up his tools and cleaning the barrel of his service revolver, he pursed his lips.

"It's not always easy to tell the difference at first. Most of the time, the stalker is male and the victim is female," he said with a thoughtful frown. "More than half of the time, the stalker is an old lover, or someone close to the victim who imagines they had an intimate relationship, when in reality, the victim may have only met the stalker in passing – like say a coworker or classmate. The person is physically close to you in some manner even though you may not have had much if any contact with them."

He watched her jot down notes and nod. Her brow furrowed at times and he had been able to tell from her mannerisms that she seemed to be looking around her more often than a person normally did. He couldn't help wondering if the information was truly for an article, or for her.

"Sometimes, and this tends to be pretty rare but can be infinitely more dangerous, the stalker isn't in love with their victim, but actually hates them. For these kinds of stalkers, the victim may have met their stalker only once and had no other contact with them. Think of it like bumping into someone on the street, you've never met them before, more than likely will never see them again, but it can be something as little as that that will set them off."

"Stuff that I've read online says that stalkers can have personal or intimate information on their victim. How do they get it?" she asked and he swore he saw her hand tremble.

"Any number of ways; looking through their mail or garbage, watching through the victim's windows or hacking into their computer, sometimes they can even have an accomplice."

"An accomplice?" she asked, looking decidedly unsettled.

"Sure," he said watching her closely, gauging her reactions as he wiped down his unloaded gun. "Kind of like a wingman or woman. They'll gain the trust of one of the victim's friends, usually someone that seems pretty close to the person. They usually ask questions pertaining to romantic situations. Ok, to make this explanation a little bit easier, let's say you have a stalker," he hypothesized and watched her eyes flare wide for a moment before she masked her surprise. "Now, let's say they want to get to know more about you without making it too obvious. For you, they would probably go up to Bells or, what's her name, Jessica. Maybe even a guy you're friends with. They'll ask casual questions at first, something that seems fairly benign. What flowers do you like? What books do you read? Even something as personal as what doctor you see, but they'll ask those questions in such a way that they seem perfectly innocent given the context of the situation or conversation."

"So you mean that I could be telling my stalker something like that without even realizing it?" she asked, her voice raised a pitch.

Charlie saw Emmett's large frame fill the open doorway, his arms crossed over his chest as he looked at Angela. He could see the worry etched on the young man's face and wondered if his suspicions were correct. He was very rarely wrong when it came to reading people.

"It's possible. A stalker, for the most part, will gain their information about their victim by following them, lurking outside their homes or places of work. More often than not, this is the pattern a person might see: a letter or note once a week, slowly gaining in frequency until its one note or several per day. Then they usually escalate to phone calls where no one's on the other line, most victims dismiss those calls, thinking them to be pranks or wrong numbers. Typically the next step is the home visit. You'll come home to find your door unlocked, even though your certain you locked it, but nothing will be moved, missing or broken. Sometimes you'll find a window open if it's a house or first floor apartment."

Emmett was watching Angela's reactions as closely as Charlie was, both men suspicious of the same thing. He didn't like the idea one bit that Angela was being hunted –stalked – as humans like to call it. Dress it up anyway you like it, the actions still amounted to one person being hunted by another. The difference was, if it were one of his kind, Angela would be dead sooner rather than later.

"Is that as far as it goes? The notes, the prank calls and finding your door unlocked?" Angela asked a tremor in her voice.

"No, Angela, that's just the beginning." Charlie said and nodded Emmett over when she looked down at her note pad. "If the victim lives in an apartment with a common laundry, typically they'll be the ones to see articles of clothing go missing first."

"And if they live in a house?" she asked and visibly relaxed when Emmett rested his hand on her back.

"If the victim lives in a house, especially if they're living alone, they may have clothing going missing for days or even weeks, but not notice because they think they lost it somewhere inside the house. Next step up from that, the victim may find notes on their bed or even in their dressers. Some stalkers have been reported to get territorial and have killed their victim's pets because the animals are touching what the stalker considers to be theirs."

Angela didn't have any pets, but tensed all the same. Feeling Emmett's hand rub gently over her back she looked up at him and caught his worried stare. Shaking her head to tell him that nothing was wrong, he answered her with a disbelieving arch of his dark brow. Turning back to her notepad, Angela froze. She didn't realize that she'd been listing the steps that a stalker took and making checkmarks next to the things that she had had happen. Notes, check. Prank calls, check. Missing articles of clothes, check. Thinking you see someone outside your window at night, check. Finding your door unlocked, even though you know you locked it, check.

She didn't look up from her paper as she voiced her next question, Emmett moving to squat by her side. She was still, too still for a human and her heart beat was rapidly accelerating. He knew that Charlie, being human, wouldn't be able to smell her rising fear, but he was certain Bella's father could sense it.

"What about…things missing? Not, not clothes," Angela said quickly, avoiding Emmett's concerned gaze. "But like…books or movies or," she paused and took a deep breath hoping to calm herself, "jewelry?"

Charlie nodded. "Yeah, most definitely. Home movies or feature films?" he asked as an afterthought.

"Feature films," Angela said and without thinking added, "missing from the DVD player, or computer."

"Angela."

"Half pint."

Charlie and Emmett spoke at the same time, their voices holding matching notes of concern. Biting her lips, she turned her head to look at Emmett and he raised his hand to cup her cheek. He could see the fear and exhaustion in her eyes and he couldn't help wondering how long she'd been trying to deal with this on her own.

"How long?" he asked gently, his eyes telling her she couldn't hide the truth from him.

"I don't know," she shrugged, her voice barely above a whisper. "I didn't pay a whole lot of attention until recently. Remember that note in my locker, back when we first started working together? I always thought it was Ben trying to be cheesy and romantic – and failing."

Emmett's eyes searched hers and he seemed to have decided something. Nodding to Chief Swan, he looked to up see Alice standing in the doorway, Bella at her side. Standing up and offering a hand to Angela, he helped her to her feet.

"Esme's expecting us all for dinner," Emmett said and looked at his watch. "We need to get going or we're going to be late."

"Thanks for talking with me Chief Swan," Angela said.

"Angela, before you go," Charlie said as he stood and followed the teens through the house, "do your parents know about this?"

"They're away on business," she said softly, trying to hide the fear and loneliness she felt.

"She's staying with us, Charlie," Alice told the Chief and watched him nod.

"Good, good," he nodded. "Emmett, can I talk to you for a moment?"

Waiting until the girls had left for Emmett's Jeep sitting in the driveway; he turned to the hulking teen and leveled him with a serious look.

"I haven't spent that much time with Angela, but from what I've seen she's a lot like Bells," he told Emmett. "She'll try to brush off what's happening so as not to concern anyone. Keep a close eye on her and call me if anything happens."

"Will do, Chief Swan," Emmett said and turned to walk out the door.

"Thank you," Charlie said and Emmett shook his head in confusion. "Bells said you've always protected her and been a big brother to her."

"It's what I do."


	7. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

Carlisle nodded his thanks to the woman behind the counter and took the stack of manila envelopes from her. None of them were small and all were accompanied by large, flat MRI and CAT scan films in separate paper envelopes. With permission from Angela, he had spent the past week calling around to hospitals in Seattle, Olympia, Port Angeles, Port Townsend and even Tacoma in his quest to collect the girl's most complete medical file. He couldn't believe the lengths that her parents had gone to in their attempt to prove that Angela was faking her migraines. The doctors' appointments and testing alone must've cost them well into the hundreds of thousands of dollars, not to mention the time spent traveling. Angela had only told him about three of the hospitals and he had to wonder just how much of that time she remembered.

"Doing a case study, Doctor C?" a friendly black orderly named Jackson asked.

"Not quite, Jackson," Carlisle said as he readjusted the stack of files and scans. "How are Olivia and Michael?"

"Aw, they're doing real good. Olivia's got her hands full; Michael's become fascinated with the question 'why' and asks it every single chance he gets."

Carlisle chuckled lightly and smiled at the woman in question as she walked down the hall toward them, their three year old in hand. She was a beautiful Puerto Rican woman, her swollen middle evidence of her six month pregnancy. As soon as Michael looked up and saw Carlisle, the three year old child let go of his mother's hand and made a bouncing run for the blond haired doctor. Chuckling at the youthful enthusiasm, Carlisle greeted the child and shook his small hand.

"Everything alright, 'Liv?" Jackson asked his wife, his hand on her protruding stomach.

"I could use a bit more energy and about four more arms, but I'm good. Your son has a question for you," she said with an amused look in her eyes.

"Oh? What's your question, little man?" Jackson asked his bouncing son.

"Weeeellll," he stretched the word out as he rocked back and forth on his heels. "Mommy says that she's pregnant and that means there's a baby in her belly, right?" the three year old asked, his brows frowned in a serious expression as though he had been trying to figure out the answer to his question on his own.

"That's right, son," Jackson said.

Carlisle raised a fisted hand to his mouth, covering his smile as he had a very good idea as to just where this conversation was going. Laughing silently to himself, he knew that if they were a human family, Esme would've done the very same thing that Olivia was doing. He watched the child cross his arms over his chest and stomp his foot as though he couldn't understand why the answer was escaping him. Michael pointed a stubby finger at his mother's belly and looked at his father with a stern expression.

"How'd it get in there?!"

Carlisle had to clench his jaw to keep from laughing out loud and shook his head. Only a child could ask such a question with that kind of mulish expression and be completely serious in their confusion. Thinking that Esme would adore this story, he was again hard pressed not to laugh when the child continued in his line of inquiry, his father looking distinctly uncomfortable.

"Mama said that you put the baby in her tummy, but how?"

"Aw, geez, 'Liv. Couldn't you have just told him it was a stork?"

Carlisle turned and slipped quietly away, knowing that if he didn't he would soon be rolling with laughter. It was an innocent question, and always brought amusing answers from the parents, but this child wanted to know the how-to of it and Carlisle knew that there was no way that he could stay for that. He shook his head in amusement, smiling as he entered his office in the hospital and put the mailed medical files with Angela's file from Forks Hospital into his briefcase. He would've gladly given the clinical explanation had Michael been older, but to a three year old the answer of 'where do babies come from' was something that he was always too happy to let their parents figure out.

A piece of paper slipped out from one of the envelopes, fluttering to the floor and Carlisle bent down to retrieve it. Frowning at the unprofessional handwritten assessment of Angela's condition, he realized quickly that it had been written by one of her parents. He had to read the note a second time before he was able to bring himself to believe what was written there. The words were uncaring and more than a bit cruel in his estimation.

_It is of my opinion that Angela Weber, age 11, has indeed been falsifying her condition for the past two years in a ploy to get attention. After play-acting of passing out in the downtown Seattle mall, she was rushed to the Emergency Room by security and mall staff. Her mother was unable to wake her, and the attending doctor said he had to administer a stimulant to rouse the child. _

The child? Carlisle still couldn't understand that line. Angela was their daughter, how could they refer to her as 'the child'? And two years? That meant that Angela had been suffering from migraines since she was at least nine. It was almost unheard of for one so young to experience migraines of her intensity.

_She told the doctor of her 'migraines' and they requested to have both an MRI and CAT scan performed in efforts to rule out head trauma or tumors. Mrs. Weber and I agreed that the scans would be a way to prove to the child once and for all that she was imagining her headaches. As we were waiting for Angela's films to be developed and for the doctor's assessment, the child once again complained of a headache. In order to prove that she was falsifying her pain, I took the doctor's pen light and held her eyes open to shine the light directly in her eyes. _

Clenching his jaw and nearly growling with anger over that bit of information, Carlisle had to loosen his hold on the paper that he was very close to shredding in his steel grip.

_A small amount of blood came from her nose shortly before she passed out again and the doctor refused to let us see her again until he was able to treat her pain. Her reactions aside, it is still our belief that the child is falsifying her migraines. _

_Sincerely,_

_Rev. Weber _

He understood now why each of the doctors had insisted that Angela keep copies of the MRI and CAT scans that had been performed over the years. It was undeniable medical proof of her migraines. She was eleven when her father had shined the pen light in her eyes during a very severe migraine. That amount of pain would've been pure torture for a child so young, but to then shine the bright light directly into her eyes? In his opinion that action taken by a belligerent parent was child abuse, not that anyone would ever be able to prove that it was such.

The thought of harming any living creature was abhorrent to Carlisle, but at that moment as he stood in his office, all he could think about was the desire to rip her father apart. His hands were clenched in tight fists at his sides and as he took in a deep calming breath, the only thing he wanted to do at that moment was wrap Angela in his arms and promise her his and his family's love and protection. Releasing a sigh as he calmed completely and secured the latches on his briefcase, Carlisle grasped the handles of his medical bag and left his office.

Esme had insisted that Angela stay with them as long as she wanted, even going so far as to encourage Alice and Rosalie to take Angela shopping during their girl's weekend so that she would have clothes in the guest bedroom for her to wear throughout the week. Smiling as he remembered her initial reluctance over someone spending that kind of money on her, Carlisle frowned. Edward had pulled both he and Esme aside after the girls had left for their shopping trip, and talked with them, his revelation still bothered Carlisle.

_Edward frowned, his brows pulling together in a mixture of seriousness and confused upset. Motioning for Carlisle and Esme to sit down on the sofa in the doctor's office, Edward had paced for a few moments before speaking._

"_She doesn't understand," the bronze-haired vampire said after a moment, the muscle in his jaw ticking as he ground his teeth together. "She doesn't know how to respond to any of it. When you made breakfast for her this morning," he said turning to Esme, "she started sifting through her memories, there wasn't a single one in which her mother made her something other than a bowl of cold cereal or a single piece of toast, and the kindness you both treat her with…The interest that you both have in her future, her likes and dislikes and the concern that you show her as well as the willingness to help her with her migraines, the unquestioning belief that you have in her pain…" his voice trailed off as he looked at Carlisle. "She doesn't understand why you two – why we all – treat her with such care when her own parents don't. From her thoughts over the past few days…I don't think her parents are home with her. I get the impression that they're nowhere near Forks even." _

_Esme turned to Carlisle, her topaz eyes wide, her face sad and resolute. Edward nodded at the thoughts he read from both Carlisle and Esme, answering them with a nod of his own before speaking once again._

"_I think we should, too," he affirmed, leaning back against Carlisle's wooden desk. "Emmett's already claimed her in his thoughts as another sister, Alice has seen her with us and as one of us, even Rosalie's accepted her. Though, I believe that it has more to do with the fact that Rosalie was able to get Angela to open up a bit about her parents. Rosalie's been blocking me though with thoughts of engine reconstructions and car facts, so I have no idea what exactly it was that they discussed."_

"_These migraines are terrifying her," Jasper said from the doorway before stepping into the office and joining the conversation. "Each time the pain flares there's a very sudden and sharp rise in fear from her. What I don't understand," he said as he frowned at the floor and then at Carlisle, "is her near refusal to show any outward sign of pain beyond pinching her nose or rubbing her forehead. I don't understand her fear, either. She said that she's been dealing with these migraines for years, but if that's the case, why would they frighten her so much?"_

"_We don't know when she'll be open to talking about her parents, or her home life," Esme said after a long moment of silence. "But the very least we can do is keep a room for her here. Offer her a safe place to go to when she needs it and a family who loves her. She shouldn't have to deal with pain like this on her own. She needs us, Carlisle."_

Unlocking and starting his Mercedes with the remote on his key chain, Carlisle set his briefcase and medical bag on the passenger seat as he slipped behind the wheel and pulled out of his parking space. She'd been given nine different prescriptions for migraine pain in the past four and a half years. Two medications in that time would be considered normal, but nine? Her migraines were continuously increasing in intensity and he hoped that there was a way for him to help her. He had contacted Dr. Farhid Ramanajan, a neurosurgeon specializing in migraines and migraine treatment that worked out of New York City. He was two years into a five year clinical study to better understand severe migraines, their immediate and long term effects as well as better treatment. It was his hope that this doctor might know something that he himself had overlooked or not thought of.

Answering his ringing cell phone, Carlisle pulled into the garage attached to his house and turned off his car. Bella was on the line and sounded scared out of her mind.

"Calm down, Bella," Carlisle said, keeping his voice low and soothing. "Tell me again, what's wrong?"

"It's Angela, we were walking through the woods and she just passed out! I can't get her to wake up and I know this sounds impossible, but I swear she's crying blood."

"Blood vessels in her tear ducts have ruptured," he said to himself, Bella hearing his words. "Where are you?"

Looking up to see Emmett and Edward standing near his car, he watched as Edward nodded at the reply he could hear from Bella before disappearing with Emmett hot on his heels. He knew they would get to the girls faster on foot and gathered his briefcase and medical bag before exiting the car, his phone still held to his ear.

"Emmett and Edward are coming Bella, they'll be there soon. Do you know if Angela took anything for her migraine?"

Walking into the house and back through the library, he set his briefcase down on the oak table and nodded his thanks to Rosalie and Esme who took the medical films from his hands and began hanging them on the lighted boards, being certain to keep the scans in chronological order.

"No, that's just it," Bella said, and he heard Emmett's voice in the background as he talked to Edward. "She said that she wasn't having any pain, but then she just collapsed."

"_We'll be home soon, Carlisle."_ Edward's voice sounded from the background of the call and he put his cell phone down when the call disconnected. Turning at the sound of Rosalie's question and looking over the scans, he felt his heart rise in his throat as he stood motionless. Alice and Jasper were off hunting, though knowing Alice she would be returning post haste, the events of the past few minutes would not go unnoticed to his visionary daughter.

"Carlisle?" Rosalie pulled him from his stupor. "These don't look good."

"They're not good at all," he said moving closer and looking at each scan in turn once more. "Her migraines are killing her, literally killing her."

**:::::**

The first thing that broke through the haze of pain in her mind was that she was lying on something soft. She couldn't open her eyes; even just the light shining on and slipping through her eyelids was too much to bear. Her back ached and she didn't know why. Something warm and wet was slipping down her cheeks and it took her a moment to realize that she was crying. The pained whimpering she was hearing, that was coming from her, wasn't it? A cool touch brushed against her cheek, a soft feminine voice spoke to her but she couldn't understand the words.

Esme looked down at the girl lying in the bed, her pained whimpers breaking her heart. Sitting next to her hip on the bed she brushed the backs of her fingers down Angela's cheek and looked up at Carlisle, her eyes begging him to do something. Shaking his head, he moved to Esme's side and picked up Angela's wrist, checking her pulse as he stared down at her face. The tears she cried were still tinted pink with the broken blood vessels clogging her tear ducts. At least she was awake or somewhat near awake. Emmett had sped through the house with Angela cradled in his arms almost three hours ago and her tears now were the first response he'd gotten from her since that time.

"She can't understand you," Edward told Esme from where he stood just inside the room. "The pain she's in is blocking everything else. Even her thoughts are hard to discern right now."

"What's going on?"

Jasper's voice was heard before he was seen and seconds after he opened his talent to Angela as he entered the room, he fell. He would've hit his knees if it hadn't been for Edward catching his arm and helping him regain his balance. His bright gold eyes were wide and disbelieving as he stared at the girl lying in the bed. Pain brighter than fire, harsher than acid filled his head and all he could think was how much he wanted to make it stop. He was panting harshly, taking in breath he didn't need and groaning against the burning stabbing pain that wasn't his. Carlisle was by his side, his hands on both him and Edward, his brother able to feel Angela's pain through the mix of their talents.

"Focus, Jasper," Carlisle said, his voice somehow stern and soothing at the same time.

"Angela needs you, Jasper," Alice's sweet voice broke through the haze of pain, her hands framing his face allowing him to find his balance. "That's it, my love. Focus on me, focus on my voice."

His jaw moved, he tried to speak, but no words would come forth. He felt Alice kiss his lips, felt her calming touch on his face, her fingers smoothing over the lines of his jaw and cheeks. Slowly, with the grace of a new blossom opening in the spring, he was able to find his balance, regain his control. Releasing a long, slow breath he looked into Alice's eyes and watched her nod silently to what he was thinking. Wrapping her arms around his waist and holding onto her husband, her eternal love, Alice rested her cheek against his chest as he wrapped his arms around her shoulders and held her tightly to him.

Jasper closed his eyes and slowly, with caution, opened his mind and let Angela's pain flow through him. Her pain was more intense by far than any of her previous migraines and he wasn't sure how effective he would be in blocking her pain this time. Letting his talent flow back along the same path as her pain was flowing through to him, he wrapped his talent around her migraine. Focusing, panting as his arms tightened around Alice, he began constructing a barrier between Angela's pain and her conscious mind. It took all of his control to block her pain from her. Vampires didn't need to sleep, but he could feel his energy draining away with the force of a receding tide. Strong arms on his shoulders guided both him and Alice to the large overstuffed chair by the window. He sat down heavily, pulling Alice into his lap and burying his face into the curve of her neck as he kept up his efforts to block Angela's pain.

Carlisle sat Angela up, holding her against his chest as Esme moved to sit behind her on the bed, her back against the headboard. Guiding Angela to lean back against the matriarch of their family, Carlisle waited until the girl was awake enough to hold the small cup of water before handing her the Treximet tablet. He spoke to her gently, his words slow and soothing as he watched her eyes blink slowly. Tucking her hair behind her ear and leaning forward to press a fatherly kiss to her brow Carlisle began the story of his family.

Angela looked at Carlisle, biting her lip and her brow furrowing as she tried to understand. How was it possible that vampires were real? Didn't that fly in the face of everything rational and evolutionary? A strange thought popped into her mind, an image of Carlisle in a black cape lined with red satin and a high pointed collar. Comical looking fangs hung down over his bottom lip and a blood mustache stained his top lip. She could see a wine glass filled with blood in his hand as the words 'Blood. Does a body good.' appeared in front of him. Looking up at the sound of Edward's laughter, she found the normally brooding teen to be covering his mouth with one hand, his arm wrapped around Bella's shoulders as he stood next to Emmett and struggled to hold his balance against his rising amusement.

"Edward can read thoughts," Carlisle explained and watched Angela's eyes widen as a blush painted her pale cheeks. "Jasper," he said looking back at the blond vampire who was seated in the corner by the window and curled around Alice. "Can influence and control emotions and, as we've most recently discovered, can aid in relieving physical pain."

"My migraines," Angela whispered, horrified that he was feeling her pain and taking it into himself.

_Oh God, I'm torturing him._ She thought, desperately wishing she could undo the pain she was causing him.

"We only wish to help," Edward said as he stepped up to her side and knelt beside the bed. "Jasper always has the option, the choice, to say no and he hasn't."

"Alice," Carlisle said with a smile and said nothing further, knowing his daughter's tendency to enjoy telling of her own talent.

"Can see into the future," the pixie haired girl sitting in Jasper's lap said without missing a beat. "I can see when a decision has been made and how it affects future events."

"Decisions?" Angela questioned, watching as Jasper's head raised and he took in a deep calming breath. "Are you ok?" she asked the southern vampire, watching as Alice hopped off his lap and he moved to sit by her side opposite Carlisle. "I'm so sorry."

"Don't be," he told her giving her a lopsided smile and cupping her cheek. "If it's in my power to help you, I'm happy to do it. I don't know how you've survived with pain like that."

"I get migraines like this about once a month. At least I have for the past year now. Usually I'm home alone when it happens."

"Home alone?" Esme questioned from behind her, her voice alarmed.

"It's fine, really," Angela said without thinking about how her answer would sound. "Thankfully they tend to hit on a weekend or at a time when I don't have to worry about school. Pass out on Friday, wake up on Monday."

A growl sounded from near the door and all heads turned to see Rosalie standing in the entryway, her expression murderous. In truth, Angela hadn't spoken to her that much about her parents except to say that they took frequent business trips, but from the few things she had let slip and the post cards that she had found almost a month ago, Rosalie understood more than she wanted to. The knowledge of what she had pieced together enraged her and she wanted to hunt them down as much as she had Royce and his friends.

"Those people who call themselves your parents just abandoned you, didn't they?" Rosalie fairly snarled. "They thought you were in their way or they just didn't want to deal with your migraines so they just left. You said they were out of town, but they've been gone a lot longer than you told me, haven't they?"

Angela shrugged, avoiding any and all eye contact, her discomfort with the current topic clear to everyone. When she spoke, her voice was soft and hesitant, the self recrimination clear in her tone.

"They both wanted the social acceptance of having a child, but I don't think either one of them wanted the responsibility that came with it. My dad's a minister and my mom's a travel writer. Before I was born, they spent most of their time traveling around the world together. Then I came along and… well, that kind of traveling wasn't really an option with a baby."

The room was silent and at that moment all Angela wanted to do was run away. She was so afraid of this, of their rejection. She didn't want to see or hear their dismissal too. Her fear of their responses to her revelation coupled with her desire to run made her tremble and she felt Esme's arms tighten around her, her warm soft voice speaking gentle words of love and comfort to her. When the woman told her, promised Angela that she was part of their family, that she had a home with them if she wanted it, the floodgates opened.

Covering her face with her hands she sobbed brokenly, her heart aching with the need to understand why her parents didn't want her and why the Cullens did. The pain from seventeen years of rejection clawed its way to the surface and boiled over in the form of tears and gut wrenching sobs that refused to be quieted. Through her haze of pain and loneliness a wave of bright warmth made its way to her. She felt an incredible array of love, an impossible cocoon of familial bonding and acceptance from those around her. At first it didn't make sense that she would feel such things, and then she remembered what Carlisle had told her about Jasper.

Sniffling and looking up, Angela's eyes found Jasper and she reached out to him. Accepting her hand in both of his, the blond leaned toward her and placed a gentle kiss on her damp cheek. He had taken away her pain and now he was letting her feel the love and acceptance that he and his family felt for her. If the Cullens were vampires than she never wanted to be near another human; they weren't creatures of darkness, they were angels. They had brought her out of the darkness of the abandonment and loneliness she felt. They had taken her in and shown her what love was, what the word 'family' meant. They were good and kind and beautiful people and it was only by the grace of a God she had never believed in that she was able to meet them.

Edward sat back on his heels looking up at Angela in awe. He had always known that Bella had never thought they were evil or tainted, but to see his family through Angela's eyes… It was as though he had always viewed what they were through the lens of a Picasso painting distorted and dark, but to her, to her his family held the enigmatic beauty of Monet or Michelangelo. Huffing a short entranced breath of laughter, he heard nicknames go through her mind as she looked at each one of them in turn. Carlisle was The Healer. Esme was The Mother. He was The Reader and Bella was his Savior. Alice was The Seer, Jasper the Heart. Emmett was The Guardian and Rosalie…Rosalie was The Bitchy Big Sister. He laughed outright at that, smiling as Angela thought – quite correctly – that Rosalie could be your greatest ally or worst enemy, but rarely anything in between.

She had accepted them all. Without question, without thought or doubt, she had accepted them. She didn't think them evil or try to run screaming from the room. And her next thoughts humbled him beyond compare. In that moment he knew without a single doubt in his mind that Angela would lay down her life before ever allowing any harm to befall them. Rising up and leaning down over the human girl, Edward wrapped his arms around her shoulders and whispered into her ear.

"Thank you." His words were reverent and he kissed her hair before stepping back.

"You should get some rest," Carlisle said after Edward released her. "We'll have time to talk more later and answer any questions that you may have. But for now, you need your rest."

Slowly they each left, until it was just her and Esme. Slipping out from behind Angela and leaning the quickly tiring girl back to lie on the pillows; Esme turned to leave, but sat by her side instead when the girl caught her hand. Gently brushing her dark hair away from her face and onto the pillow, Esme waited for her to speak. Angela's lip was caught between her teeth, her eyes cast to the side and she knew that whatever she wanted to say, it was difficult for her to voice.

"Did you mean it?" Angela asked after a long moment.

"Mean what?" Esme asked, her voice gentle and kind as she brushed the backs of her fingers over the girl's warm cheek.

"That I…that I could be part of your family."

"Oh, Sweetheart," Esme cupped Angela's face in her palm and bent down to kiss her brow. Looking into the girl's eyes, she smiled. "You already are."

"You like classics, right?" Esme asked after a moment, and watched Angela nod, a thoughtful frown on the girl's face. "I'll be right back in just a moment," she promised Angela with a smile and disappeared from sight.

As promised, a short moment later Esme returned to her side and stretched out beside her on the large bed, sitting against the headboard. Smiling down at the curious look on Angela's face, she opened the black hardbound book in her hands, and turned to the first page of the story. Her voice was smooth and sweet, her cadence the hypnotic gentleness of a songbird as she read to Angela from The Secret Garden. The last thoughts that flowed through Angela's mind before she fell asleep were unknowingly spoken aloud, bringing the sting of tears to Esme's eyes, though none could ever fall.

"I'd give anything for you to be my mother."


	8. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

"It's just for one night and I'll be fine," Angela assured Jasper as she shook her head.

"Angela, it's not that we doubt your ability to care for yourself," Esme said as she stepped away from the stove. "We're just worried about you experiencing another migraine like you had two days ago, not to mention the stalker."

Angela shook her head, waves of confusion and disbelief pouring off of her, the emotions capturing Jasper's full attention. Edward, Rosalie and Alice had left shortly after Carlisle had told her the truth about them, the three needing to hunt. Jasper had been able to catch a mountain lion on his way back with Alice, his wife insisting that he would need the blood in order to help Angela as her vision showed her he would. He watched Angela bite her lip, frowning down at the quarter glass of orange juice that sat in front of her on the table.

"I just don't get it," she said after a long moment. "Why would anyone stalk me? It doesn't make any sense."

"I don't think it's supposed to make sense, Half Pint," Emmett said as he walked into the kitchen and set a new bottle of prescription medicine before her. "Carlisle asked me to bring these to you; he thinks they might help better than your current stuff. One of the night crew guys called in and Carlisle volunteered to take the shift," he told Esme as he sat down across the table from Angela. "He said he won't be off until around eight in the morning." Turning his attention back to Angela, he caught her curious frown. "What?"

"Doesn't he need to sleep?" she asked and was surprised by the soft chuckles that sounded from the three vampires in the room with her.

"Advantages of being one of our kind," Jasper said and winked at her. "We don't sleep."

"Not ever?" Angela asked and looked to Esme.

"Nope," Esme affirmed with a bright smile. "Endless energy, but we can and do, on occasion, lie down and close our eyes. It's more of a meditative state and can help us calm our thoughts to focus on just one thing. But no, we don't sleep."

Angela blinked at the revelation, her mind spinning with the possibilities. Never needing to sleep could have untold advantages. Stopping her current train of thought before she could be distracted from the matter at hand, she thought back to why she needed to go home. Mainly, she needed to get her computer, check the mail, and gather all of her other research material for the paper that she was writing with Jasper's help. She also needed one night alone just to process everything as her three day weekend with the Cullen family had turned into a ten day vacation of sorts. She also wanted to give Jasper a much needed break from her pain. She knew that he wanted to help her, but hated that he had to take on her pain to do so. She could barely stand it, but she didn't have any choice. She didn't understand how he could do so voluntarily.

"You're still going to go home, aren't you?" Emmett asked her, able to see the resolve in her face. When she nodded he motioned to her phone. "Let me see that thing, huh?" he asked and accepted the device from her.

Opening her contacts folder, he added his information in and then tossed the device to Jasper who did the same. The phone was then handed to Esme who input both her information with the home land line as well as a separate entry for Carlisle with both his personal cell number as well as the phone from his office at the hospital. Walking to the table, Esme handed the phone back to Angela and smiled.

"Now you have our information in there. I'm sure that once the others return from hunting they will input their information as well," Esme told her.

"It's just one night," Angela said with an amused shake of her head at their comforting show of protection.

"Perhaps so, but should anything happen, or if more notes turn up, I want you to call one of us immediately," she instructed the girl.

"Misses…um, Esme," Angela corrected herself and saw the woman smile with amusement as she nodded. "Should I… I have a box with the other notes and stuff. Should I bring that back with me?"

"Most definitely," Esme told her and hugged Angela when the girl stood. "Since Carlisle drove you over here, Emmett will take you home. When you come back over here tomorrow, we'll call Chief Swan over. He'll help us figure out how best to handle this stalker of yours. I must caution you though, he doesn't know about us, only Bella does."

"Oh? Oh, I wouldn't," Angela assured quickly with a shake of her head. "It's not my story to tell."

"Sweetie," Esme laughed. "I didn't say that because I thought you would say anything about us, I just wanted you to know is all."

"Oh, ok," she said after a moment and turned to Jasper. "Don't," she said softly when she felt him try to take away her pain as a new migraine built. "You need this break just as much as I do. I hate that I'm hurting you so much."

"You're not," he told her and sighed as he enfolded her in his arms. "I can always choose to block the pain from myself," he told her and she snorted in disbelief. "I _want_ to help you," he said and rubbed her back. "No one should ever have to be in that much pain."

"Thank you," she mumbled into his shoulder as she hugged him back, humbled by the entire family's depth of care and willingness to help her.

"We won't disappear on you," he promised her, his whispered voice was thick with the emotion he could feel from her making his southern drawl more pronounced.

A moment later, Esme and Jasper watched as she walked with Emmett out of the kitchen and heard the front door open and close as they left the house. Turning his attention on his adoptive mother, Jasper could feel her worry for the girl, her concern that Angela was in danger. He wanted to comfort her, to tell her that Angela would be alright, but he kept quiet. He felt the same concern. Part of him wanted to go over to her house, to watch over her and make certain that she would be alright, but he understood her need for space from his family even if it was only for a few hours. Even as she told them that she needed to go home and argued that she would be safe enough, Jasper could feel her reluctance and he didn't need his brother's talent to know that she was worried they would disappear on her.

"Jasper."

Turning his attention on Esme when she spoke his name, he waited for her to speak her thoughts. Soft lines of worry bent her lips into a frown, her topaz eyes darkened to a soft hazel. Clearing the table of the dishes and noticing that Angela had forgotten her prescription, Esme tucked the bottle into her pocket with the intention of returning it to the girl when she went to see Carlisle for his dinner break at the hospital. Remaining quiet as she gathered her thoughts while stacking the dishes in the dishwasher and turning it on, Esme turned around and leaned against the lip of the sink behind her.

"How is Angela doing?"

"Do you mean her migraines, or her emotions?" he asked after a moment as he considered her question.

"All of it," Esme said, taking in a deep breath, the smells of yeast and sugar reminding her of the bread dough rising in the oven.

Crossing his arms over his chest and looking down at the floor, Jasper frowned, his brow furrowing as he pursed his lips and thought over the past ten days. Things that he had felt before in the English Lit class he shared with Angela and in the lunch room when his family shared the table with Bella and Angela were beginning to make more sense. Though in truth, Jasper found himself a touch more confused by background emotions that were ever present in the girl. Gathering his thoughts as he took in a deep unneeded breath, he raised his head and looked at Esme.

"She's constantly in pain, and I don't just mean that she has a migraine once a day or something like that. From the moment she wakes up until she falls asleep, she is in pain. Mostly it feels like it's just a deep throbbing that she tries her level best to ignore, but a great deal of the time it's also the intense burning pain of her migraines." He began pacing, his face tense in thoughtful concentration. "She's also in emotional pain. I share a class with her and the past few months Alice and I have been joining the lunch table at school that Bella shares with Angela and her other human friends."

Jasper stopped pacing. Resting his hands on the island counter he studied the dark marble as he tried to think of how best to put his next thoughts into words that someone else would understand. Emotions weren't always so easily described, it was something that he knew all too well which was why at times, when members of his family were battling it out over one thing or another or as with Angela after Carlisle had spoken to her in regards to their family, he would simply open up the emotional lines. Looking up at Esme, he parted his lips and hoped that she would understand his next words.

"There was always this…undercurrent of emotion that I had thought was coming from the students around us. It wasn't until Carlisle brought Angela home and we spent all this time with her that I finally understood it was coming from her. She's lonely. Terribly lonely," he said looking into Esme's eyes. "But it also feels as though she's," he stopped and shook his head, his brow furrowing. "It feels like she's used to it. The emotion is always there and though there are times that it's worse than others, it feels as though the loneliness is a shroud of sorts. She also has moments of intense insecurity as though she's trying to measure up to some kind of expectation that she doesn't think she'll ever meet."

"But more than that," he said after a moment, "is the confusion, the sense of betrayal and the cautious hope. I can't tell you what she's thinking, that's Edward's territory, but I can guess." His eyebrow quirked as he stopped to take a breath, pausing for a moment as he gathered his thought. "The way she feels when she looks at you and Carlisle…the kindness, the gentleness and parental love you both show her…it confuses her. She's not certain how to respond to it and I can sense her fear that it won't last. It makes me think that she's never felt it before and that pisses me off. She wants to let herself bask in the affection you and Carlisle show her but she's so afraid…"

"What about the betrayal you mentioned?" Esme asked as the timer on the stove beeped and she took the bread dough out of the oven. "Can you tell where that is coming from?"

Sprinkling flour on the dark marble countertop, Esme poured the dough out of the bowl and punched it down gently. Folding it in half and turning it a quarter turn, she folded it again, repeating the process until she had made four folds. Gently shaping the dough into a rectangle, she lifted the dough and moved it to rest in a greased seventeen by twelve inch cake pan and used a pastry knife to cut deep vertical and horizontal lines throughout the dough spacing them evenly until there were twenty even buns. Covering the pan with a piece of cheesecloth, she set the timer for thirty minutes and turned back to Jasper who was once again staring at the countertop.

"I don't know, exactly," he said slowly as Esme cleaned the flour and dough residue from the marble surface. "It's not us, I can tell you that. It feels…removed."

"Removed?" she asked watching as he struggled for a way to make the emotions make sense to someone else.

Nodding distractedly and looking up, his eyes seeing nothing, his thoughts were turned inward. His talent was equal parts gift and curse, but the thing that made it the most difficult was when it came to explaining it. He had once told Alice that explaining emotion was like trying to describe the sunrise to a blind person, everyone views it a little bit differently and because you can't touch it, hold it or measure it, it's that much more enigmatic.

"The sense of betrayal she feels is directed at something else _someone_ else. It stems from the same place that her loneliness and confusion does, but without talking to her, without asking her directly…" Jasper shook his head. "I can't speak for her on this. I can't tell you the source. Only she can."

**:::::**

"I'll be fine you know," Angela told Emmett, her voice reasonable.

"Stay," his disembodied voice commanded her from the next room.

"Woof woof," Angela shot back, unable to be anything but amused as she watched him move around the downstairs.

She rolled her eyes, smiling as she shook her head. Standing with her back against the front door, her arms crossed beneath her breasts, Angela bit her lip. When Emmett had asked her if she needed her overnight bag or anything other than her purse and she had told him no, he had walked outside of the house with her and told her he was going to show her the fun side of life. She hadn't understood what he'd meant, but he had knelt down in the driveway and waited until she climbed onto his back. Catching her behind the knees and holding her on his back, he had told her to put her purse between her stomach and his back and hold onto his shoulders tightly. As soon as she complied with his request, he had chuckled almost dangerously and shot off deep into the forest running faster than she could comprehend.

After a few minutes she had adjusted to the surprise of the speed and had started laughing. She could never remember having such fun. He had run through the forests and trees all the way to her backyard and she had laughed the entire way. He made a slow circuit around the property of her house, refusing to let her down until he was certain that no one was lingering around the grounds. As soon as they had walked inside, he had set her down and insisted that she stay right where she was standing. He then proceeded to move from room to room like an FBI agent in a cop show inspecting the home for intruders or traps. She laughed softly as Rosalie's words came back to her.

"_There's one thing you have to understand about Emmett," Rosalie told Angela with an almost annoyed sounding sigh. "He has a very severe case of BBS."_

"_BBS?" the girl asked with a confused shake of her head._

"_Big Brother Syndrome." _

Angela looked down at her hands and shook her head. Big brothers protected younger sisters from school bullies, broken hearts, normal things. Vampire though he was, could Emmett or any of his family really protect her from a stalker. This person who was following her, sending her notes and texting her, they knew where she was, they knew what she looked like and even her class schedule. But not a single one of them knew who her stalker was. They didn't know what he looked like, what his name was or if he was even a he. The fear returned, the unsettled feeling of being watched and unsafe flooded through her making her feel as though ice was forming in her veins.

"All clear," Emmett announced, breaking her from her thoughts as he came jogging down the stairs. "You ok?" he asked as he approached her, seeing the unsettled expression on her face.

"I just don't get it," Angela said as she stepped away from the door and moved into the kitchen, Emmett following behind her. "Why would someone be stalking me?" she asked, jumping up to sit on the counter by the microwave. "I don't have any spurned lovers or disappointed exes. Ben was my first boyfriend and even he decided Jessica was more interesting. Why?" she asked him as she struggled against the irrational fear and sting of tears. "Chief Swan said that stalkers are normally spurned lovers."

"Not always," he cut in, leaning his elbow on the counter next to her and looking up at her. "Remember what else he said? Sometimes they're just crazy people who have imagined a relationship with someone. And by the way, Ben's a fool."

Angela shook her head and squeezed her eyes shut as she tried to deny the stinging of tears behind her eyes. All of this seemed so unreal, so crazy and unbelievable. Why would someone be stalking her? How had they found out the things about her that they'd written in the letters? Clenching her left hand into a fist to keep it from shaking, she suddenly felt sick. That letter she'd found in her text book on Friday…whoever it was had seen her in her bra and panties. Was this her fault? Had she done something to entice this person? She felt unclean.

"Ang?" Emmett called out to her, hearing her heart beating wildly in her chest, smelling the fear that had begun to color her scent and seeing the slight trembling that human eyes wouldn't. "Hey," he tapped the back of his hand against her thigh to get her attention. "Come back to me," he said and looked into her frightened eyes when she blinked at him.

Wrapping his large hands around her tiny waist and lifting her off the counter to stand her on her feet in front of him, Emmett enfolded her in his arms and held her to his chest. Shifting his weight from foot to foot, he rocked her gently and stroked her hair. What was she suddenly so scared of? What was she thinking about? Her hands fisted in the cloth at the back of his shirt and he tightened his arms around her, trying to let her know in any way he could that she was safe. She was his little sister and he'd be damned if he let anyone hurt her.

"Are you sure you want to stay here alone? We can just grab your stuff and go. You could leave a note for your parents if you need to."

His last comment made her laugh and cry at the same time. He didn't know, no one did and how could she tell them? How could she tell them that she wasn't good enough for her parents to want to stick around? In the past four, almost five years, she had seen her parents a collective total of three months. Just enough time for them to come home, change out the clothes in their suitcases and bags, deliver artifacts to their church or gather the donations kept from the parishioners and leave again. Each time they came home they barely spoke to her and if she made even one outward show of pain from her migraines her father would berate her for being weak and her mother would yell at her to stop faking headaches for attention. It hurt so much to be here, she hadn't realized how much of her pain the Cullens, especially Carlisle and Esme, had taken away.

Emmett didn't know what do or how to comfort the crying girl in his arms. He didn't understand her tears, didn't know where they were stemming from and so he just held her. He could feel her tears soak through his shirt and dropped his head to press his lips against her hair. He already knew her scent, but still he breathed in deeply, memorizing it. Flowers and honey, innocence and sunlight; she smelled like spring.

"We'll keep you safe, Angela," he promised her, his breath ruffling her hair. "We won't let anyone hurt you."

Bringing her hand up to her face to wipe away her drying tears, she took in a shaking breath. She didn't try to move from the circle of his arms, choosing instead to curl closer against his chest. He made her feel safe, protected.

"I know, big brother," she said, trying to lighten the heavy mood.

"Damn straight I'm your big brother," he said with a smile and pulled back, holding the tops of her arms and looking into her eyes. "You sure you want to stay here tonight?" he asked again.

Angela nodded and smiled. "I need to get things together here and kind of take everything in, you know?" she said. "Plus, Jasper really needs a break. I can barely handle the pain of my migraines, but I don't have a choice about that, he does. I feel like I'm torturing him, Emmett."

Rubbing his hands up and down her arms, he shook his head. "You're not torturing him. You let Jasper worry about Jasper, ok? He's tough, and he knows what he can and can't handle."

Dropping his hands from her arms, he straightened and looked over her head out the window. His instincts were telling him to stay, to guard her tonight, but she had asked for this time alone and he didn't want her to feel like his family wouldn't respect her need for privacy. He would make one last circuit of the house before he left her and call her before she bedded down for the night. That would have to do.

"You'll call me," he told her, the comment equal parts request and command. "Even if it's just a shadow you're jumping at or, I don't know, a spider. Just call if something scares you, ok? I'd rather come over here and find out it's nothing than to have you not call and get hurt."

Angela nodded, staring into his golden eyes and promised she would call. He pulled her in for another tight hug before releasing her and ruffling her hair to make her laugh. Leaving her standing in the kitchen, he made one more walk through of her house before saying goodbye and walking out the front door. Walking around her house outside and waving back at her when she tapped on the kitchen window, he made two circuits of her house. Nothing seemed out of place or suspicious, but something was still telling him not to go far. He knew if he stayed around the neighborhood he would look like a prowler, but there was a tall stand of hundred year old pines about a mile and a half back. He should be close enough to hear her if she screamed. Close enough to get to her in seconds if she called and even though he would be out of sight of her house, it would have to do.

**:::::**

Puffing her cheeks out and releasing a long breath, Angela pulled her hair back and twisted it up, securing it with a large butterfly clip to the back of her head. Walking through the house and gathering up the library books, computer print outs and note pads that were scattered across the coffee table in the living room, she carried them to her room to sort through later. Taking off her sneakers and leaving them in her room, she jogged back down stairs and began the tedious process of cleaning and scrubbing the already immaculate kitchen and living room. She vacuumed the rug, the couch, the arm chair and even went so far as to clean the vacuum itself with dust rags before finally putting all the cleaning supplies away.

Turning off the accent lamps downstairs and returning to her room, Angela sat down on her bed and shook her head. Before she knew it, tears were coursing down her cheeks and she was sobbing into her pillow. Her parents expected perfection from her; four point zero GPA or better, extracurricular activities which Angela had mollified by working on the high school paper, they even expected her to stay in shape and not exceed the weight that she was at. They expected and demanded all these things from her and berated her for 'faking migraines', but never wanted to see or spend any time with her.

Carlisle and Esme… They talked with her. Wanted to help her with her pain and comfort her. Esme read The Secret Garden to her, letting her voice help soothe her to sleep when the migraine medicine took too long to kick in. Carlisle kept her active in his quest to find answers regarding her migraines and constant pain, he let her sit with him in his office while he worked and answered her questions when her curiosity demanded answers. They both believed her when she said she was in pain. They took her into their family when they had no cause or reason to, trusted her with their secrets – secrets that could put them in danger. They wanted her to be happy, to have fun and enjoy life. They loved her. They actually really loved her.

It hurt so much. She couldn't stop her tears, couldn't rationalize the differences between her birth parents and the Cullens. She couldn't make the pain go away. The ringing of her phone drew her attention and she sat up. That was the Mission Impossible theme song. Wiping away her tears with fisted hands and frowning in confusion she dug her phone out of her purse and gave a soggy laugh when she saw the words 'Big Brother Emmett' displayed on the LCD screen.

"Emmett," she spoke his name in greeting, unable to hide the sounds of her tears.

"Hey, what's wrong, half pint?" he asked and she laughed.

"It's nothing, just stupid girly stuff," she said sniffling and laid back on her pillows, lying on top of her covers rather than underneath them.

"Stupid girly stuff aside, I could come get you, if you want," he told her and chuckled when she laughed.

"No, I'm ok," Angela assured him and curled on her side, tucking the phone between her cheek and the pillow. "Tell me a story," she said and winced at how childish her request sounded.

"Yeah?" he said sounding infinitely pleased at her request. "Ok. Well, since you know about us now, I can offer you up two kinds of stories and you get to choose which one you want."

"Ok," Angela said and smiled, pulling the soft throw blanket at the foot of the bed up over her.

"First kind is true stories: me human, my family before I was changed, how I met Rosalie and Carlisle and all that."

"The second kind?" she asked, growing sleepy as his voice soothed her.

"Complete fiction," he said dismissively. "Princesses, castles, dragons, fairytales, rainbows and puppies."

Angela laughed and closed her eyes. "Door number one please, Mister Cullen."

Emmett laughed and she heard a rustling sound that reminded her of the forest. Pressing the back of her hand against her mouth as she yawned, she blinked slowly. Refusing to move far enough to turn off the lamp on her bedside table, Angela burrowed beneath the light chocolate blanket and closed her eyes.

"I was born in nineteen fifteen. My name was Emmett Liam McCarty and my family was pretty large, Scotch-Irish."

"Nineteen fifteen," she said and he could hear her yawn. "You're old. It's formaldehyde, isn't it?" she joked, her voice thick with sleep. "That's why you look so young."

"Nah…" his laugh made her giggle. "Whiskey," he joked and listened to her laugh. "I grew up in Gatlinburg, Tennessee…"

Emmett talked for nearly fifteen minutes, telling her about his mother, his sisters and brothers. She tried to stay awake, wanting to hear every detail of his life, but all too soon sleep claimed her. The last thing she heard before slipping into a deep sleep was his voice speaking a soft "sweet dreams" to her and then nothing. She wasn't sure how long she'd been asleep when she felt herself drifting somewhere between consciousness and the waking world. Two things occurred to her slowly: one, someone was in her bed with her touching her, and two, that person was sitting on top of her, holding her down while they kissed her.

Brown eyes snapped open. Opening her mouth to cry out as his hand slid beneath her shirt, she was silenced when his tongue entered her mouth. She pushed at him, punched his shoulders and chest until he fell back and then kicked him off the bed. She didn't look at his face, didn't want to know who was in the room with her. She didn't think as she grabbed her phone up from her pillow and ran blindly from the room. Screaming out at the sound of his footsteps chasing close behind her, Angela ran down the stairs and into the kitchen, hiding inside the walk in pantry and sitting behind a tall stack of boxed canned goods and emergency rations. Rocking back and forth, she pressed the track pad on her phone, the screen unbelievably bright in the darkness of the tightly closed pantry.

Rocking back and forth as she opened her call log and highlighted Emmett's name, listening to trilling dial tone as the call rang through. Jumping at the sound of heavy steps moving through the kitchen and downstairs bathroom, the phone fell to her lap and she covered her mouth to keep from screaming out. Her breaths were coming too fast, what little she could see in the darkness began blurring with tears. She thought she heard Emmett's voice, hoped she did and began chanting softly as she wrapped her arms around her knees, the phone caught between her legs and chest.

"Emmett help," she chanted over and over again, her whispered voice whimpering as tears cascaded down her cheeks.

"Angela!"

She heard the intruder scream her name and she buried her face in the tops of her knees as she sobbed in terror, scooting back into the darkened corner as far as she could and trying to make herself as small as possible. He was in her house! Her stalker was in her house! She heard Emmett's voice, heard his promise that he was coming that he would save her. She cried harder when she heard the front door break open and rocked back and forth, covering her head with her arms. Moments later the pantry door flew open and she screamed, throwing herself back against the wall behind her and hitting her head as she tried to move away from the hands reaching for her.

"Angela," the voice was soft and soothing, a voice she recognized as police sirens sounded in the background. "Sweetheart, it's Carlisle, come here. You're safe now, I promise. The police are on their way and Emmett's holding the man who broke in."

"C-Car-Carlisle," she stammered his name as he moved the stack of heavy boxes in front of her out of the way.

"Yes, Sweetheart, it's me. You're safe now."

She was breathing too fast, unable to draw a steady breath, but when she saw his blond hair and kind golden eyes she launched herself into his arms. Carlisle wrapped his arms around her, drawing her to sit in his lap while she sobbed into his shoulder. She was shaking terribly, her grasp on his clothing desperate and frightened. Petting her hair, he moved carefully and stood, cradling her against his chest. Her arms wound around his neck and he could feel the heat of her tears against his skin, the scent of salt filling the air as she cried.

"Shh," he whispered to her, walking over to the table and sitting down with her in his lap. "You're safe, Sweetheart, I promise. You're safe now."

He stroked her hair and rubbed her back, doing his best to soothe the terrified girl in his arms. Rocking her gently, he spoke in low tones to Chief Swan, telling him that Angela was in no shape to talk right then but that he would bring her down to the station later. Looking up at Emmett as the deputy took the man he'd captured out to the waiting squad car, he found his son to be watching Angela with a look that was equal parts guilt and concern. As soon as the officer led the captured intruder out of the mangled front door, Emmett met his father's eyes and nodded toward the stairs. Carlisle waited for all the humans to leave before he stood and followed Emmett up to her bedroom. Angela refused to relinquish her hold on him, and so he stood with her cradled in his arms while Emmett went through her desk drawers before looking in the shoe box on her dresser.

"There must be at least a hundred notes in here," he told his adoptive father and cursed after reading through a few of them. "No wonder she thought these were from Ben. Some of the things they say…bastard talks about kissing her, the way she looks in moonlight."

"Emmett, calm yourself," Carlisle cautioned him, seeing the rage building in his son's eyes. "Remember, Angela needs you right now."

Kissing her hair and holding her close as he stood with her cradled in his arms, Carlisle was glad that it had been a slow night and he was able to leave relatively early. He had been driving through the town when he saw Emmett racing through the woods and heard him calling Angela's name. He had gotten to the girl's house seconds after Emmett had broken inside and restrained the intruder. The scent of her fear had been overwhelming and when he had followed it to the pantry and pulled the door open to see her huddled inside… Clenching his jaw against the worry and anger that flowed through him, he directed Emmett to pack her computer and the stack of what looked to be school work on her desk.

"Gather whatever you think she'll need, Emmett," Carlisle said looking down at the girl in his arms. "She's coming home with us."

"Damn right she is," his son growled too low for the human girl hear.

She was tiring quickly in his arms, her sobs having turned to hiccups and whimpers. Sitting down on her bed and pulling away just enough to look in her eyes, Carlisle studied her tear stained face. She didn't look to be in shock, but there was always the chance that she could still go into it. She was blinking slowly, seemed to be fighting to stay awake and he felt his heart constrict with the concern he felt for her. Tucking her hair behind her ears and cupping her face in his palms, he wiped away her tears with his thumbs and pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead. She was exhausted and frightened, feeling her shiver he grasped the light blanket from her bed and wrapped it around her shoulders. Rubbing his hands over her arms, from shoulder to elbow, he motioned with his head to the other side of the room.

"Look who's over there," he instructed her gently and watched her turn her face slowly.

"Em-Emmett," she spoke his name and he was by her side with her next breath, the show of his vampire nature comforting her.

"Hey, half pint," he said and smiled sadly when she laughed through her still falling tears. "I should've stayed," he said apologetically with a regretful wince.

Angela shook her head and tried to smile, the expression manifesting as a grimace. Grasping his hand through the thin brushed knit blanket wrapped around her, she tugged lightly until he sat down next to her on the bed. Both he and Carlisle were worried about her, the girl looking as though she would fall asleep at any moment.

"You couldn't have known," she told him her voice whisper quiet. "You still got here, you kept your promise," she told him referencing their conversation from earlier in her kitchen.

"I guess, I did, huh," he said softly and leaned forward to kiss her tear-fevered forehead. "You look exhausted," he observed and she nodded slowly.

"You'll tell me more about Tennessee when we get home," she requested, her eyes drooping as she leaned heavily against Carlisle and watched him nod.

Looking over her head at Carlisle, he saw the gentle smile on the man's face. She had called their house 'home' without realizing it. Lifting her backpack and the box of notes, Emmett grabbed her glasses from where they were lying half tucked under her pillow and walked out of her room. Carlisle stood; Angela still cradled in his arms and followed close behind his son. Watching Emmett put her things in the backseat, he asked his son to retrieve her cell phone from the kitchen pantry as he tucked her into the front passenger seat and buckled her safety belt. She was already mostly asleep and when he smoothed the backs of his fingers over her cheeks to wipe away her tears, he watched her eyes fall closed one final time as she drifted into unconsciousness. Closing the car door quietly, he turned to look at Emmett, watching as he pulled the front door closed and stepped away from the house.

"I'll come back later to put a new door on," he said studying the way the hinges and broken latch barely held the door in place.

"I should call her parents," Carlisle said and looked back at the sleeping girl in the car. "Is their number in her phone?" he asked as Emmett handed him Angela's glasses and scrolled through her contact list.

"There's nothing labeled 'mom' or 'dad'." Frowning as he came to one entry that made little sense to him, he looked at Carlisle. "There is this number though," he said and handed his father the phone.

The entry was labeled 'Rev Joseph, Missionary Travel Services' and in the notes for the contact were the words: 'For emergency use only'. The number was out of state and from the area code; Carlisle surmised that it was either a New York or Massachusetts phone number. If this was how she got in touch with her parents, then that meant that they weren't just 'out of town' they were out of country. His grip tightened on the device and he had to be careful not to break it when the plastic creaked in his hand. Carlisle carefully exited out of her contacts application, telling his son what the entry meant and tucked the phone into his coat pocket before climbing behind the wheel and waiting for Emmett to get in the backseat.

The drive home was tense and quiet, both vampires in the car beyond angry at what had happened and the abandonment they'd discovered. The sound of the car engine shutting off roused Angela and she opened the door trying to step out before realizing that the seat belt was trapping her in place. Her clumsy hands released the safety strap and she stumbled from the car straight into Esme's arms.

"Oh, Sweetheart," the woman cooed, rubbing her back and hugging her close.

"Jasper," Carlisle looked at his adoptive son, knowing the southern vampire could feel his tense anger. "Would you please take Angela up to bed, I need to talk to Esme," he requested, his voice too low for Angela to hear.

Nodding and walking up to Esme, Jasper smiled at her before resting his hand on Angela's shoulder. He could feel her exhaustion and the throbbing pain induced by her tears. She turned half-lidded, sleep filled eyes on him and he smiled gently at her.

"Jasper," Angela whispered hoarsely and moved from Esme's arms to his.

"Hey, Little One," he said, keeping his voice low and soothing. "Let's get you up to bed, ok?" he said and lifted her into his arms.

Emmett followed behind Jasper, carrying Angela's bag. It was almost three in the morning and the upset and following rush of adrenaline had drained her of what little energy she had. Jasper laid her down gently in the middle of the guest bed in the room that Esme was planning to turn into Angela's bedroom. Kissing her forehead and tucking the blankets around her, Jasper turned away and was surprised with the speed that her hand caught his. Her voice was low, her eyes barely open when she asked him not to go, begged not to be left alone. Nodding and sitting on her right, Jasper kicked his shoes off and laid down beside her on the bed.

"You said you'd tell me 'bout Ten'see," Angela's sleep heavy voice called out, barely above a whisper, when Emmett turned to leave the room.

Giving a smiling pout before moving to sit on her left, Emmett undid the laces on his boots and took them off before lying back on the bed. Sandwiched between Jasper and Emmett, she sighed with contentment, the blond vampire not needing to influence her emotions as he felt a sensation of peace and safety fall over her. They each wrapped an arm around her, lying on their sides to face her as they curled their bodies protectively around her. Telling her to close her eyes, Emmett's voice soothed her to sleep with stories of his human childhood.


	9. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Angela sat at the wooden table in the library of the Cullen's home, her laptop open in front of her. Her glasses were perched on her nose as she put the final touches on her paper about the Confederate Texas Calvary Regiment. The research paper for her class was twenty pages long, but the article for the school newspaper had to be cut down to three and it was that effort that was beginning to drive her mad. How was she supposed to take all of the pertinent information, the comparative cultural notes, and the "then vs. now" wartime notes and trim it down to three pages? Curling the fingers of her left hand into a loose fist and putting the tip of her thumb into her mouth, she bit down on her nail and read over the article piece one more time.

Walking into the room behind her, Carlisle smiled at the way Angela stared at her computer screen with undivided attention, her brow furrowed in concentration. It had been three days since she had been attacked; two days since she had sat gripping his hand in a desperate hold while giving a detailed statement to Chief Swan. She had trembled throughout her story, her face pale and drawn. Stepping up behind her and resting his hand on her shoulder before dropping a kiss to her hair, he walked over to the lighted medical boards and turned them on to study the MRI series that he had taken of her yesterday. Jasper's words from the day before came back to him as he waited for the fluorescent lamps to warm up and he smiled.

"_You know, Carlisle," Jasper said as he stood in the man's office, his arms crossed over his chest as he looked out the window. "For most people, even for Bella, when it comes to finding comfort, feeling safe, or anything else like that all anyone needs to do is speak a few words. For Angela," the southern vampire turned to face him with a soft surprised smile, "it's not about words. Just a touch, a hug, some small physical reminder that you're there, that's all she needs. The only thing she really wants is to be accepted, to feel cared for. The more we hug her, touch her, even just Rosalie and Alice styling her hair, or Esme making her food; the more peace it brings her, the happier she is." _

"_Just a touch, huh?" he'd asked with a smile, Esme tucked against his side with a matching smile on her face._

_Edward chuckled softly. "She loves it, you know?" his bronze haired son said casually, turning his distracted gaze from his brother to his father. "When you're working in here and she'll come in and sit on the couch with her laptop or a book, for the first few moments the only thing she can think about is how happy she is to be allowed to be near you. You don't have to say or do anything, just letting her be in the room is enough. The same with you," he said looking at Esme, "when she works on her computer in the kitchen or sits in there while talking to one of us… it's not about being in the kitchen, it's about being near you." _

_Rosalie and Alice walked into Carlisle's study, a decidedly excited bounce in Alice's steps. The pixie haired girl was smiling brightly, her blonde sister moving to stand in the circle of her husband's arms, a warm glow lighting her face. Smiling up at Emmett, Rosalie released a soft sigh and closed her eyes when he kissed her full lips. Jasper chuckled when Alice twirled into his arms, her exuberant mood infectious._

"_Angela's room is complete. We even installed a bookshelf with a collection of her favorite texts," Alice informed them._

Carlisle looked back over his shoulder at Angela, a smile tipping his lips at the memory of her reaction to her room. It wasn't a guestroom anymore; it was Angela's very own bedroom inside the Cullen manor. She had stood silent, her eyes scanning over every inch of the room for nearly five minutes before she dared to take a step inside and once she had her tears had fallen unchecked down her cheeks. She had tried to say something a few times, no words ever coming from her parted lips and Jasper had smiled at her as he had taken her hand and opened the emotional gates letting his family feel the depth of her gratitude, her love and happiness.

He could still feel the soothing warmth, the almost burn of the emotions she had felt last night. Turning back to study the medical films in front of him, he frowned at the scans. He had made certain that the scans were detailed, from multiple angles and as magnified as possible. What he saw in front of him was enough to root him in place. His disbelief over what the films were telling him drove him back to his office to retrieve her other scans that had been taken over the past two years. Arranging the images into chronological order on the lighted board, he heard Angela's cell phone ring three times and he turned around when he heard her heart race wildly with fear as she connected the call.

"Angela," a man's voice spoke to her, the tone disapproving and cold.

"Hi, Dad," she spoke, looking down at her lap and wincing when he gave an almost angry snort.

"What did you call me?" he asked her tersely. "I did not teach you to treat me with such disrespect."

Carlisle's eyes widened and he felt his hands fist tightly, his blunt nails digging into his palms. His eyes flicked up to look over her head when he saw Edward and Jasper appear in the doorway, both of his sons looking equal amounts worried and angry as they stepped silently into the room, Alice hot on their heels. He watched as Jasper's lip curled up slightly in an unconscious snarl, Edward's clenched fists trembling. Whatever Angela was both thinking and feeling it had his sons on edge and ready to defend her.

"I apologize, Reverend. I meant no disrespect," Angela spoke quietly, covering her eyes with her hand and fighting not to cry.

"Would you mind telling me why I received an urgent message yesterday to call you?" he demanded, his voice anything but concerned.

Angela bit her tongue, her fear and heartache filling Jasper's mind and drawing a low growl from him. Edward's lip curled up in an unconscious snarl at the thoughts and memories he read from the human girl, the sudden and unwelcome knowledge that her parents had never made her feel anything other than ugly and unworthy. They could all see the trembling she was fighting to control and watched as she drew her legs up off the floor, her heels poised on the edge of the wooden chair as she leaned her shins against the table edge and touched her forehead to her knees. The way she was folding herself, making herself as small as possible as though she were trying to disappear from the man on the other end of the phone call, had them all on edge.

"I-I…the house…"

"Spit it out girl," her father commanded impatiently, his voice harsh and unkind. "I don't have all day."

"The house was broken into. I was attacked," she said in a rush, clenching her jaw against the bile rising in her throat.

"Was anything broken?" he asked.

"N-no."

"Was anything stolen?"

"No."

"Do you have any visible injuries?"

"I…N-no."

"So this is just another ploy to get attention. Stop wasting my time."

Her whimper, too soft for human ears to detect, was all Carlisle needed. He was at her side in an instant, his hand gripping her shoulder gently to draw her attention, his other hand held out for her phone. She looked up at him with wide brown eyes, fear and pain in their depths, her hand was trembling as she offered him the phone. Kissing her temple as he took the device from her, Alice moved to her other side and helped her up from the chair taking her from the room under the premise that Esme needed help in the kitchen. Grinding his teeth as he fought to reign in his normally infallible temper, Carlisle watched Alice escort Angela from the room with her arm wrapped around the girl's waist.

"This is Doctor Cullen," Carlisle said, his smooth voice controlled, if not a bit clipped. "My family and I have been caring for your daughter in your absence and I assure you, her attack was very real."

The sound of people speaking in a rough dialect of Spanish and something else in the background made Carlisle wonder just where Angela's parents were. From the broken bits of conversation that he heard and could understand, he was able to piece together that they were somewhere in South America. The ancient word meaning "sea of trees" was spoken four times; a word he knew was also used by native tribes to describe the Amazon forest.

"And next I expect you'll be telling me her migraines are real. Do not waste my time with that worthless girl."

The call disconnected and Carlisle stared at the phone in disbelief. If this was the way she was treated than it was no wonder why she never wanted to talk about her parents and explained the mix of emotions that Jasper had felt coming from her in regards to his and Esme's care of her. Setting the device on the table next to the girl's laptop, he closed his eyes and bowed his head. Who could treat their own child like that?

"Alice's father locked her up in an asylum," Edward reminded him softly. "Rosalie's parents raised her as a social tool, a way to further their standing, even Esme's parents, for all intents and purposes, sold her into marriage. This may be a different time, but people can still be bastards."

Carlisle shook his head, remaining silent as he walked out of the room and strode through the house. Edward and Jasper trailed behind him as he stepped into the kitchen, none of them surprised to find Angela standing enveloped in Emmett's arms. Esme, Rosalie and Alice were standing in a semi circle in front of them, each with a hand on Angela's back or shoulder.

Emmett stared over Angela's head, looking at his father and brothers in turn. Carlisle didn't need Jasper's talent to feel Emmett's anger or Edward's ability to hear thoughts to know what was on his mind. His dark haired son had always been very protective, especially over the females of the family; he was the guardian of their coven. For him to have seen Angela in her state of upset, and surmising that Alice had told him what she knew, he would want to do what he could to protect and comfort her whether that meant soothing her upset or hunting down those who had caused it.

The silence in the room was deafening, the sound of Angela's stilted breaths and the smell of her tears heartbreaking. Edward was the first to move, the first to speak. Walking up to the girl wrapped in his brother's embrace, he stood next to Esme and tucked Angela's hair behind her ear to see her face. She turned her eyes on him, and rested her ear against Emmett's chest, the slight change in position allowing him to pull her closer as his arms tightened around her.

"We're not mad at you," Edward told her in response to her frenzied, terrified thoughts. "You have done nothing wrong."

Her lips folded inward over her teeth, her chin trembling as she fought against the tears that couldn't be stopped. His cool hand brushed against her fevered cheek, wiping away the crystalline droplets. She didn't want to speak her thoughts out loud and for the first time realized that she didn't have to. She glanced up at him, her tears making her brown eyes glisten.

_What's wrong with me? Am I…am I bad?_

"No," he answered her with a shake of his head, his voice soft and compassionate.

_But why? They've always… as long as I can remember…I mean nothing to them. _

"You mean something to Carlisle," he reminded her gently, "and to Esme. To all of us."

_I-I want Carlisle._ She spoke to him through her mind as more tears fell silently down her cheeks. He nodded, leaning close to press a kiss to her brow. _I'm sorry,_ she thought and he frowned in silent question at her. _I'm causing so much trouble._

"You're not," he told her before quietly calling Carlisle to come closer. "We're happy to help."

Emmett released her from his tight embrace, his mother, wife and sister standing back as Carlisle opened his arms to Angela. She turned and stepped into his welcome embrace, sniffling as she buried her face in his dark blue sweater. Holding her close and bowing his head over her, Carlisle whispered words of love and comfort to her, telling her how much they all loved having her as part of their family. Her hands fisted in the soft material covering his chest and he rubbed her back.

Alice breathed in sharply, her wide eyes staring at Angela seconds before both Angela and Jasper emitted twin cries of pain. Carlisle swept her up into his arms, the girl barely conscious under the onslaught of a migraine severe enough to make her nose bleed. He carried her quickly upstairs to her room, alarmed at the sight of the blood on her face. She hadn't had a nose bleed since that first night almost two weeks ago, the migraine from six days ago notwithstanding.

Carlisle was both pleasantly surprised and proud of Jasper's growth over the past few months. As unthinkable as it was for their small town, a rather serious fist fight had broken out in the hallway of the high school, both boys drawing blood from each other. Jasper's steel edged control had been greatly tested by the fight, and both his and Edward's control nearly broken when Bella had been knocked into a locker by the crowd, cutting her forehead. Laying Angela down on top of the neatly made bed, he turned his attention on Jasper when he heard Alice's and Esme's concerned cries.

"I-I can't," he panted, his southern accent thick with his pain. "I'm sorry," he said, having to close himself off to the pain of the girl's massive migraine.

"Do you need to leave?" Carlisle asked him in concern and reached out for the medical bag Rosalie had retrieved for him.

"No," he choked out, straightening slowly and moving to sit next to Angela's side on the bed. "No, I just need a moment."

Jasper stroked her hair out of her face, the girl unconscious in her pain. For two days now her pain had been barely more than a dull throb, his efforts not needed to assist her. The sudden onset of explosive pain so severe it sent him to his knees and robbed Angela of her consciousness was not something he had been prepared for. Dabbing at her nose and face with a tissue to wipe away her blood, he turned worried golden eyes on his adoptive father.

"How can they be this bad?" he asked Carlisle, his voice hoarse with restrained emotion. "What's happening to her?"

Releasing a deep sigh as he injected the liquid form of her new migraine medicine, Toradol, into her arm, Carlisle set the syringe aside on the night table and massaged the injection site to help the drug spread faster. Turning to Jasper, he watched his adoptive son set aside the tissue he'd used to clean Angela's face and lift her small hand to hold in both of his.

"She's dying," Carlisle said his voice pained. "I've been looking over her MRI and CAT scans and all the medical reports that have been done over the years. Her migraines are literally killing her. She had an MRI done eight months ago, during which she experienced a migraine similar to this one and the one she had six days ago. The doctor at that time was able to take a video feed of the scan…"

"Carlisle?" Esme questioned when he sat silent.

"She's having silent seizures during her severe migraines. The doctor I contacted in New York has had a few patients similar to Angela and I've sent him what I have on her condition. I'm still," silenced by his ringing cell phone, Carlisle withdrew the device from his pocket and stepped into the hall. "Hello, this is Dr. Cullen."

Carlisle stilled, his expression disbelieving and he turned back to look through the open doorway at the girl lying in the bed. Asking for confirmation of the information he'd just been given, he thanked the person and disconnected the call. Edward's head snapped back to look at him and he could only nod as he looked at his son.

"How much longer?" Edward asked when Carlisle stepped back into the room to pack his medical bag.

"How much longer for what?" Rosalie asked, from where she stood next to her husband.

"Downstairs," Carlisle said, holding his bag and the empty syringe, watching as Esme spread a light throw blanket over Angela.

**:::::**

Angela awoke slowly, her skull splitting migraine from earlier reduced to a deep pulsating throb. Her eyes and jaw hurt an unfortunate but all too familiar side effect from the intense pain. Moving the light afghan aside, she rose slowly, sitting up and letting her feet dangle down over the side of the bed for a moment before standing. Making certain that she had her balance and didn't feel faint, she walked slowly out into the hall and down the stairs. She wasn't sure which member of the Cullen family she was looking for, only knowing that no matter how used to it she had become over the years, she did not want to be alone now.

Following the sound of Rosalie's voice, Angela shuffled down the hall and stepped into Carlisle's office, her eyes barely open. She didn't see who it was that wrapped their arm around her and drew her into their side, choosing instead to snuggle against the person and close her eyes letting herself drift into the comfortable feeling that was almost sleep. Esme smiled down on the drowsy girl tucked against her side and smoothed her hand down the length of her dark hair. She was practically asleep, but she knew that if she were to carry Angela back up to bed the girl would simply seek them out again.

"I've already seen her as one of us, Carlisle," Alice said, keeping her voice low in deference to the nearly-sleeping human. "If you ask her, she won't say no."

"I'm surprised you're not objecting," Esme said to Rosalie. "You object to Bella."

"Only because Bella is choosing to give up a full human life that I had once wanted, but Angela… She doesn't get that choice. Even if she didn't know about us, about our kind, she would still be dead in a year or two. The only thing she would be giving up is unnecessary long term pain. And, you know, we all each had a family before we came into this life. She may have parents, but she doesn't have a family – not a human one anyway. We are her family."

_Edward?_

Chuckling at the endearing sleep filled sound of her thoughts; he stepped over to the girl held in his mother's arm. She looked to be asleep, everyone pretty much thought she was, but she was still just barely awake enough to call out to him with her thoughts.

"Yes, Sweetheart?" he said softly, tucking her hair behind her ear.

_What's everyone talking about? _

"You," he answered her simply.

_Oh, ok_, she thought as she yawned and turned to bury her face in Esme's shoulder. Edward smiled and shook his head, amused at the sight of her. _Did I hurt Jasper?_ She asked, opening her eyes just enough to see out through the hazy fringe of her lashes.

Looking up to find everyone in the room watching his interaction with the mostly sleeping girl intently, he found Jasper's eyes and nodded for his brother to come closer.

"She wants to know if she hurt you," Edward relayed, his voice too soft for Angela to hear.

Taking Edward's place in Angela's line of sight, Jasper smiled down on the bleary eyed teen. Content to stay where she was, Angela blinked up at him, her sleep filled eyes barely able to make sense of his blurry image in front of her. Alice appeared behind Esme, the pixie-haired girl having moved from the room without anyone seeing. Stepping in front of their matriarch and handing her the throw blanket from Angela's bed, Esme thanked her and wrapped it around the girl in her arms.

"Hey there, Little One," Jasper said softly, leaning forward to press a kiss to her brow. "I'm just fine. You should go to sleep, ok?" he told her when she blinked slowly, her eyes falling closed. "We can all talk a little bit later."

"Ten'see," she mumbled her voice almost too soft to make out.

"What, honey?" Esme asked gently, not understanding her request.

"That was for me," Emmett said with a smile, stepping forward and taking Angela into his arms, lifting her to cradle her against his chest. "Where were we?" he asked, stepping over to the couch and sitting down with her in his lap.

"R'l'road," she slurred, her voice muffled by his shirt.

"That's right," he said, guiding her back to lie in the crook of his shoulder and tucking the blanket under her chin, "my first day working on the railroad. It was nineteen thirty…"

Rosalie couldn't help but smile at the almost fatherly image of her husband cradling Angela in his lap as he told her stories of his human past. She loved him so much that it hurt at times and it was little moments like this that made her heart swell all the more. If her past with Royce hadn't happened, if she hadn't been raped and left for dead, she doubted that she would ever have found love with a human as she had with Emmett. He was her one true mate, the one her heart had waited for, and she couldn't love him more. Eternal big brother to Bella, Alice and now Angela, she wouldn't change a single thing about him.

It still managed to both amaze and confuse her. Angela didn't have romantic ties to anyone in their family like Bella had with Edward, but even still in a very short matter of time, she had become an integral and irreplaceable part of their family. How was it possible for one little human girl to slip past all their barriers, including her own? Rosalie met Emmett's eyes from across the room and her lips curved up in a smile to answer his lopsided grin.

_We could offer her eternal life, freedom from her pain, but would she want to be one of us?_ Carlisle wondered.

"Carlisle," Edward said softly with amusement. "The answer to your question is all around you."

Nodding to Jasper, his brother's lips quirking in a smile as he pulled Alice into his arms, he waited. Tucking Alice's head beneath his chin and holding her close, Jasper opened the emotional channels and let the feelings of familial love, acceptance and Angela's complete happiness and peace wash over everyone in the room. Blinking and looking up at Jasper and then returning his gaze to the couch where Angela and Emmett sat, Carlisle realized that it wasn't just her emotions Jasper was allowing him to feel, it was his entire family's.

"Yes, Edward," Carlisle smiled, powerless to resist the beauty the symphony of emotions brought him, "I see that it is."

**:::::**

When next Angela awoke it was dark outside and she was tucked beneath the thick blankets of her bed. Smiling when she saw that her door had been left open and stretching before rolling onto her side, she giggled at the feel of someone climbing into the bed behind her, trapping the blankets around her as they knelt on the thick covers. Turning her head to see Alice smiling down on her, Angela couldn't help the outright laugh that came at the girl's mischievous expression. The light shining in from the hallway was suddenly blocked, a shadow falling over her bed and Angela took her eyes off Alice to see who was standing in her doorway.

"May as well admit to being awake," Emmett chuckled as he stepped into the room. "Ali's been bouncing on her heels for the last twenty minutes waiting for you to wake up."

"I have not!" Alice said and with a laugh added, "It was ten minutes."

Narrowing her eyes on Alice's far too energetic face, Angela grabbed onto the blankets and pulled them up over her head, burrowing beneath them. Large hands were suddenly searching her out through the blankets, finding her sides only to hold her in place as the fingers moved back and forth quickly. Shrieking as Emmett tickled her, Angela laughed and kicked beneath the blankets, his and Alice's laughter ringing out with hers. Her voice was muffled, filled with amusement and shaking with laughter, as she called out through the blankets for help.

"Really?" Rosalie's voice deadpanned from the doorway. "Emmett McCarty Cullen," she said walking toward the bed, watching Alice's eyes widen with delight and winked at her sister.

"What?" he asked dumbly, his movements pausing as he looked back at his wife.

Stepping up to the bed, her heels silenced by the carpeting, Rosalie tapped the back of her hand against her husband's shoulder to make him move. Taking his seat on the bed, Rosalie pulled back the covers to reveal Angela's face and tipped her head to the side. Leaning down, her blonde hair falling around her face, she asked Angela if she needed a 'human moment'. Brows furrowing at the question until she realized what Rosalie was asking Angela shook her head. Nodding as she stood and pulled the covers back, she helped the girl out of the bed and smiled at the satin pajama set Alice had dressed her in.

"Angela," Rosalie stood aside making certain there was a clear path out of the open door. "Run."

Blinking at the girl in confusion, Angela looked back at Emmett to see him grinning dangerously his hands held out toward her as his fingers wiggled in a tickling motion. Eyes widening, Angela shrieked and ran from the room. Her footsteps sounded down the hall, Carlisle and Esme looking up at the ceiling above from where they stood in the kitchen preparing dinner for her and Bella.

"The children are playing," Esme mused and looked at her husband with a smile.

"So they are, my love," Carlisle said with a wide smile as he wrapped his arms around her from behind and kissed her cheek.

Another shriek sounded, louder than before followed in close succession by Edward's laughter. Bella looked up from where she sat at the table and shook her head. Angela's laughter rang through the house seconds later as Alice's voice was heard declaring a "tickle war".

"Yeah," Bella blushed violently at the thought of getting caught up in the shenanigans. "I think I'm just gonna sneak out."

Carlisle and Esme remained quiet, watching Edward's human love move toward the door as Jasper moved in the shadows behind her. Seconds before her hand reached out for the door, he swung her up in his arms and over his shoulder, running for the stairs while he tickled her sides.

"Jasper!" Bella shrieked. "Not fair!"

Esme laughed and turned just enough in her husband's arms to look back at him over her shoulder. Kissing his cheek, her laughter joined his as they listened to the sounds of their adoptive children playing upstairs.

"Well," Esme said smiling brightly. "You always did want a big family."


	10. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Esme walked into the kitchen, amused by her own thoughts. It was the third day back from Spring Break, the children were all in school and all she could think about was how much she missed the noise of a full house. The kitchen was spotless, the table wiped down and the dishes Angela had used for her breakfast she knew would already be in the dishwasher. The girl was meticulous about being clean and Esme couldn't stop herself from wondering if it was because Angela was naturally a tidy person or if perhaps the behavior had been forced upon her through her parents' actions. Opening the shining stainless steel fridge, she looked inside to assess what she would need to buy from the store and frowned at the contents of the shelves.

She had gone shopping for food the day before Angela and Bella had arrived for their girl's weekend more than two weeks ago and there was still quite a bit of food left inside. Although Bella and Angela were the only two who ate the food, Esme knew that there should be more gone than what there was. There were still two slices left over of the lasagna she had made three days ago, the layered meal only large enough for four servings. Thinking back over the previous two weeks, she shut the appliance door and let her mind drift over the times she'd watched Angela eat. The girl was too thin, Carlisle having told her that Angela needed to gain at least twenty pounds before he would consider her healthy. But in all the time that she had been there with them, Esme couldn't remember Angela eating more than half of what she was given at a time.

She knew that Angela loved food, helping her prepare the meals more than once, so why was she not eating? It didn't make sense to her. She knew that it had nothing at all to do with the food's appeal, having asked Bella for Angela's favorite snacks and drinks to prepare for the weekend. Pulled from her thoughts by the ringing phone, Esme stepped up to the cordless phone on the counter and answered the call.

"Good morning, Chief Swan," she greeted the man with a smile before frowning at his request. "I believe that Carlisle has a surgery scheduled for this morning, but I can come down to the station. Why, what's wrong?"

"The man Emmett caught in Angela's house, he's fighting against the harassment charges," Charlie told her.

"Harassment?" Esme asked as she gathered her purse and keys before asking Charlie to hold for a moment.

Retrieving her cell phone from her purse, Esme opened the device and pressed a few buttons on the portable house phone. A few seconds later her cell phone rang and she picked up the transferred call. Making certain that Charlie was on her cell phone before she put the portable phone back into its cradle, she walked toward the front of the house.

"Harassment is the only thing we can use to charge someone with stalking. Unfortunately, there isn't one law itself that protects a victim from a stalker. Is Angela in school?"

"Yes, she is, did you need me to bring her?" Esme asked as she exited the house and walked toward the silver Mercedes that was a twin of her husband's car save for the color.

"No, but I really would rather talk to both you and Doctor Cullen at the same time. What this man is saying is pretty serious and so far I haven't been able to reach her parents."

"Charlie, what's going on?" Esme asked her voice heavy with worry as she slipped behind the wheel of her car and turned it on.

"Mrs. Cullen…Esme," he paused for a moment. "This is something I'd really rather discuss in person with both of you. Give Carlisle a call, then let me know what time would work best. I can even come down to the hospital if that would be better."

"Ok," she agreed slowly. "I'll call you from the hospital and let you know."

Esme disconnected the call after parting words were made and could feel a cold sense of dread move through her. Pulling out of the driveway and maneuvering through the streets, she found herself needing to make certain that Angela was safe. She knew that the girl was in school, knew that Bella and her children were there with her, but her heart was telling her to be sure. Pulling into the school's parking lot, she exited her car and stepped inside. The bell rang as the doors closed behind her and she watched as students filed out of every classroom.

Edward moved through the crowd toward her, Alice coming down the hallway behind him. They had both sensed her presence, Alice through her visions and Edward through his talent for reading thoughts, and both could sense her unease. Frowning as he looked at Esme, Edward gave short curt nod before looking around the crowded hallway. He spotted Angela talking to Bella a few paces back and called her forth. He didn't understand the worried thoughts coming from Esme, but if she felt worried enough to come down to the school between classes then it was serious.

Angela smiled when she saw Esme standing in the hallway and stepped forward. Her smile fell when she saw the worry in the woman's eyes that she was unable to hide and she bit her lip, frowning as she stopped a few feet away from Esme. She knew something was wrong, she could feel it and the spike of fear and worry in her emotions drew Jasper forth to stand beside her. She looked over at him when he touched her arm, but shook her head as she moved closer to Esme.

"What is it?" Angela asked, her dark eyes searching Esme's.

Esme opened her mouth to tell her that all was fine before sighing and tipping her head to the side. Telling the others to go back to their classes, she led Angela down the hall and into the administration offices. Talking to the woman at the desk, she told her that she needed to borrow Angela for a few moments and requested that her teacher be made aware that she may be late for her next class. She walked quietly as she took Angela outside and sat with her on a wooden bench beneath an old oak tree. Angling so that she was turned toward Angela, Esme reached out and tucked her hair behind her ear.

"Chief Swan said not to worry you that we or he could tell you later, but whatever news he has sounds serious. You deserve to make the choice of whether or not you'd like to hear it first hand or from one us later on."

"This is about the man that broke in, my stalker?" Angela asked and glanced down at her hands before looking back up at Esme.

Esme nodded and watched the emotions pass over Angela's face as the girl considered what she'd said. Angela looked down at her hands again, her brows furrowing as she studied her hands folded in her lap. It still bothered her that she hadn't looked at the man's face and when she had given her statement to Chief Swan he had told her that her inability to positively identify the man could be called into question. She didn't know why he stalked her, why he was after her and that bothered her more than anything.

"I want to know," Angela said softly as she looked up. "I don't want to wait."

"Ok," Esme nodded and stood. "Let's get you signed out."

**:::::**

Carlisle looked up at the soft knock on his office door and smiled at the feel of Esme's presence. Striding across the room, he frowned at Angela's scent and opened the door, biding both women entrance to his office. He could see the upset Angela was trying to hide and held his arm out to her in invitation of a hug. She stepped easily into his arms, and he held her close for a long moment as he looked at Esme. She shook her head, her expression telling him that she would explain in a few moments, she asked what time his surgery was scheduled for.

"It was cancelled," he said without further explanation and turned his attention on Angela when she stepped away. "Are you alright?" he asked studying her eyes.

Angela nodded silently, biting her lip before looking at Esme. She had told her at the school that she wanted to know whatever it was that Chief Swan had to say, but now she wasn't so sure. What if the man was going to get away with what he did because she couldn't identify him? She had been afraid that if she waited, if she looked at the man's face that he would hurt her before she could call for help. Had she been wrong? Should she have stopped to look at him? It would be her fault if he was released.

Looking up when Carlisle called her name, concern evident in his voice, she waited for him to speak. He held his hand out to her, brought her closer when she placed her palm in his and kissed her forehead before promising her that she was safe. Logically she knew that the man was in jail and that the Cullens were strong enough to protect her from almost anything, but her memory of that night, the fear that still clung to her heart kept her from being confident in her own safety. Her eyes snapped to the door when she heard someone knock and Carlisle rubbed her arm, offering her a soft smile as he stepped across the room and welcomed Chief Swan into his office.

Motioning to the chairs by his desk as he offered the police chief a seat, Carlisle and Esme moved with Angela to sit on the couch. Her fear was evident, and the more she tried to pretend to be ok the more her hands trembled. Taking Angela's hand in his, Carlisle watched her, worried that the stress of this would induce a migraine.

"Dr. Cullen, Esme," he greeted them in turn and nodded at Angela. "How are you doing, Angela?" he asked and she bit her lip, shrugging her shoulders as she remained silent. "Like I told Esme on the phone earlier, the man who broke in, Jason Broomer, he's claiming that he's not the one who's been stalking you," he said and looked at Angela.

"Not the one?" Angela repeated slowly, unaware that she was tightly clenching Carlisle's hand.

"Was there any evidence on the notes that Angela turned over to you?" Carlisle asked as he chaffed his thumb over the back of her hand.

"No. The lab called me this morning and said that the notes were clean. The only prints on them were Angela's and whoever left them for you, Angela was careful to always type them."

Angela nodded and looked down as she fought to remain calm. With no evidence on the notes then that meant that there was no proof of stalking. For all anyone knew she could've left the notes for herself. If they weren't able to hold the man for stalking her, and she couldn't identify him as the man who broke in, where did that leave her? Looking up when Esme rubbed her arm in an attempt to soothe her, she tried to smile, but her fear turned the expression into a grimace.

"What happens now?" Angela asked as she met Charlie's gaze.

"I'm waiting on a judge's approval to get a search warrant for his place. Anything we find there should tell us more, but the truth is I don't know how long we can hold him. The official charge is breaking and entering, but it's beginning to look like that might be thrown out, too. He had a key, Angela. That's how he got in."

The fear froze her in place, her migraine screaming to life, pulsing inside her brain. She tried not to react, tried to be still and quiet, but she was terrified. This man had a key to her home, he had entry anytime he wanted it and nothing she said could prove that she hadn't given it to him. She closed her eyes against the panic arresting her, tried to calm her breathing even as her heart raced madly in her chest. Each beat of her heart made her migraine pulse and she wished that the others were there; needed to feel the safety that Emmett and Jasper afforded her with their big brother-bodyguard attitudes. Her phone buzzed in her pocket, but she ignored the vibrations. Looking up at Chief Swan, Angela tried to remain calm as she voiced her fears.

"If I had looked at his face then you could have – "

"Angela, no," Esme rubbed her arm. "Sweetheart, no one's blaming you."

"Angela," Charlie waited until she met his gaze before he continued. "You did exactly what you needed to, exactly what I would tell anyone else to: you fought back and got away. I've petitioned for a restraining order for you, he won't be able to get within five hundred feet of you and if he does, you call me or nine-one-one and he's put away no questions asked."

She nodded, but still felt at fault for not being able to identify him. He was going to be released because she hadn't looked at his face. Looking down at her hand held in Carlisle's she began to wonder how long it would be until she was left alone again. Her father hadn't believed her, had told her she was just begging for attention again. How soon would it be before they tired of her, too? She watched Carlisle ease his hand from her grip and looked up as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close for a brief hug. Kissing her temple, he promised to return shortly and asked Chief Swan to follow him outside his office.

Looking back at Angela as he pulled the door closed behind him, Carlisle pursed his lips and looked down for a moment as he thought of how best to discuss the situation with her parents.

"Angela's parents," Charlie said drawing Carlisle's undivided attention. "They're more than just out of town, aren't they?"

"Yes," Carlisle nodded once, his face tense with worry. "I was able to speak to her father for a few moments roughly four days ago. He did not tell of his location, but from the background noises and conversations I heard, my best guess is somewhere in South America. Angela is staying with my family until further notice and is welcome to stay as long as she likes."

Charlie nodded quietly. "You're good people, Dr. Cullen and I trust her with you. I've had my suspicions about her parents for awhile now. I'll let you know if I have any other questions for her."

Carlisle narrowed his eyes as he studied Charlie's face. He knew this man well, having worked with him on several occasions as a coroner and knew that he was holding something back. Asking Charlie what it was that he didn't want Angela to know, he waited and watched the man fidget somewhat uncomfortably.

"Broomer…he claims he was paid to attack Angela. He said that he was supposed to take her to someone else."

Carlisle stilled, his venom pooling in his mouth as he fought against his rising anger. There was no way to know if what Broomer said was true or not, but the possibility that it was had him on edge. Swallowing back his venom, Carlisle took in a deep calming breath and asked if there was any more information, or confirmation of the man's claims.

"He didn't have a name, or any way of contacting the person, but he did say that he was given the key, a picture of Angela and her address. Unfortunately, there's no way to validate his claims."

"So he could be simply trying to get out of jail by saying it was someone else?" Carlisle asked, frowning when he saw Jasper coming down the hall and slipping into his office just out of sight of Charlie.

"Could be, but I'm tempted to believe him. He doesn't strike me as the obsessive type, seems more like the kind to do anything for a quick buck. I can legally hold him for thirty days on the breaking and entering charge, but like I told you all in there, he's fighting it and with the key…"

Carlisle nodded and thanked Charlie for keeping them updated. Promising that he and his family would protect Angela, he watched the man leave before turning back to his office. He wasn't surprised to see Angela engulfed in Jasper's arms, each member of his family had become far more protective of her after learning of her stalker. Emmett and Jasper had kept close to her the most since her attack, but it was barely noon and he asked his adoptive son quietly what he was doing there instead of at school.

"I felt her," he said, keeping his voice too low for Angela to hear. "Anytime that she's really upset or scared the feel of her migraine pulses."

"Pulses?" Carlisle asked and noticed that Angela was in half sleep state in his son's arms, Jasper's embrace and talent calming her.

"Yes, pulses. Like a distress signal."

**:::::**

Angela sat across from Bella at the Java Hut, staring down into her ceramic mug of mocha two days later. It was Saturday and although the weekends were supposed to be filled with frivolous activities, Angela couldn't deny the fear that weighed down her heart. Nothing had happened, she told herself for what felt like the millionth time, nothing really happened.

"You know, you're the one who asked me for coffee, remember?" Bella joked as she looked across the small table at Angela.

"I know, I'm sorry," Angela apologized as she looked around the Java Hut. "I wanted to talk to you; I'm just not sure how to broach the subject."

"I'm fairly easy," Bella said with a smile. "I don't remember you and I having this much trouble talking before."

"I wasn't living with your boyfriend's family before…and besides that, Jessica usually does all the talking. Is it weird? I don't want it to be weird. I feel like I'm intruding a bit. They were yours first."

Bella grinned before taking a sip of her coffee and shrugged. "There's more than enough of them to go around, besides that, you need them as much as I do. Maybe even more than I do, it's not weird. I promise. How are you doing?"

Angela said that she was fine only to be leveled with a look from Bella telling her that she wasn't fooling anyone. Blushing and looking down into her mocha, Angela bit her lip. It was still extremely nerve wracking for her to discuss her fears, her worries and emotions. She was always afraid of being rejected for speaking out. Taking a deep breath as she tried to calm her racing heart, Angela looked up.

"I don't know, I'm…kind of on edge all the time. I can't stop looking over my shoulder and," her voice was so soft that Bella was thankful they were the only two in the Java Hut. "I keep thinking that I'm going to wake up and…and be alone again."

Reaching out, Bella placed her hand over Angela's, trying to give her friend some semblance of comfort. Angela wouldn't meet her eyes, and she could feel her hand trembling beneath her own. Angela was terrified. Terrified of her stalker, or being alone, of not being enough. Bella frowned down at their joined hands and wished there was something she could do.

"I'm sorry, you don't…you don't need to hear this," Angela tried to pull back, but Bella's grip tightened around her hand.

"Hey," Bella shook her hand just enough to make her look up and meet her gaze. "We're friends, remember?"

Releasing Angela's hand, she watched as her friend tried to smile, but instead looked frightened. She had never known that Angela was suffering so much; her friend hid it far too well under the cover of shyness. She could see the tension in her face, watched her brows quirk and knew that Angela had more to say.

She was shaking; her entire body was trembling with emotions that she was trying her level best to hide. She was scared all the time. Scared that she wasn't safe when she was out in public, scared that the Cullens would see whatever her parents had and terrified of being alone. She didn't want to be weak. She didn't want to be scared, but each time she closed her eyes she was back in her room and being attacked again. She had started trying to block Edward, not wanting him to be subject to her fear, her memories of the attack. She felt guilty enough each time she had a migraine, upset that Jasper was being hurt every time he tried to help her.

"I'm hurting Jasper," she said quietly, her voice thick with guilt and self recrimination. "Every time I have a migraine, I'm hurting him. I don't want to hurt them."

"The thing about the Cullens is, once they take you in, they'll protect you with everything they have. They're not going to toss you aside, and as far as Jasper goes, he's a good guy. I know Edward's pretty worried about you. He talks to me sometimes when he thinks I'm asleep. He's worried you're pulling away. I thought you liked his talent."

"I do," Angela's whispered voice shook. "But I can't get the attack out of my mind. Every time I close my eyes…I know that it could've been worse, and there are so many things I should've done differently. He's going to get out because I can't identify him. He had a key to my house…Bella, he had a key!"

Angela folded her lips inward as she bit down on them and rubbed her fingertips against her forehead, unaware that she was rocking back and forth. She could feel her trembling grow worse as tears stung behind her eyes. Jumping at the feel of arms around her, Angela returned Bella's embrace. She struggled against the pull of her tears, tried her best not to cry, but the first tear fell down her cheek. A choked sob sounded from her and before she could regain control, Angela found herself sobbing into Bella's shoulder.

"Oh, look, it's Angela Weber and Bella Swan," a sneering voice sounded close to them, shocking them apart. "I heard you were living with the Cullens now, Weber. Rumor has it you put out for them all through Spring Break. Is Bella making the family slut feel better?"

Bella sat in silence, her mouth falling open, her eyes impossibly wide as she stared at Lauren Mallory. Angela slapped a hand over her mouth as she ran for the bathrooms. Bella shook her head, standing slowly from the table as she grabbed up both her cell phone and Angela's before following after her friend. She found Angela crouched inside the single person bathroom, vomiting into the toilet as she sobbed. Opening her phone and selecting Esme's name, Bella sent her a text.

_Java Hut Angela needs you_

Bella slipped the phones into her pockets and knelt next to Angela. Rubbing her back and doing what she could to soothe her, her mind was still reeling from Lauren had said. The girl was popular and could have anyone she wanted, but she looked down her nose at everyone. Looking up at the soft knock on the door, Bella stood and opened it, letting Esme inside. Keeping her voice low, she told Esme what had happened and what Lauren had said.

"Sweetheart," Esme knelt down beside Angela and rubbed her back. "It's Esme," gathering her long dark hair in her hands, she held it back and asked Bella to fill one of the small paper cups with water. "Here you go, Angela," she handed her the cup and waited while the girl rinsed her mouth and spit into the toilet before flushing it. "Ok, I've got you, sweetie. That's it, slow now," Esme soothed her as she helped her to her feet. "Bella, could you go pull your truck around. I was faster on foot."

Bella nodded silently and held the door open as Esme helped Angela walk out of the bathroom. Esme rubbed her hand up and down Angela's arm as she walked beside her through the coffee shop. She kept her voice low and soothing as she spoke words of comfort to the girl and helped her out to Bella's truck that was idling in front of the doors. Opening the passenger door and helping Angela into the vehicle, she slid in beside her and wrapped her arm around her shoulders as she closed the door.

Esme hugged Angela close as Bella navigated the truck through the streets and back to the Cullen manor. Kissing her temple and stroking her hand down over Angela's hair, Esme was hard pressed not to find Lauren and deal with the girl herself, but Angela was more important. The girl in her arms was quiet, too quiet, and the silent tears coursing down her cheeks worried Esme more than they would if Angela was still sobbing. Pressing a kiss to her dark hair as Bella pulled up to the house and shut the engine off, Esme looked up as her door opened.

Carlisle stood inside the open door of the truck and waited for Esme to climb out before he reached inside and lifted Angela into his arms. Holding her close, he carried her inside. He didn't care that she was sixteen or more than able to walk inside under her own power, in that moment all he cared was that she was hurting. He had already welcomed her into his family, and just like Bella, he accepted her as his daughter, human or otherwise. He sat down with her on the sofa, holding her in his arms as she cried quietly into his shoulder.

Rubbing her back, he looked up at Esme, listening intently as she relayed to him what Bella had told her. He clenched his jaw, closed his eyes, and held Angela closer. She had been through enough, first at the hands of her parents and then from her stalker. For Lauren to have said that to her… He looked down at her to find her still awake, but unresponsive.

"Angela, sweetheart," he called to her as he leaned her back to see her face. "Angela, talk to me," he said as he tucked her hair behind her ears.

"She's still," Edward said as he knelt in front of the couch and looked up into her face. "She's not even thinking anything. It's like she's just shut down."

"Jasper?" Carlisle turned his attention on his other son and watched him shake his head.

"No," he looked intently at Angela as he searched for any emotion. "It feels like she's guarding herself. Shut herself away inside her mind and pulled the door closed after."

"At the Java Hut," Bella's voice was hesitant, "she said that she couldn't get the attack out of her mind. She doesn't feel safe and then for Lauren to say that…"

"I know," Edward said as he looked up at Angela. "She's been trying to block me, but she can't, her emotions are too strong for that."

"Give her to me," Emmett said as he walked in the front door, followed close behind by Rosalie and Alice.

"Emmett," Carlisle looked as though he wanted to protest, but he had to concede that his son had spent the most time with Angela.

They all watched as Emmett sat down on Angela's side opposite Carlisle and lifted her to sit in his lap. He wrapped his arms tightly around her, curling his body around hers in a wholly protective manner as he rocked back and forth slowly. He spoke to her softly, promised her that she was safe and begged her to come back to him. Edward's eyes flew to Rosalie as he saw Emmett's memories, knew that this was how he had calmed Rosalie through her panic attacks after their first few years of being together. He cuddled her closer, curled his body tighter around hers as he tried to hide her from view and moments later they heard the first of her soft whimpers.

"Em-Emmett," Angela spoke his name, her voice soft and fearful.

"I'm right here, Sweetheart," he promised and kissed her forehead, "I'm right here."

"I'm tired," she whimpered as he stopped rocking and sat back.

"Then you just go to sleep, ok?" he said as she curled against his chest. "I'll be here, Half Pint. I'll look after you."

She whimpered once more as her eyes fell closed. Curling against his chest, her hand fisting in his shirt, Angela gave into the darkness pulling at her brain and fell asleep. He held her in his lap as she slept and looked at his family, his expression dark.

"Who the hell did this?" Emmett growled low.

**:::::**

Consciousness came slowly, her eyes dry and aching from her tears. Blinking into the darkness, Angela whimpered softly and felt an arm tighten around her. Nuzzling her face against the hard chest she was using as a pillow, she breathed in deeply and pushed herself up slowly to a seated position as the person she had been curled against turned on the bedside lamp. Emmett looked at her, his expression somewhere between sad and comforting as he lifted his hand to brush her hair back from her face. Rubbing her hands against her eyes, Angela blinked against the brightness of the light and looked up as she felt the bed dip beside her.

"How are you feeling?" Rosalie asked her gently as she tucked her hair behind her ear.

"My head hurts," Angela whimpered, her mind too tired to comprehend that she had given voice to her pain.

"Yeah, I thought it might," Rosalie soothed as Emmett sat up behind her and leaned Angela back to rest against him. "Toradol or Advil?" she asked, opening her hand to reveal the two medications as she lifted the small cup of water from the bedside table.

"What?"

Angela's soft voice was whispered, her question so soft that only one of their kind could hear it. Rosalie looked at her with sadness and understanding. It was one thing to be attacked by someone you knew, but for it to be someone you had never met… It was the not knowing that could prove to be too much. Closing her hand over the three pills, Rosalie dropped the Toradol into Angela's hand and pressed the glass of water into her hand.

"Stay awake," Rosalie said softly after Angela took the migraine medicine. "You need to eat something. You and Bella went to coffee this morning, it's after eight PM. Bella said you barely ate anything at the Java Hut."

She was hungry, she could feel her stomach clenching with the need for food, but she was scared of being sick again. Her body couldn't handle being more than one-hundred-fifteen pounds and she knew that she had been eating more at the Cullens' simply because Esme loved to cook the meals herself, making everything homemade instead from boxes or pre-prepared meals. She had already put them through so much with her migraines; she didn't want to add to it by being sick.

Helping her from the bed, Rosalie led her down the hall and into the bathroom, leaving her to tend to her needs. Shaking her head, she looked up at Emmett and sighed. Of all of her family, Rosalie was the last to admit to or express worry, but Angela reminded her too much of herself. Where Rosalie was bitchy and ready to spar verbally, Angela would shut down and turn inward. The last thing Rosalie wanted to see was Angela trapped within her own mind. She knew all too well how deceitful and tormenting one's own mind could be.

She waited for Angela to come back out of the bathroom and saw how difficult it was for the girl to stand up on her own, let alone stay awake. Her arms were too thin, her legs more slender than her height would allow and Rosalie knew that something more than migraines was wrong with her. Keeping her arm wrapped around the girl's shoulders, she led her downstairs, not bothering to let her change from the cotton pajama set she'd changed her into earlier. There was no doubt in her mind that as soon as Angela had eaten she would fall asleep again.

"Look who's awake," Rosalie said softly and watched Esme and Carlisle turn in unison.

"Hey, Sweetheart," Carlisle greeted as he stepped forward and took Angela into his arms.

"Papa," she said, her eyes closing as she leaned against him, too tired to realize that she'd spoken at all.

Carlisle smiled down on the half asleep girl in his arms, knowing that she had no idea she'd spoken and wondering if she even knew where she was. For her to have slept as long as she did told him that she was not gaining the restful sleep that she needed and he considered picking up a mild sedative for her. She needed to sleep, and throughout the past week, he knew that she hadn't been getting the necessary eight hours per night that she needed. She curled against his chest and he knew that if he let her, she'd be asleep again within moments.

"You need to eat, Sweetheart," he told her as he leaned her back to look in her half-lidded eyes. "Are you hungry for anything in particular?"

Asking only for tomato soup, Angela leaned heavily against Rosalie once more as the blonde led her into the kitchen. Esme turned to Carlisle and voiced her concern over the girl's lack of eating and asked if there was anything that could be done.

"We have to get her to talk," Carlisle said as he held his wife against his side. "Considering how unwilling she has been thus far to talk over her childhood or her parents that may prove difficult."

Alice walked toward them a few moments later, her expression worried. Telling them that Angela had consumed less than half the bowl of soup Rosalie had prepared, she voiced her concern. Angela was not anywhere near a healthy weight for a girl of her height and it concerned them all. Watching as Emmett walked toward them with Angela half asleep in his arms, he turned his attention on Carlisle. Stepping up to their family's patriarch, Emmett laid Angela in his arms and kissed her forehead.

"Read to her," Emmett said as he looked down on the nearly sleeping girl. "Edward left to see Bella, but he said that Angela wanted you to read to her. He said she missed it."

Carlisle's smile was soft and fatherly, his expression gentle and loving. Cradling Angela against his chest, he carried her up the stairs and into her bedroom to lay her gently down on the bed. If Edward said that she wanted to be read to, then he would read to her all night long. Looking at the titles on her bookshelf, Carlisle took The Incredible Journey from the second shelf before returning to her side. She was almost asleep as it was and, tucking the blankets around her and under her chin, Carlisle bent low and kissed her forehead before sitting on the bed next to her.

He read through the first three chapters before finding her to be sleeping soundly. Whispering a soft "goodnight", he tucked a red ribbon through the pages and set the book on the end table before switching off the lamp. Leaning down, he kissed her forehead once more before standing and leaving her to sleep in peace. Looking back from the open doorway, Carlisle couldn't help but think how tiny she looked in the bed tucked under the thick blankets.

"You love it, don't you?" Jasper said as he looked at Carlisle. "Sure, it's one thing to be the head of our coven, but Angela…she needs you as only a human can. She needs a father, a real father, and you love being that for her."

Unknowing how better to express himself, Carlisle simply shrugged and said, "She's my little girl."


	11. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Angela took the proffered book from Carlisle and smiled as she bit her lip. She watched him disappear from the room again as she looked down at the first edition book, running her fingertips lightly over the well cared for leather binding with reverence. She was careful, her movements slow and painfully cautious as she opened the cover. Her eyes were wide, her expression disbelieving as she looked down upon the title page. _The Fortunes and Misfortunes of the Famous Moll Flanders by Daniel Defoe: First edition published 1721._

She couldn't tear her eyes from the book. Was she really seeing this? Was she truly holding the very first edition of a book she had fallen in love with a few years ago? Carlisle had seen her reading the reprinted paperback of the edition she owned a few times over the course of the past month and had asked if her book was borrowed. When she had told him that she had purchased her edition brand new almost six years ago, but read it so many times it looked old, he had disappeared with a smile that she hadn't understood…until now.

She sat on the couch inside his home office looking at the book he had placed in her hands and wondered if he had any idea just what it meant to her that he was letting her look at it, letting her hold it. Looking up when he stepped back into the room, she found him to be holding a plate of food and a glass of orange juice in his hands. He was a vampire, he didn't eat human food, she thought. He smiled at her in amusement as he set down the plate and glass on his desk, knowing that the girl on the couch hadn't seen Edward standing just outside of the open door.

"The book is yours, Angela," Carlisle said as he leaned back against the edge of his desk and studied her with a smile.

"What?" Angela looked up at him, surely he couldn't mean what she thought he meant.

"I'm not simply letting you look at it, my dear. I'm giving it to you."

Carlisle watched Angela's eyes widen in disbelief as she looked from him down to the book in her hands and then back up to meet his gaze. Her mouth moved, her brows quirked, but no sound came from her lips. He saw tears glisten in her brown eyes and watched as she bit her lip before shaking her head.

"Are you serious?" she finally asked, unable to believe what she was hearing.

"Yes," he smiled at her, his golden eyes sparkling.

No one had ever cared this much before. No one had ever taken the time to notice what she was reading or how the condition of her book told of how often she read it. She practically had the book memorized, she'd read it so often, but still she would read through the pages again and again. He wasn't just commenting on how often she read the book, he was giving her a first edition copy that was so well cared for over the years it still looked brand new. His gift of the book left her speechless, moved her to tears, and though she wanted to tell him what it meant words failed her completely.

"Thank you, Papa," she said staring down at the book only to freeze in place when she realized what she said.

Carlisle was struck silent by the familial term she'd used, not having heard it since she had uttered it almost two weeks ago when she was too tired to know she'd been speaking. A slow smile turned his lips up at the warmth of feeling that flooded through him. He loved that she called him that, but when he noticed her stillness and watched her look up at him with wide fear filled eyes, he frowned in concern. What had happened? Why was she suddenly so afraid? He pushed away from the desk, standing up fully as he glanced at Edward quickly without turning his head. His son was grinding his teeth, looking as though he desired to break something and Carlisle looked back to Angela.

"I-I'm sorry," she said quickly and he shook his head, the movement barely noticeable to her human eyes. "I shouldn't have…I didn't mean to show any disrespect, Dr. Cullen, I - "

"Angela, come here," he interrupted her frightened apology, holding out his hand for her to take. "Come here," he said again, his voice soothing when she failed to move.

Her breathing was rapid, unsteady and she winced as she set the book aside carefully and stood. Taking his hand slowly, she looked down at the floor, surprised when he drew her into his arms and held her close. Carlisle stroked her hair slowly, speaking softly to her, his voice soothing her as she felt a sense of complete safety wash over her chasing her fear away. He leaned back just enough to see her eyes, cupping her face in his hands and smoothing the pads of his thumbs over her cheeks. Kissing her forehead, he promised her that he wasn't upset and pulled her back against his chest, encouraging her to rest her head against his shoulder.

"You can call me 'Papa' anytime you like," he told her, his soft voice next to her ear.

Angela breathed in sharply, her hands clutching his shirt, fisting the fabric in a tight hold as the first aching sob broke free. Carlisle held her close, soothing her as she cried and looked over her head to Edward. Jasper had joined his brother at the door, the southern vampire's attention focused solely on Angela and Carlisle met Edward's fierce gaze, his own golden eyes heavy with concern. She was trembling in his arms, the feel of it both confusing and upsetting to him as he held her tight and stroked her hair. He made his thoughts clear to Edward that he would be talking with him once Angela was calmed and his telepathic son nodded.

Carlisle could feel Angela tiring quickly, her lack of sleep due to her migraines and the fear that still plagued her because of her stalker draining on her, but he couldn't let her fall asleep just yet. She needed to eat, she still had yet to reach what he would consider to be a healthy weight for a girl of her height and he leaned her back gently, rubbing his hands over her arms as he smiled at her. Promising her that he would return shortly, he handed her the plate and glass before leading her back to sit on the couch and instructing her to eat. Jasper moved up to take his place and Carlisle nodded his thanks to his adoptive son, watching as Jasper sat next to her on the couch before he left the room.

Following Edward down the hall and into the kitchen, Carlisle watched the tight way with which his son held himself. His posture was enough to tell him that his son was greatly displeased by whatever he had read from Angela's thoughts and he wanted to know what had happened. Why had she been so afraid of him?

"She was so small, Carlisle," Edward said in answer to his father's worried thoughts. "She couldn't have been much older than five or six…" Edward turned his attention away from the back yard and turned around slowly to look at his father. "When she called you 'Papa', this memory flooded through her mind and she was absolutely terrified of your reaction."

"What happened?" he asked his son, needing to know the answer as much to understand her reaction as to also help the girl sitting in his office.

"She was happy about something, I'm not sure what, but she was trying to get her father's attention. God, she was so small," he breathed out both angry and deeply hurt by the memory he had witnessed in her mind. "She called him 'Daddy' three times and he…he _backhanded her_ so hard that he cut her face and knocked her to the floor. Her father," Edward struggled to say the word, the familial term leaving a bad taste in his mouth when he thought of the man, "told her to never speak to him with such disrespect again. She didn't understand what she had done and called him 'Daddy' again and he…_hit her_…again."

Carlisle felt the air forced from his lungs. He may not have needed to breathe, but the effect was still the same as he fell back against the counter behind him. He saw Esme and Rosalie step into the room from the corner of his eye, both women looking angry and shocked as they stared at Edward. Carlisle didn't even truly care for the idea of corporal punishment, but the thought of someone striking their own child in such a manner for doing that – for doing _nothing_ turned his stomach.

"She was afraid I was going to hit her?" he asked Edward, his voice breathless and barely audible to his son, Edward hearing the question perfectly through his thoughts.

"I don't know that she truly believed you would hit her, but the fear was there. The memory kept looping through her mind; it drowned out every other thought she might have had. All I could read from her was that one memory," Edward said and looked through the room behind Carlisle as he listened to his brother's projected thoughts. "Jasper says that Angela's about ready to fall asleep. She didn't eat too much and she's still upset. She needs you."

Edward watched wordlessly as Carlisle stepped away from the counter and disappeared into the living room. Taking a deep breath and releasing it slowly, Carlisle walked to the hall closet and retrieved a quilt Esme had made within their first year of marriage. Carrying it with him back to his office, he nodded to Jasper and watched as his son gathered the dishes from Angela taking note of the half eaten sandwich. Stepping up to the couch as Jasper left the room, Carlisle sat down next to Angela and draped the heavy quilt over her shoulders. Wrapping the soft cloth around her slight frame, he draped his arm over her shoulders pulling her close to tuck her against his side.

Certain things about Angela's behavior were falling into place now and Carlisle did not like what he was learning. He had thought that her slips of calling him 'Dr. Cullen' and Esme 'Mrs. Cullen' were just due to the habitualness of good manners. To understand now that what he had believed to be manners had been taught through physical abuse angered and saddened him. Pressing a kiss to her dark hair, he lifted the first edition book he had gifted to her and held it in his hands as he turned to the first page of the story and began to read to her aloud.

As he read to her, he couldn't help but wonder how often she had been abused for similar things as a child. What had happened when she had first mentioned experiencing headaches to her parents? From the way she reacted to the pain, her steadfast refusal to show as little discomfort as possible, he doubted that it was just words her parents had used against her. Jasper had been driven to his knees more than once by the sheer magnitude of her migraines and was constantly doing everything he could to help her with her pain.

He felt her grow heavy against him as she neared sleep and he looked down to find that her eyes were barely open. Folding the book closed while leaving his index finger between the pages to keep his place, Carlisle shifted them both just enough so that he could lean back to lie against the arm of the couch, Angela's head pillowed on his chest. She was tucked between his body and the back of the couch, her hand appearing out of the top of the quilt folded around her to fist in the soft fabric of his shirt next to her face. She was nearly asleep, but still responsive enough that he could ask her a few questions and gain her answers without her remembering they'd spoken.

"Angela," Carlisle kept his voice soft and soothing as he spoke, lulling her into a peaceful state of semi consciousness, "why have you been so careful not to eat much?"

"I get sick," she answered, her eyes closed, her voice whisper quiet.

"Sick?" he repeated and stroked her hair. "How? Tell me how you get sick."

"Ever since I was about ten or eleven," she answered slowly, "if I get above one hundred fifteen pounds I get sick. I've been able to go as high as one hundred twenty before, but only once. I get sick for days until my weight drops back down," she told him as she sniffled and curled closer, yawning in her near sleep state.

"Go to sleep, Little One," he told her and tilted his head just enough to kiss her hair. "I'll take care of you."

Carlisle clenched his jaw as he looked at the ceiling above his head, wanting at once to both cry in agony for her and scream in rage. He knew why she would get sick, his recollection of her being brought to him after being given water laced with ipecac was irrevocably burned into his memory. It had nothing to do with her body not being able to handle the weight as she believed it to be, no, her sickness was caused by her parents. Those people, who were supposed to love, shelter, and protect her, had instead abused, neglected and endangered her. A girl of her height and bone structure should weigh no less than one hundred forty five pounds to be considered healthy. That her parents had kept her at one hundred fifteen pounds, enforcing the unhealthy weight through drugged water in order to make her believe that her body couldn't handle it was not only abusive, but it was also dangerously unhealthy.

"Papa," her voice was so soft that he doubted she was aware she was speaking.

"Yes, baby girl," he said as he rubbed his hand over her quilt covered arm.

"Will you read some more?" she asked her words a bit slurred and her tone of voice made him certain that she didn't have her eyes open.

"Of course," he said.

Hugging her close with the arm wrapped around her back he brought his hands together in order to open the book he still held. Carlisle read to her slowly, his voice smooth and gentle. He paused in his reading as he turned the page, looking up when he caught sight of Edward standing inside the room. His son knelt next to the couch, his golden eyes studying Angela's peaceful face as a soft expression of love and tenderness curved his lips up into a small smile.

"She's completely asleep," he told Carlisle, keeping his voice low.

He had never seen Carlisle in such a truly fatherly position before as he did now. The man was lying back on the suede sofa with Angela's quilt wrapped form tucked against his side, her head pillowed on his chest as she slept. Her hand was fisted in the fabric of his father's shirt, the tip of her nose touching the edge of her thumb. The thoughts coming from Carlisle were protective, loving, devoted and wholly paternal; his intent to offer the girl in his arms comfort and care while doing what he could to heal her soul were enough to silence Edward and make his heart burn with the brilliant warmth of the man's affection.

Jasper stepped into the room, his eyes affixed on the human girl sleeping in Carlisle's arms. The sense of peace and contentment that had overcome her when Carlisle had wrapped her in his arms and began reading to her was hypnotic. The way she felt, waves of safety and comfort flowing from her to him as she fell asleep were such a mirror opposite from the fear that she had felt earlier that day. Little by little, the loneliness and feelings of inadequacy that had been ever present were beginning to abate, being replaced instead by feelings of acceptance, comfort and happiness. There were times when he stayed as close to her as he could simply because of the new feelings growing within her, it was as though he were watching a flower sprout up from the earth in spring to bloom before his eyes.

"I know," Edward said softly to his brother, keeping his voice low so as not to wake Angela.

Carlisle looked between his sons, finding them both to be studying Angela and he ducked his chin to look at her face. She was still asleep, a hint of a smile tugging at her lips and he wondered just what it was that both his sons were reading from her. He tugged the quilt up around her shoulders, engulfing her completely in its warmth when she shivered. Cooler than normal temperatures for the summer in addition to the rain Forks was almost famous for had kept the weather outside in the low forties. Looking up from Angela when he remembered his sons were still in the room, he found them both to be grinning slightly. Jasper was the first to speak, his voice low making his soft Texan accent slightly more pronounced.

"It's amazing how much she loves that," Jasper told Carlisle, his lips tugging up at the corner. "The way you treat her like a daughter. The way you hold her, comfort her. I wasn't influencing her emotions earlier," he said in reference to her upset from before. "That was all you; I was just amazed by it. She was terrified and I could feel her desire to run, but as soon as you wrapped your arms around her…I always thought that I was the only one who could calm someone so easily."

"When the migraine medicine doesn't work," Edward said, drawing his father's attention. "Esme will sit with her and read to her, or Emmett will hold her and tell her stories about his human years. She loves it, she treasures those moments. She's still scared though, she's afraid we'll turn her away."

"We'll never turn her away," Esme's voice sounded from the doorway and she smiled down on her husband when she saw him on the couch. "She's part of this family now."

"Yes, but in all the memories that I have been able to see from her, all of the thoughts," Edward shook his head and sighed. "She may have parents, but she never had a family. That first morning she was here," Edward said as he looked up at Esme who was standing by the arm of the couch that pillowed Carlisle's head. "When you made her breakfast, do you remember how odd you thought it was that she looked like she might cry?" Esme nodded quietly. "No one had ever done that before. It wasn't just the food either, it was the way you laid it out, the way you encouraged her sit down and eat. You made her feel cared about, wanted and she had never felt that before."

"She didn't eat very much," Esme said as she thought back on that morning. "Was she too upset?"

"No."

It was Carlisle who answered her question, his deep sigh telling of his worry and displeasure. He sat up slowly, taking care to move without disturbing her sleep. He cradled her in his arms, held her in his lap as Esme moved to sit beside him on the couch. Looking down into Angela's sleeping face; he tucked her hair behind her ear and looked up at Esme.

"Over the years, her parents have convinced her that her body cannot handle being over one hundred fifteen pounds," he said, his voice silently reproachful. "They did this by giving her water laced with ipecac whenever they deemed her heavy. She never knew the water was tainted. All she ever knew was that when she would put on a few pounds she would become horribly sick until her weight dropped back down."

"Heavy?" Esme repeated the word with a shake of her head. "She's so thin, too thin."

"She is roughly thirty pounds under what her weight should be for someone of her height. She has been careful not to eat too much as she doesn't want to get sick."

Angela stirred slightly, her fisted hand opening and releasing her grip on his shirt as she rubbed her eye. Carlisle watched her move, a soft fatherly glow in his butterscotch eyes. She didn't wake, but she did curl closer and nuzzle her face against his shoulder as she fell into a deeper sleep with her hand resting open against his chest near her cheek. He would protect her in any way he could.

"And so will we," Edward said in answer to his father's thoughts.

Carlisle stood slowly and turned, laying Angela gently on the couch and smiling at the throw pillow Esme brought to him from the living room. Tucking it beneath Angela's head, he brought the end of the quilt up beneath her chin before leaving her to rest. Stepping out of his office, he waited for his family to follow and moved to the living room. The front door opened as Emmett and Alice stepped into the house with a few boxes and bags held in their arms.

"Carlisle," Alice spoke his name as she stepped up to him and held out a postcard to him. "This was in her mail. How do we tell her about this?"

Wrapping his arm around Esme's waist as he held her to his side, Carlisle took the card from Alice's hand, his brow quirking as he studied the picture on the front. The white stylized writing on the front was Spanish and as he looked closer, he realized that he recognized the landscape: it was the rolling mountains of Belize. Flipping the card over, he read through the short message written by her parents, the script half cursive half print telling him it was most likely her mother who had transcribed the note. He shook his head, angered and saddened by the words.

_On June fifteenth you will be seventeen and more than old enough to take care of yourself. As today is May fifteenth, you have one month. We will be returning soon and will expect that all of your things will be moved out of the house. _

_Rev. and Mrs. Weber_

After everything that they had already done, already put her though, her parents were now throwing her out. If she hadn't been brought over for the girl's night a little more than six weeks ago, she would've been homeless. Turning his head when he heard Edward growl, he looked at his son and nodded to affirm the thoughts he'd read before handing him the postcard. Esme placed her hand on Carlisle's chest, drawing his attention to her as she stared up at him.

"She already has a room here, Carlisle. She has a home with us," Esme told him, knowing he had already made his decision.

Wrapping his other arm around his wife, Carlisle nodded and tipped his head down to kiss her. He already considered Angela his daughter. In the short time since she had come into their lives, he had accepted her without question and so had the rest of his family. He watched Emmett set down the box he'd been holding before moving across the room.

"Hey, half pint," Emmett greeted Angela, wrapping his arm around her waist. "You ok?"

"Mmhmm," she nodded tiredly and he chuckled.

Esme watched as the girl rubbed a hand over her stomach and grimaced. The knowledge of what Carlisle had told them all earlier, that Angela didn't eat very much because she was afraid of being sick, made her realize that the girl was most likely still hungry. She hadn't eaten to her fill, she had only eaten just enough to keep herself somewhat fed. Stepping up to her son, she smiled at the drowsy girl tucked into his side and looked up at Emmett.

"She needs food," Esme told him, "something fattening and teenager. You need to make certain she eats more than just a few bites."

Smiling when Emmett chuckled quietly, Esme looked down and smiled. It didn't surprise her one bit that Angela didn't seem to hear her, the girl was practically asleep again. Emmett nodded and looked down at Angela, speaking her name to draw her attention. When she looked up at him, he grasped her around the waist and tossed her over his shoulder, laughing at her surprised shriek.

"Emmett!" she laughed at him. "What are you doing?"

"Taking you out to put some meat on your bones," he answered and turned to Edward. "Call Bells, have her meet us at the pizza parlor."

"Don't worry," Edward told Esme with a shake of his head and a chuckle after Emmett disappeared out the front door. "She adored that. She loves his goofy big brother antics – her words not mine."

Jasper's brow furrowed as he looked at his wife. The emotions coming from her were confusing to say the least. She was angry, restless, sad, and incredibly determined. Opening the box that Emmett had set down, she took out a large black photo album and handed it to Carlisle and Esme, her expression unreadable.

"Look through that," Alice demanded as Carlisle took the book from her hands. "Tell me what's missing."

Frowning at the almost harsh tone of his usually happy daughter's voice, he opened the photo album and with Esme by his side, they both looked through it. Page after page was filled with pictures of her parents, their travels, native people they'd met as well as friends they traveled with. Near the middle of the book there were pictures of her mother pregnant and one picture of her holding a blanket wrapped infant. As he turned the next page, there were pictures of Forks, of the church her father was a pastor at, but there were no pictures of Angela. There were no pictures of children at all. Aside from the two photos of her mother late in her pregnancy and the one of her holding Angela as a newborn infant, it was as though the girl didn't exist.

"Was there another album, or a baby book?" Esme asked as Carlisle closed the photo album.

"No," Alice said, her voice holding tightly controlled rage. "There was nothing aside from Angela's room that denoted her existence. I even looked through her parents' bedroom. It was as though they didn't want to be reminded that they had a child. Who does that?" her question came out with a growl.

Jasper focused on Alice, understanding her rage but also feeling the need to calm her. She looked back at him and he could feel the hurt she felt for Angela, the unfairness of it all. Wrapping his arms around her shoulders, he pulled her close and tightened his embrace when she clutched at the back of his shirt and buried her face in his chest. Dropping his head to kiss her hair, he looked up at Carlisle.

"You know how we all feel about Angela. You've heard Alice's vision and you've told us of your research and the medical certainty that she will not live to see twenty," Jasper said loosening his arms as Alice moved to stand tucked against his side. "If you had any question before about our acceptance of her, then let me be the one to tell you that there is no question."

"She is part of this family," Rosalie said, repeating Esme's words from earlier that day.

Carlisle nodded slowly, acknowledging his family's words. He wasn't certain how best to tell Angela of the news, but he knew it would be best to do so alone with Esme. He told his children that they should go hunting when Emmett and Edward came home. Moving toward the box that Alice had taken the photo album from, he replaced it inside and covered it with the lid before carrying it up the stairs. Perhaps looking at her books would give him a better insight into how best to begin the conversation.

**:::::**

Carlisle looked at Esme as Angela walked into his office carrying her laptop in her arms. He had known that she would slip inside as quietly as possible and settle on the couch, as she always did when he left the door open. He watched as she sat down and opened the computer, running her finger over the optical track pad to bring the monitor back to life. He watched her eyes move over the screen, reading whatever she was looking at, before she began typing. Biting her lip, her brows furrowed and she shook her head truly appearing to be confused by whatever she was working on.

"Can I help?" Carlisle asked as he moved the chair in front of his desk to face her and sat down.

"Maybe," Angela said slowly before looking up from the computer. "Do you read Gaelic? I'm not sure if it's the Irish or Scottish dialect."

Chuckling and nodding, Carlisle moved to sit next to her. "I read and speak both," he told her with a smile. "What are you working on?" he asked as he took the proffered computer.

"A…birthday present of sorts," she admitted with a blush.

Carlisle looked over the information on the page and as he read through the Gaelic text he discovered that it was a history of the McCarty clan dating back from eighteen sixty three, the year before his grandfather had moved from Scotland to sixteen thirteen, the earliest dating of the first McCarty clan in the highlands of Scotland. The pages had been emailed to her, copies of texts that were handwritten and well cared for.

"Angela, what is all this?" he asked with curiosity and watched as she shrugged.

"Emmett tells me stories all the time of his family from when he was human and the way he talks about them…I kind of wanted to give them back to him in a way. I already traced his family's history after he… died and found currently living nieces and nephews, but I thought I'd trace it back as well…My job, I'm a virtual correspondence research assistant for a historian, Dr. Jamison and when I get started on a project I just tend to go all in. I don't even know if he'll like it, but I thought I'd trace through what I could."

"He'll love this," Carlisle said with reverence. "I'll translate these for you tonight."

Standing up, Carlisle set the laptop on his desk before returning to the couch as Esme took her seat in the chair that he had pulled close to her. The expressions on their faces told her that whatever they wanted to talk about wasn't good and she honestly wasn't sure she wanted to know. The only thing she could think of was that she may have done something to upset them. She only hoped that she hadn't over stayed her welcome.

"I have been trying to find a way to tell you about this since Emmett and Alice brought your things here," Carlisle said with reluctant sigh. "I wish I had a better way to tell you, but I don't," he said and handed the postcard to Angela. "Alice found it among your mail when they went to your house."

They watched as she looked at the card, turned it over and read the words. Her eyes moved back and forth as she read the words again and again. Her face paled, her eyes filled with tears as she was left with a sense of aching dread. Her parents wanted her to leave; the Cullens had been so kind to her already, she didn't have the heart to ask them for more. She was certain that the room they had made for her was only to be used on occasion; she hadn't ever thought that they meant to give her a permanent home. Where would she go? What would she do?

"They brought back a few boxes of books and clothes. Esme and I thought that you should look through what they brought back and see if there's anything they missed that you wanted," Carlisle told her gently and Angela looked up sharply with a confused shake of her head.

"What?" she had expected them to talk with her about finding another place to live or to kick her out, but what he said? "Carlisle, what are you saying?"

"Nothing we haven't said before," he told her, Edward's revelation of her thoughts and memories and the review of the photo album giving him a good idea as to what she was thinking. "You are part of this family, Angela. You have a place here with us and in this house."

They wanted her to stay? They were offering her a permanent home with them? She nodded shakily as the tears that had filled her eyes spilled over and she leaned into his welcomed embrace. Their hug turned into a triple embrace as Esme knelt down in front to wrap her arms around them both. She had found a home, a true family, and the acceptance and love she had always thought were just out of her reach. The warmth of their love and the love she felt for them burned through her as beautiful and delicate as the sunrise.

**:::::**

Angela ran into her bedroom, leaving the door partway open even as climbed onto her bed and choked back a sob. She didn't want to talk about this; she didn't want to think about it at all. Folding her arms over her stomach as she hugged herself tightly, Angela pulled her feet up as she scooted as far back against the headboard of her bed as she could and folded her legs against her chest, burying her face in her knees. Why did they want to talk about this? What did it matter? After all, she had been the one at fault; they wouldn't have done what they did if she hadn't deserved it, would they? Feeling a cool touch on her jean clad leg, Angela looked up into Esme's warm golden eyes, the kindness in her expression offering her love and affection.

"We only want to help you, Sweetheart," Esme told her gently as Carlisle sat down on the other side of the bed opposite his wife.

"Angela," Carlisle's voice was soft, soothing her even as he pushed for more. "It's not just about helping you past what you went through, but it's also about helping you with your migraines. There's very little information regarding your early experiences."

Angela shook her head miserably, biting her lip as she looked down at her legs folded up against her chest. A part of her knew that the question had began as a simple clinical query, but when he had asked about the earliest migraine she could remember – her very first experience and what treatment she had been given – it had set her into a mild state of panic. She remembered Carlisle asking her down in his office about her first migraine, his question innocent, but all the same she had turned and ran from the room. She didn't want to think about it, didn't want to remember. Couldn't they just forget her earlier migraines?

"You are safe here, Angela," Carlisle promised her as he held out his hand, waiting patiently until she placed her shaking hand in his palm. "I promise you that you're safe here," he told her as he held her hand and looked into her eyes.

Closing her eyes against the pain of memories she wished she could forget; Angela nodded. She half wished Edward was there so that she could just think the answers and wouldn't have to give voice to them. Having to speak the answers, actually talk about the way her parents treated her made it seem all the more real. Edward wouldn't be coming in to read her thoughts though; Carlisle had asked the others to go hunting, to let him and Esme speak to her alone. He had told her that he thought it would be easier for her if she didn't have a large audience.

"When did your first migraine onset?" Carlisle asked her again.

His voice was gentle and patient. Moving closer to her by an inch or two, he watched the emotions play across her face and tucked her hair behind her ear. Cupping her face in his palm, he chaffed the pad of his thumb over the curve of her cheek and encouraged her to meet his gaze. She was breathing harshly, trying not to cry and bit her lip between her teeth as she looked up at him slowly. Leaning forward, Carlisle pressed a lingering kiss to her forehead, reaffirming to her his silent promise of protection.

"It was two weeks before my ninth birthday," she began slowly, trying her best not withdraw into herself or runaway as all of her instincts were telling her to. "The pain was pretty severe; there wasn't any build up or warning. One moment I was fine and the next…It was a Friday night, my parents were hosting a dinner party for people who they used to travel with. I was supposed to stay in my room, no one was supposed to see me, but the pain wouldn't go away. She was setting the table for it when I told her about my migraine."

Angela's voice drifted off as she tightened her hand around his fingers and squeezed her eyes tightly shut. She didn't want to remember. Carlisle's thumb rubbed lightly over the backs of her bent fingers as Esme's arm wrapped around her waist. She leaned into the woman's side without opening her eyes, trying desperately not to let the fear overtake her. Esme's melodic voice was quiet, loving as she offered her comfort, promising her safety as she stroked her hair.

"She told me to stop playing around," Angela said slowly and sniffled as tears burned behind her eyes. "But it hurt so much that I couldn't see straight. I couldn't focus on anything…Someone told me to be quiet, I didn't know I was crying," she said, her voice an apologetic whimper as she looked to Carlisle, her eyes begging him to understand that she hadn't meant to cause trouble.

"Go on," he encouraged her, turning her hand in his as he rubbed his thumb over the inside of her wrist.

Angela sniffled, a single tear running down her cheek. "There's this…closet in the basement."

Esme breathed in sharply and looked to her husband with wide mournful eyes. She had a feeling that she knew what the girl was going to say. A large part of her wanted to spare Angela the pain of the memory, even as her logical side knew that in order to heal and move past her experiences she had to talk about them.

"I asked my mom to make the pain stop, to do something _anything_ to make it stop hurting. I remember being knocked to the floor and told to stop acting like a fool and then…" she took in a deep shaking breath. She didn't want to say more, but Carlisle had asked her and she didn't want to upset him or Esme by refusing to answer. "I was locked in the closet; I think it was my mom who did it. The door was the kind that only opened from the outside and there wasn't any light inside of it. I couldn't stand up all the way and it was cold. It was hard to breathe in there; the only place that air came in was through a little crack by the hinge near the floor."

Angela shivered against the chill of her memory. She didn't want to talk anymore; she didn't want to admit to being bad. Her eyes snapped open when she felt Carlisle shift his weight and feared that he was leaving her. She watched as he grasped the thick quilt hanging over the arm of the chair near the bed and turned back to her, his expression compassionate and understanding as he wrapped her in the copious folds of the hand stitched blanket.

"How long were you locked in the closet?" he asked her as he watched Esme bring Angela's hair out from under the quilt.

"I think they must've forgotten that I was in there because when the door opened, I was told to go take a shower and get ready for school. It was Monday."

"They kept you in that closet for over two days?" Esme asked, her voice a mix of anger, disbelief and sorrow.

Angela nodded without meeting her gaze. "They usually locked me in my room when they had their dinner parties, but I was making too much noise. It just hurt too much, I didn't know I was crying, I just knew that I was in pain."

They would see now, wouldn't they? They would see whatever her parents had seen. Her breathing grew harsher, faster as her heart sped in a wild staccato rhythm in her chest. She had finally found a family, a real family, she didn't want to leave them but she knew that they would now see whatever her parents had seen. She was bad and evil wasn't she? There had to be something wrong with her for her parents to have done that.

Looking up, prepared to leave if they asked her to, she was surprised to see Carlisle watching her with concern. As soon as her eyes met his, he opened his arms to her and she choked on a wrenching sob as she fell against his chest. He moved her blanket wrapped form to sit in his lap and wrapped his arms tight around her as he rocked her slowly. Petting her hair, he soothed her with his words, comforted her as she cried against his chest. Bowing his head down over hers, Carlisle hugged her close and met Esme's eyes with his own.

"How many times did they lock you in that closet, Angela?" he asked her being sure to keep his voice soothing and quiet.

"A lot…I lost count," she finally said after a long moment of silence. "They would lock me in there until I stopped telling them that my head hurt. "

"And if you showed any physical signs of pain?" he asked her gently.

Angela curved her lips in over her teeth, biting down on the delicate flesh as she pressed her face against Carlisle's chest. She didn't want to say anymore, didn't want to have to hear their angry, demeaning words cycle through her mind. She felt Esme's hand on her arm, felt Carlisle press his lips against her hair as he held her closer.

"You are safe here, little one," he told her, rubbing her back to soothe the upset that was making her tremble.

"They…yelled at me. My mother…she told me that I was play-acting and told me to stop trying to get attention. No one wanted to look at or be near a misbehaving child."

"And your father?" Esme asked when Angela remained silent.

"He would…lecture me; I guess is the right term. I'm not a very religious person; it doesn't make a lot of sense to me. I look to history and sciences like anthropology and archaeology to find the answers to my questions about life. My father has always told me that any pain I may experience is only a deserving punishment for being blasphemous and disrespectful. No matter the medical evidence, he still believes that I'm making up the migraines."

Carlisle ground his teeth together in an effort to regain a sense of calm. How dare they treat her that way. Turning slowly and reaching out to Esme, he laid back upon the pillows, bringing Angela down with him. She rested her head on his chest as Esme curled up against her back and rubbed her hand down over her arm. The quilt was pulled out to its full length; the ends covering her feet as she was cocooned in the blanket.

She was so tired, barely able to keep her eyes open. Curling the large quilt tighter against herself, Angela burrowed deeper into Carlisle's arms and hid her face behind the blanket as she yawned. Her migraines often made it beyond impossible to sleep, but when she was held as she was now and made to feel so safe and cared for, sleep came unhindered.

"When I was twelve and got my first prescription, my parents told me that they were done catering to my whims. They left one night and I didn't see them again for six months. When they came back I was sick for three days straight and no matter how slowly I sipped at the water, I couldn't keep anything down."

Angela's voice drifted off and when Carlisle ducked his chin to look at her face, he found her to be asleep. Looking at Esme, he saw the same look of angry sorrow that he was certain was mirrored on his face. She had been abused, mentally and physically, neglected and left to fend for herself by people who had no business being parents. Because of their treatment of her she was constantly afraid that she would be asked to leave by him or his family and all any of them could do was assure her over and over that that wouldn't happen. She was part of their family now, she was a Cullen in spirit if not in name and family meant everything to them.


	12. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

"We can move your bed, if you'd like," Carlisle offered, smiling as he stepped into Angela's bedroom.

He had come to call her for breakfast only to find her in the same position that he always found her in the mornings. She was lying on the floor in front of the glass wall looking out over the surrounding forest. Curled on her side with a pillow cuddled in her arms and beneath her head, the glass was pushed open so that the breeze could blow over her, rustling her hair as she basked in the changing light of the morning. She turned her head to look up at him and grinned before turning back to watch the breeze blow through the trees.

"No, I like where it is," she said and took his proffered hand, letting him help her to her feet. "I just like watching the sunrise. It's so peaceful."

"Did you sleep well?" he asked her, accepting her hug as he wrapped his arms around her.

In all his years, he had never let himself think of what it would be like to be a father, a true father. But Angela had given him a glimpse of what it was like and he loved every moment of it. Her hugs, the way she let him dote on her, protect her, the way that she needed him in a way that only she could, she had given him something he had never known he was missing. His lips twitched as he thought over Alice's excitement for Angela's upcoming birthday party next week and although the day would be bittersweet, he knew that while she would be losing her parents she would be gaining a family. He hoped that her birthday would be the start of a new beginning for her, a time from which she would be able to grow in confidence and strength in herself without questioning her own worth.

He watched as she put the pillow back on her bed and checked that all of her things were together. She was already dressed for the day, her bed neatly made, and he wondered once more when it was that she actually woke in the mornings as her movements were so quiet that it was difficult to tell when she was awake or asleep before he opened her door. Her short sleeved shirt revealed her slim arms and he was reminded once more of the conversation he wished to have with her. She turned toward him and he watched her gasp, her eyes wide and full of wonder as she stared at him. Brow furrowing in confusion, he looked down to see the brilliance of the sun lighting his prismatic skin, making it shimmer and shine as though his skin was covered with diamond dust.

"You never did ask," he said with a smile as he turned his hand over and watched her study his movements. "Then again, this phenomenon of our kind is not something easily explained. Today is supposed to be bright, so the others won't be joining you at school."

Edward's laughter sounded from down the hall and Angela blushed realizing that he'd read her thoughts. Silently bantering at him through her thoughts, she shook her head and looked up to see Carlisle's brow raised in question.

"Fairy god-brothers," she murmured, her blush darkening and Carlisle laughed.

"Mental image?" he asked knowing that it was often images rather than strings of thought that would bring laughter from his once-brooding son.

Angela nodded as she lifted her back pack from her bed only to hand it to Carlisle when he held his hand out to carry it for her. Wrapping his arm around her shoulders, he led her into the hall and down the stairs. Setting her backpack on the couch, he led her into the kitchen and watched as she looked in worry over the breakfast that Esme had prepared for her. A single large plate held two small pancakes, scrambled eggs and two strips of bacon for her. Next to the plate was a half glass of orange juice along with a small bowl of fresh cut fruit. He had asked his wife to prepare a full breakfast for Angela, even helping her to cut the fruit before he had gone upstairs to wake her. Pulling out the chair from the table, he held his hand out for her and waited for Angela to sit down before he knelt next to her.

"Angela, I want you to do something for me," he told her and tucked her hair behind her ear when she met his gaze. "I want you to trust me."

"I do trust you," she said with a confused frown.

"This might be a bit harder though," he told her as he held her hands together between his own. "I want you to trust me to take care of you. I want you to eat to your fill. Don't stop until you've completely satiated your hunger. I know you're afraid of getting sick if you eat too much, but I want you to let me worry about that. Eat to your fill, if you start feeling ill at all then come to me."

He watched her face, studied her eyes, knowing just how hard his request was for her. For roughly six years now she had been forced to an unhealthy weight by her parents through drugged water. She always had, and still did, believe that it was her body that was unable to handle the weight, never realizing that it was her parents who were causing her to be ill. Her jaw tightened, her brow furrowed in worry and a touch of fear, but after a long moment she gave him a shaking nod. Raising his hand to cup her cheek, he kissed her forehead and stood.

"Eat up," he told her and stepped out of the kitchen.

Angela closed her eyes as she breathed in deeply and felt her stomach clench with the desire to be fed. She ate the bacon first, and then slowly the pancakes and eggs. She half expected her stomach to reject the food as she had consumed more than she normally did in one sitting, but still it demanded more and she ate the fruit as well. Downing the last of her orange juice, she was surprised at how sated she felt. Looking up as Esme took the plate and bowl from her to rinse in the sink, she offered to do the dishes only for the woman to chuckle and shake her head.

"You're fine, Angela," Esme assured her as the girl stood from the table to hand her the empty glass. "Let me mother you while I can."

"You don't mind it?" Angela asked as she stepped into Esme's open arms and hugged her close.

"Not a bit," she assured. "Now, go. Carlisle's going to drop you at school on his way to the hospital."

"But, how can he go in?" she asked looking at the bright day outside the window.

"We have our ways," she said with a smile. "The high school is just far too open a campus and the dress code too restrictive for what we need to wear in order to cover ourselves. Carlisle has perfected the art of slipping in unnoticed and the angles of the windows at the hospital do not allow for direct sunlight."

Stepping forward and pressing a kiss to the girl's forehead, Esme handed her the lunch she had prepared and told her to have a good day at school. Watching as she stepped out of the room, she couldn't help the smile that bowed her lips. Today was the first day that she had seen Angela eat to her fill and enjoy the food without seeming to hold an underlying fear of it.

"She'll be fine," Jasper said, reading her worried emotions as he stepped into the kitchen.

"It's the first day that you all haven't been with her since Lauren made those comments. I just hope that girl doesn't take your absences as a chance to have another go at Angela," Esme said.

"She's stronger than anyone knows, stronger than even she knows," Jasper assured her as he looked out the window, watching as Carlisle's car rounded the bend in the road. "The more I watch her grow around us, the more I've come to realize that there's a little spitfire underneath it all. She just hasn't ever held the confidence to let it out before."

**:::::**

The large breakfast Esme had made for her left her feeling surprisingly energetic. Her first period had been a free class, her teacher absent from school and she had taken the time to put the finishing touches on the presentation she was supposed to make in biology class next period. Final touches done, Angela pulled up the article she had written for the school newspaper and did a final read through as she looked for any spelling or grammatical errors before telling it to print. Closing down the programs and turning off her laptop, she disconnected the charge cord from the outlet on the wall next to her. Gathering the article she had finished from the printer, Angela put it inside a slim pocket folder, the papers tucked in opposite to the pictures she had printed last night. Feeling dizzy as she stood and left the library, she didn't give it much thought as she made her way down the hallway.

Angela rubbed her temple as she stepped into the sanctuary of the high school newspaper office and dropped off the photos she had taken along with her newest article. There wasn't much new going on around the town of Forks and she had been asked to write a filler article to take up the space that the lack in sports and school spirit events had left. Her choice to do a historical biography of the creation of the town had been met with equal amounts of indifference and interest. Most high school students were not interested in historical pieces, but she hoped that the additional pictures of the surrounding Olympic Rainforest as well as the monuments around the town would help draw attention.

The pain she felt was minimal compared to what she was used to feeling and Angela hoped that she would be able to make it through the day without experiencing a migraine. Leaving the newspaper office as the bell rang; she made her way to her next class without incident. The vertigo was persistent though, refusing to leave her as she made her way to her desk and sat down. Looking up as the teacher began calling names to check for attendance, she was surprised at how out of focus her vision was and checked to confirm that she had her glasses on. Hearing her name called along with Mike Newton's, she stood and began to make her way to the front of class to give their presentation. Just as she stepped past the front desks her migraine screamed to life in a piercing burn and her vision went black as she fell unconscious to the floor.

**:::::**

"I just need a minute."

Her voice was soft, harsh and ragged. She tried to focus, she really did, but she couldn't. She couldn't understand the words over the incessant buzzing in her ears, couldn't see the face in front of her as even the dimmed light of the room was blinding her. She didn't know who she was talking to, couldn't remember what time it was or where she was. All Angela knew for certain was that the pain wouldn't go away and no amount of breathing techniques were allowing her enough focus to do anything more than lie as still as she possibly could.

Tears leaked from her tightly closed eyes, the heels of her hands pressing hard against her temples as she tried to equalize the building pressure to lessen the pain. Feeling the burning in her throat, tasting the rising bile, she asked to be taken to the bathroom before she threw up where she was. The person sitting next to her placed a warm hand on her back just under her shoulders and scooted her to the side of the bed. She heard the scraping of metal against the floor, the sound grating on her already burning nerves, and the feeling of cool thin plastic telling her that a trashcan had been placed beneath her.

Angela groaned seconds before she vomited into the trashcan. It felt to her that it took forever until her stomach emptied itself, the pain of her twisting insides worsening her already impossible migraine to an unbelievable level. The warm hand touched her face, brushing a tissue against her skin before tipping her head up and holding a tiny cup of water to her lips for her to rinse her mouth. Her head was laid back on the flat, somewhat hard pillow, the mattress beneath her stiff and unfamiliar. Whimpering as she tried to focus her mind, tried to use both the breathing techniques and new meditations she'd been practicing, she felt her pain fight back and grow worse.

The sound of door opening and closing was too much for her and Angela sobbed, turning on her side, she folded herself into a tight ball and cried. The pain was growing worse, it wasn't lessening and the sounds and scents around her were frightening in their unfamiliarity. Voices talked in low tones around her before the person sitting next to her moved and someone else took their place. This time the hand that touched her face was pleasantly cool and smooth. Cold lips pressed a gentle kiss to her cheek, their hand rubbing slow circles in the middle of her back.

"She doesn't really seem to be able to understand anything," Nurse Michaels said to Esme. "Isabella Swan brought her in here nearly half an hour ago with the help of Mike Newton and told me to call you. I was going to call an ambulance, but Miss Swan insisted that they wouldn't know what to do."

"Unfortunately, Bella is right," Esme told the school nurse.

"I'm new here as of this week, if you don't mind my asking, what's wrong with Miss Weber? What's causing her pain?"

"Very severe migraines," Esme said sadly, keeping her palm cupped around Angela's forehead as it seemed to calm the girl. "I've called my husband, he should be here shortly."

"Your husband?" she shook her head not understanding the significance of the statement.

"Doctor Carlisle Cullen, he is chief of medicine at Forks Hospital as well as Angela's primary care physician."

Angela whimpered again, moving closer to the edge of the bed and the nurse brought the trashcan back to the side of the bed seconds before Angela vomited. Esme's brow furrowed in concern and she traced gentle circles into Angela's back doing what she could to offer comfort to the girl in the bed. It had been an unusually bright day outside and so her adoptive vampire children were out hunting instead of at school. Carlisle usually kept to his office at the hospital if he were on duty and she had to wear a wide brimmed hat with long silk gloves and an knee length fashion coat over her pants suit just to be able to make it from her car to the building without anyone seeing her prismatic skin.

Turning her head at the sound of the low rumble coming from outside; Esme saw that the sky had darkened since she had stepped into the school and watched as a branch of lightning traversed the sky before a boom of thunder shook the windows. Angela cried out at the noise, curling tighter in on herself and moving her hands from her temples to cover her ears. She vomited again as the door opened unseen behind them, Carlisle stepping inside with his medical bag held in his hand, the two women in the room staring at Angela.

"That's the fourth time in the past forty minutes that she's been sick," Nurse Michaels said as she glanced at her watch.

"Esme," Carlisle's smooth voice sounded from behind the women and he watched as Esme stood. "How long has she been like this?" he asked as he took the seat his wife had vacated on the bed.

The school nurse shook her head. "I honestly don't know," she said with a sigh. "Miss Swan brought her in a little over forty minutes ago with the help of Mike Newton. I was told that she was giving a presentation when she collapsed."

Carlisle's expression was grim as he nodded to the nurse and thanked her for taking care of Angela before he and Esme had arrived. Retrieving the bottle of liquid Toradol along with a pencil thin syringe from his bag, he injected the migraine medication into her arm and waited for it to take effect. Holding her elbow in his hand, he rubbed his thumb in circles over the injection site while he massaged the base of her skull gently with the fingertips of his other hand. It took nearly ten minutes before the medicine was able to dull her pain, the girl on the bed staring up at him with unseeing eyes.

"Esme, will you sign Angela out of school and make certain the office knows that she will not be in attendance tomorrow?" Carlisle requested as he placed the used syringe into the sharps disposal container on the far wall. "What would I need to do to add our information to Angela's emergency contact form?" he asked the nurse.

"You wouldn't be adding," she told him and handed him the card. "There isn't anyone to contact. When I saw that her father's name was listed as 'Reverend Weber', I called down to the church only to be told that both her mother and father were unavailable and not to be disturbed."

Carlisle clicked his pen, returning the point into the barrel and handed the emergency contact card back to the nurse, his and Esme's cell phone numbers written down. Looking back to the girl lying on the stiff, rubber sealed and paper covered mattress, he found her to be mercifully asleep. Returning to sit by her side, he brushed her hair away from her face and chafed the pad of his thumb against her cheek bone. Turning to face the school nurse, he asked a question that he hoped she had a positive answer to.

"Are there any medical records that have been kept for her visits here?"

"I believe there's a file for her," the woman nodded. "Unfortunately, I don't know how detailed it will be. School medical office records tend to be little more than a listing of complaints, observations and whether or not the student was sent back to class."

"You sound as though you've worked in hospitals before," he observed.

"You could call it that," she said as she opened the file drawers behind her and searched through the records. "Army, 159th regiment, MASH unit, surgical nurse; I'm far more used to working on soldiers wounded in the field than I am teenagers complaining of upset stomachs," she joked lightly and pulled a half-inch thick file from the drawer. "Here we are, Angela Weber."

Carlisle took the folder from her with a nod and looked through the collection of papers inside. Some of them were detailed forms, but a majority of them were little more than notes scribbled on pages from a legal pad. The notes were elementary at best, observations made by someone who had little if any medical training. The requirements to be a school nurse were little more than CPR and first aid certification and it showed in the lack of useful information.

"May I take this with me?" he asked her, holding up the folder of Angela's school medical records.

"Of course," she said and looked at him for a moment before stepping over to her desk and grasping a sheet of paper. "You should take this too," she told him, handing him the handwritten document. "It was left by the nurse I replaced in concern to Angela. I didn't know who Angela was when I first read it and I must admit, the information in there is pretty upsetting."

Carlisle felt anger and sorrow as he read over the note. It was similar to the one in Angela's official medical files from her parents, but this one had been written by the former school nurse. It stated that she was not to be allowed to go home under any circumstance before the school day was over as her parents had informed the nurse that her migraines were all an act. If she was brought to the office by another student or a teacher than she was to be allowed to stay until she was able to walk on her own. Putting the note into the file in his hand, Carlisle looked up at the new school nurse, grateful that she was there.

"Are you planning to stay in this position for awhile?" he asked her knowing that a person with her qualifications could work in any hospital they wanted.

"My daughter just started freshman year here, so barring any unforeseen deployment, yes."

"I will make certain that you have adequate admittance and medical forms. Make a list of what supplies and forms you believe are needed or would be beneficial and then come to my office on Monday. I'll supply you with whatever you need and clear it with the school board."

Thanking him, she watched as he turned and lifted Angela carefully into his arms, cradling her against his chest as Esme carried his bag. Carlisle stepped slowly out of the nurse's office and through the administration office into the hallway. It was barely passed the lunch hour and from the sounds of it, Angela had been in pain since the start of classes earlier that morning. Carrying her out of the building and to his car, he waited for Esme to open the passenger side door before he tucked her inside and buckled her safety belt.

Esme moved into the circle of her husband's arms, kissing his chin before hugging him close. Withdrawing from him to step toward Rosalie's convertable; she told him she'd see him at home before slipping behind the wheel. Taking a deep breath as he opened the driver's door and got behind the wheel, Carlisle looked at Angela. The amount of pain that she was in on a normal day was what any other human would consider to be bad enough to down multiple Advil for, and her migraines… Almost two months ago, when he first discovered her condition, he would've believed her migraines to be as bad as they could get. He'd been proven wrong though as over that two month period her migraines had steadily grown worse. He didn't know how she was able to handle the pain without screaming.

Pulling into the garage and turning off the car, Carlisle looked across at Angela. She was still sleeping soundly and he hoped that she would sleep for awhile longer. Stepping out of the car, he moved to her side and lifted her gently into his arms. Cradling her against his chest, he carried her up to her bedroom and waited while Esme changed her into sleep clothes. Turning back when Esme said that she was dressed, Carlisle moved to her side and tucked the blankets up around her shoulders.

"Sweet dreams, little one," he whispered before kissing her forehead and leaving her to sleep.

**:::::**

Charlie looked up from his desk when Deputy Carson called out for him letting him know that he had a phone call from the lab. The man was young, just two years out of the police academy, but he was a good kid with a sharp eye for detail. Stepping over to the taller man and taking the phone, he spoke into the receiver. The conversation was short and to the point, the lab technician doing most of the talking and when Charlie hung up, his look of confusion only grew more pronounced.

"What is it, Chief?" the young deputy asked. "Did they find something on the notes?"

"Not so much," Charlie said as he looked through his photo copies of the notes Angela had received.

About halfway down he found what he was looking for. Over the course of the four months she had been receiving notes, Angela had received one note that was nothing but a series of repeated number ones. He had thought that the note was encrypted and had sent it to the lab, first for testing and then for decoding. The technician had called and told him rather vaguely that the note was not encoded and the ones did not have any specific meaning.

"That one, huh?" Deputy Carson said as he followed behind Chief Swan. "They figure out what kind of code it's in?"

"Joe said it's not a code. He said to pin it up and stand back. Told me I'd know it when I saw it," Charlie said as he taped the note against the dry erase board.

Looking behind him before he began backing away from the board, Charlie watched the paper and waited. Roughly five feet back it became clear to him exactly what it was. The number ones blended until they became little more than dots, revealing the image they were carefully spaced to create. Inside the top half of the page was Angela's face and along the bottom were three words: _You are mine_. Taking a deep breath, Charlie reached for the closest phone and dialed Carlisle's cell. Speaking to him for a few minutes, he hung up and dialed one other number.

"Judge Robinson? This is Chief Swan, I wanted to check on the status of that restraining order I petitioned for Angela Weber. Yes, I'll hold," he said and waited, his jaw clenching impatiently. "I'm still here…what do you mean it lacks the burden of proof? It's a restraining order, he broke into her house and attacked her, that should be proof enough…Yes, I realize he had a key…" Grinding his teeth together as he closed his eyes and fought to calm his raging temper, he hated the fact that he had to deal with this new judge. "I understand, I'll let her know." Hanging up the phone and doing his best to restrain his rising temper, he turned his eyes back to the note. "New Yorker's have no business practicing law in a small town."

"Did I hear you right, Chief?" the younger deputy asked with disbelief. "Did he just deny her order of protection?"

"Yes he did. Now I have to tell Angela. That poor girl has been through enough. Have the crime scene boys reported in from Broomer's apartment yet?"

"Not yet, Chief," Deputy Carson said. "They've been down there since noon; it's about two-thirty now. We should hear something soon, I hope."

He couldn't decide whether or not to leave the note up to show Carlisle, but the decision was made for him when the bell above the door jingled and the doctor's voice was heard. Stepping over to greet Carlisle and thank him for coming down on such short notice, Charlie walked with him back to where the note hung. He knew the instant Carlisle saw the image on the page, the expression on his face turning from curious to grim.

"There's one other thing," Charlie said as they turned away from the note on the board. "The order of protection that I petitioned for Angela has been denied. The judge who was supposed to sign off on it said that it doesn't meet the burden of proof."

"His reasoning?" Carlisle asked as he fought to remain calm.

"Broomer had a key." Charlie's jaw clenched in frustration and he knew that Carlisle was just as angry over the situation as he was. "I was able to get the search warrant and the boys are down at Broomer's apartment now, but there's no telling if they'll even find anything. As soon as I hear from them, I'm going to petition for another restraining order."

"And the charges of breaking and entering?" Carlisle asked calmly as he did his best to try and see the situation logically.

"The arraignment date is set for Tuesday morning. That's when we'll find out if the charges will stick or not." Running a hand through his dark hair, Charlie looked at Carlisle. "Bella's the same age as Angela, I honestly don't know what I would do if this guy had been stalking her. How's Angela doing?"

"As well as can be expected in a situation like this, unfortunately her migraines make it worse," Carlisle said as his thoughts were drawn back to the girl in question.

"I was finally able to get in touch with Angela's parents late last night," Charlie said as he led Carlisle back to his desk and sat down with him.

"I can't imagine that went well," Carlisle said when Charlie remained silent.

"They told me that she was making the entire story up to get attention and that I had their express permission to file false report charges against her. It makes me wonder what would've happened if she didn't have you to call that night? What would Broomer have done to her?"

"I don't know," Carlisle said slowly, having had much the same thoughts as Charlie since the night of her attack. "But I'm glad neither one of us have to worry about that."

"Keep her safe, Dr. Cullen," Charlie said as they stood and he shook Carlisle's hand. "I'll call with any news."

"Thank you, Charlie," Carlisle said.

Carlisle walked out of the station and climbed behind the wheel of his car. The last thing he wanted to do was tell Angela that she didn't have that added bit of protection the court order would bring, but he had promised her early on that he wouldn't keep anything from her concerning the case.

**:::::**

Awareness came slowly, dull pain still clouding her mind, and Angela curled closer against the cool chest of the person holding her. Moaning softly against the light that filled her eyes she squeezed them closed once more. Icy fingertips brushed across her brow, curling behind her ear as her hair was tucked away from her face. Blinking slowly, she hesitantly opened her eyes, widening them with each blink until she was able to open them fully and comfortably in the soft glow emanating from the nearby lamp.

Golden eyes looked down on her kindly with concern and love as a strong hand wrapped a blanket around her, tucking the end between her shoulder and their chest. Her head was tucked into the crook of his shoulder and as tired as she still was, Angela didn't think that she could fall back to sleep so easily. Sitting her up further in his lap, Carlisle handed her a single Toradol pill and waited for her to put it in her mouth before handing her the small cup of water.

"What happened?" Angela asked after swallowing the medicine. "All I can remember is stepping up to give my presentation and then…nothing it's all blank."

"You had a very severe migraine. I was called after you were taken to the nurse's office and I brought you home shortly thereafter. You've been asleep for the past eight hours. I made certain the school knew that you wouldn't be in attendance tomorrow." At her look of alarm, he hushed her gently and moved her to sit on the bed before he stood. "Angela, we need to talk," he said sitting in the wingback chair by the bed and looking at her.

"She thinks you're upset with her," Edward said from the doorway, his voice too low for the girl to hear as he stayed just out of the range of her vision. "She thinks you're mad at her for missing school."

"Sweetheart, I'm not upset with you," Carlisle assured her gently as he reached out his hand for her to take. "While you were sleeping, Chief Swan called and asked me to come down to the station. The order of protection he petitioned for…the judge revoked it. He still has the search warrant and he told me that he's trying to gather enough evidence to petition for a new order of protection. I promised you when this started that I wouldn't keep anything from you concerning your stalker and I won't. Broomer's still in jail for the time being. Have you found any other notes, or anything that would indicate that he isn't the person stalking you?"

Angela shook her head quietly. She was afraid that the man would come after her here, afraid that he would hurt them in order to get to her. Looking up when Carlisle sat beside her once more on the bed, she settled gratefully in his arms and curled against his chest. He kissed her hair, promised her that he and his family would keep her safe. Looking down into her face when he felt her grow heavy against him, Carlisle tucked her hair behind her ear.

"Are you still tired?" he asked her and rubbed her back when she nodded. "You missed lunch, but Esme's making you dinner. It should be ready soon, will you come down and eat?" he asked and hugged her close when she nodded again.

Standing and helping her from the bed, he watched her disregard her glasses as she moved to the open door. Rounding the corner, she disappeared from his sight and a moment later he heard the bathroom door close. Edward stepped into the room, watching as Carlisle moved the chair by her bed back to sit next to the bookcase where it usually stood. Angela's thoughts were confusing to him and he wondered if it was due to her drowsiness or something else.

"What is it?" Carlisle asked as he followed Edward down the hall and into his office.

"Her thoughts are jumbled. She doesn't understand why you brought her home and why you're not upset with her for missing school."

"Why would anyone be upset with her for that?" Carlisle asked as he opened the journal he kept detailing his notes and observations of Angela's migraines.

"I don't know she was too tired for me to be able to follow her thoughts on that. But what I do know is that she's still scared. The more she tries not to think about the attack, or at least not to let me know that she's thinking about the attack, the more prevalent it is in her mind. She doesn't want me to know that she's still afraid, but it's her fear that's keeping her from blocking me. You know better than anyone that in order to be able to block me you have to be calm to do so. She's still terrified that we're going to ask her to leave…Carlisle," the tone of Edward's voice drew his father's attention to his eyes. "I think I know now why she hasn't ever asked much about our kind and what it's like to be one of us," Edward said and clenched his jaw. "As much as she wants to be one of us, she's still afraid that we won't want her. Of all the cruelty that she's been subjected to by her parents, it's the psychological wounds that are the worst."

**:::::**

It was getting harder to be ok, harder to be happy and carefree when in truth, for days now all she had wanted to was cry. She didn't understand, it didn't make any sense and what was worse was that she knew that there wasn't a single person who could answer the questions that burned in her mind. She had tried to be reasonable, tried to rationalize the differences in her mind and make sense of what was senseless, but no answer brought her any sense of comfort. Biting her lip as she sat against the headboard of her bed, Angela looked down at the blankets folded in her lap and bit her lip against the tears burning behind her eyes.

It wasn't fair; at least, it didn't feel fair. Looking across the room at the closed door, her eyes scanned to the side, coming to rest on the tall dark stained wood dresser. The piece of furniture was an antique; it had been stripped, brought back to like new condition and restained just for her. Everything in this room had been chosen, designed and put together with only thoughts of her in mind. Angela wrapped her arms over her stomach and bent her legs, bringing her knees up to her chest. Sniffling as she buried her face in the blankets covering her knees, Angela wished that the heartache she felt would go away. As much as her heart yearned for answers to the questions that wouldn't be quieted, she knew with every fiber of her being that those same answers would only bring her more pain.

She didn't hear the soft knock at her door or the warm voice that called out to her, her efforts instead focused on trying to keep her tears silent. She didn't want to hurt them or make any of them think that she was ungrateful for all they had done for her, but even after everything they had done she still wanted to know why.

Why didn't her own parents love her? Why didn't they want her? Why wasn't she good enough for them? Why was a three point nine GPA, or missing school once because she was sick grounds for being berated and scorned? Why did her mother's discovery of an extra five pounds always make her sick for days, to the point that once she was better, the very thought of food made her want to run away? Why did her love of anthropology, history and archaeology make her father yell at her and call her a blasphemer? Why would they rather her be in pain and suffer in silence than actually believe that she had migraines? But most importantly, why did they abandon her?

"Oh, Sweetheart," Edward's voice was mournful as he sat down and drew her huddled form into his arms. "I wish we had those answers for you. I wish we could take away your pain."

A painful sob broke free from her as she moved just enough to wrap her arms around his waist. Angela held on tight to Edward, burying her face in his chest as her tears came faster, felt unstoppable and burned as though they were made of acid. She felt his arms tighten around her, felt his cheek nuzzle against her hair as he laid his head on hers. She heard his words, but barely understood what he said; and as comforting as it was to have him hold her, she felt even more guilty that she wanted Carlisle instead. Saying it out loud, asking for Carlisle felt to her as though she were telling Edward that he wasn't good enough and that's not at all what she wanted to do.

"Hush," Edward spoke to her and she felt him lift her into his arms.

She couldn't stop her tears, didn't want to raise her face from where it was buried in his shoulder as she cried. She hated crying, not just the way it felt, leaving her throat aching and her head pounding, but the way she'd been told since she was three that it was a sign of weakness and that no one loved someone who cried. Memories began playing through her mind, images and events she didn't want to remember, but was powerless to stop.

At three years old she had wandered into her parents' bedroom after a bad dream, only to be yelled at for crying and carried back to her own room to be locked inside. At five, she had fallen while trying to cross the monkey bars and skinned her knee. Her father hadn't bandaged the wound, instead making her traverse those same monkey bars for hours until the sun had set, yelling at her and condemning her each and every time she fell. At seven, the very first time that she could remember feeling the less severe headaches plague her, her mother had not believed that she was in pain and instead had taken her up to her room and locked her inside for making too much noise during a dinner party. At ten years old when she had told her father that his religion didn't make sense to her, that she found comfort and understanding with sciences and history instead, he had slapped her hard and lectured her for days on end about damnation and hell until she was waking up screaming from nightmares.

The arms holding her tightened, a soft growl sounding from the chest her face was tucked against. Seconds later she felt herself floating as the arms around her changed. She was being held in someone else's lap, her tear-filled eyes unseeing as her face was pressed into a soft shirt and her head tucked beneath the person's chin. Angela's hands fisted in the fabric next to her face, the hand of the person holding her smoothing down over her hair time and again in a repeated motion meant to comfort her.

"I've got you, Angela, I'm here," Carlisle's voice was smooth and soft, his cool, sweet breath puffing against her skin.

The fact that Edward had read her thoughts and taken her to him, to Carlisle, even when she felt too ashamed of her own weakness to ask made her cry harder. That this man, this vampire, had taken her into his home and into his family when he had no reason to and knowing that it could be potentially very dangerous to do so, broke her heart again even as it healed her. She was lifted again, felt like she was floating once more as he carried her through the house.

**:::::**

Carlisle sat inside his office talking with Edward about Angela. He wanted to hear his son's thoughts on bringing Angela into their family, changing her into what they were. He had no questions about the choice himself, and both Edward and Jasper had made it clear that Angela herself had no questions, no hesitation about it. What Carlisle had wanted to know, was how Edward himself felt concerning adding another member to their eternal family.

Edward sighed and shook his head. "Before seeing our family through Angela's eyes, I believed us to be damned, for my soul – our souls – to have been cursed." Edward gave a breathy chuckle, his lips twisting into a lopsided smile. "She sees us as angels, as saviors. We offer her love and comfort and safety, we have brought her into our home, made her part of our family and she doesn't understand why. The immortality, the near invincibility, the beauty we possess, she doesn't care about any of that, nor is she in love with any of us."

Edward sat silent as Carlisle studied him wondering just what the younger vampire was thinking. Had Angela really changed them all so much? Edward chuckled and Carlisle met his son's gaze again.

"Yes, she has. She's left her mark on each of us. Carlisle, I have killed people, I have seen myself as the monster I can become through the eyes of my victims. What I did to them was bad enough and over with in just a few minutes, but what Angela's parents have done to her over the years is far worse. They have left scars all over her, you just can't see them. What they have done to her…"

His voice trailed off and Carlisle watched his son stiffen in his seat and grow still. His eyes closed slowly, his jaw clenching, as a look somewhere between anger and sorrow covered his face and twisted his lip up in a barely seen snarl. Just as he opened his mouth to ask Edward what was wrong, his son was up and out of his seat, fleeing the room with vampire speed. Sitting back in his padded, wingback leather desk chair, Carlisle listened as Edward's voice spoke gently to Angela moments before he heard the first soft sob break from the girl. His golden eyes filled with anguish, closing as he mourned for the heartache Angela felt.

Moments later he looked up, moving to sit on the couch as Edward carried Angela's sobbing form into the room and handed her to him with gentle care. There was no question, no hesitation as Carlisle accepted Angela into his care, holding her in his lap and enfolding her in his arms. Tucking her head beneath his chin and petting her hair as he spoke soft comforts to her, Carlisle wanted nothing more than to take her pain away and heal her heart.

His arms tightened around the girl in his lap as he listened to Edward speak low and fast telling him of the memories flowing through Angela's mind. The knowledge of her neglect, her abuse both emotional and at times physical, angered Carlisle. Kissing her hair and rubbing her back as he spoke softly to her, Carlisle stood and carried her upstairs. Walking into the room he shared with Esme, he carried Angela to the bed and laid her down upon the overstuffed satin comforters and soft pillows.

The human girl was barely awake, her red eyes were blinded with tears that continued to fall silently and Carlisle turned at the sound of his wife's voice behind him. He toed off his shoes before lying back on the bed next to Angela and enfolding her once more in his arms. Pressing his lips against her warm, soft hair, he held her tight, watching as Esme moved to the bookshelf against the wall and retrieved a leather bound novel. Gathering a hand stitched quilt from the window seat, Esme spread the heavy blanket over Angela and Carlisle before climbing onto the bed. Sitting behind Angela with her back against the headboard, Esme opened the novel in her hands and read to them both from the pages of The Call of the Wild.

**:::::**

Nearly an hour passed before Angela was able to find the peaceful oblivion of sleep. Esme read aloud for a few moments longer before placing a ribbon between the pages and closing the book. Looking up as Edward stood in the open doorway; she nodded for her son to enter and watched as he stepped toward them slowly, sitting down at the foot of the bed by Carlisle's feet. He rested his hand on the blanket covering Angela's ankles, needing to feel the physical connection as her exhausted sleep robbed him of the connection to her mind. Breathing in deeply and releasing the breath slowly, he looked up from the sleeping girl to glance at both Carlisle and Esme in turn.

"Her mind has been rife with the memories of her childhood and the treatment that she has received at the hands of her parents. She has been neglected, abused by their actions and words, locked away and tormented from her earliest memories on. Not once in the memories that flowed through her mind was there a kind word spoken to her by her parents. She was never held or hugged, never comforted only berated and bullied for her fears, her pain, her sadness. In her near seventeen years, the only kindness to be shown to her in a parental manner has come from the both of you."

Taking a deep breath, Edward looked to first Carlisle and then to Esme, letting his eyes meet their gazes in turn. The rest of his family was out for one reason or another and for that he was glad.

"She doesn't understand," Edward said quietly, his voice rough with pain. "She doesn't understand how you both can love her and show her such affection where as her parents never treated her with any. She's terrified that you're going to see what they saw, that we'll turn her away. All she's ever wanted is a family and now that she has one she's so very frightened of losing us."

Carlisle looked down on the girl sleeping tucked against his side and tightened his arms around her. She was always so quiet, moving through the house barely making a noise, it was a strange habit for a human as most had to be trained to stay so silent as to be undetected. The way she would slip into his office and sit on the couch or stay in the kitchen in an effort to be near him or Esme without making it obvious that she was doing so, he looked up to Edward and watched as his son nodded in response to his thoughts. Angela was waiting for them to throw her away, how would they make her comfortable in the knowledge that they would never do that?

"I wish I could tell you," Edward said.

Angela stirred without waking, pressing closer to Carlisle as she whimpered in her sleep, her hand tightening around the fabric of his shirt. He kissed her forehead, shushing her gently as Esme rubbed her back slowly. She mumbled brokenly and Carlisle knew that had it been a human she was curled against, they never would've understood the word she spoke.

"Papa's here, Angela," he told her softly, responding to her broken mumbles, loving that she called him that. "Papa's here."

None of his children called him 'Papa', most of them only calling him 'Dad' out of sarcasm or as cover when surrounded by humans. He had never known that he would like it until Angela had inadvertently called him that in his office last week. She had been increasingly careful since then to only call him 'Carlisle', but when she was exhausted or frightened she would call him Papa without realizing it.

"I know you've loved it those few times when she's called you 'Papa'," he told Carlisle as he looked at Angela's sleeping face. "But it's been trained into her that calling someone that, referring to someone with a familial title like that is disrespectful and something to be punished for." Watching her sleep for a moment longer, Edward turned his attention on Carlisle, his expression worried. "Jasper's been having to hunt almost every other day. Helping her with her migraines is draining on him and he needs to feed more frequently than before. Her migraines are getting worse, and for now the Toradol is still working quite well," he said as he thought back over the thoughts he read from Jasper before he'd left that morning. "But her migraines, they're increasing in frequency. He hasn't said anything to either you or Angela, but he's beginning to think that she should be taking her medication on a daily basis now as a preventative measure, instead of just once a migraine becomes more than she can bear."

"She's not taking the medicine when she's in pain?" Carlisle asked, his attention riveted on his son.

"She's constantly in pain, Carlisle," Edward said. "From what I've read from Jasper, not a moment goes by that she's not in some kind of pain, but for the most part it's at a level that she's used to. When it exceeds that, when it becomes more than she can handle, that's when she takes the medicine."

"Edward," Esme looked at him as she frowned in worry and confusion. "Are you saying that she's hurting herself?"

"In a way, I guess she is," he said slowly, his brow furrowed. "From what I've read of her thoughts, she's so used to her migraine medications not working, that she's afraid of taking the Toradol before she absolutely cannot function without it. She's afraid that her migraines will grow beyond its power to stop them."

Carlisle looked down on Angela's sleeping face. Tucking her hair behind her ear and smoothing the backs of his fingers down her sleep warmed cheek, he vowed silently that he would do whatever he could to take away her pain before the time came that he made her eternally part of his family. Kissing her forehead and cuddling her closer, he laid his head back on the pillow and held her while she slept. In every way that mattered, she was his to care for, his to protect and he would do whatever he could to show her the love and kindness she so richly deserved.


	13. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Angela parked her car in the driveway and sat for a moment looking up at the house that was no longer her home. It had been more than a month since she had been here alone and, as she turned off the engine and stepped out of the car, she realized that she didn't actually miss this place at all. A lopsided smile quirked her lips as she thought of the home she had with the Cullens and grabbed her purse from the back seat before walking down to the mailbox. It was full of mostly coupon circulars and advertisements, but there was one large manila envelope as well. Frowning, she turned it over in her hands, studying the envelope and searching for any sign as to who the sender was. The only marking on it was her first name telling her that whoever sent it had more than likely placed it in the mailbox themselves.

If it weren't for the fact that she knew Broomer was still in jail, she would be concerned that this was from her stalker. Her eyebrows lifted in an expression similar to a shrug and she walked to the front door. She slipped her key into the lock, not noticing that the door was already unlocked, and twisted the brass knob before walking inside her childhood home. She gave a short laugh at herself as she looked around at the perfectly set furniture. Not a thing was out of place, the only difference was the thin layer of dust on the flat surfaces. She had talked with Carlisle and Esme, telling them that there were still a few things she needed to get from her house before she would be able to completely move into the Cullen's manor. The room that they had made for her still warmed her heart and the way that both Carlisle and Esme had taken to treating her as their own child moved her to tears more than once.

Walking into the kitchen, Angela dropped the junk mail into the garbage bin and took the last can of Dr. Pepper from the fridge before walking upstairs. Setting the can of soda on her desk, she dropped the envelope onto her neatly made bed; there would be time to look at it later. Intellectually she knew that her attacker was in jail, being guarded by Chief Swan and his deputies, but she still felt unsafe and nervous inside this house. Her plan was to gather the rest of her priceless artifacts and return home as soon as possible. The only thing she wanted to do was to leave this house, and its memories, behind.

A lopsided grin pulled at her lips as she dropped her keys to rest on top of the envelope and stared at the brand new custom design key on her keychain. Decorated with tiny red roses, it was her very own key to the Cullen manor. She hadn't had a reason to use it before now, but she would this weekend as the entire family was going hunting together. Carlisle would be staying behind until midnight when his shift at the hospital ended, but then he would be joining the others as well. Popping the top on the can of soda, Angela took a long drink before setting it back down and moving to her closet. Pulling down a large shoe box that had long since been covered in purple wrapping paper for decoration, Angela carried it to her bed and looked inside.

All of her academic awards from fourth grade on were stored inside that box. There were a number of medals from grade school spelling bees and one from a sixth grade academic contest. She had stopped participating in the competitions when she realized that no matter what she did, her parents would never do anything more than drop her off before the event and pick her up after. They never attended, never watched her perform, and no matter how hard she tried, they were never proud of her. Replacing the lid, she moved back to her closet and removed two more boxes, setting them on her bed without looking inside them.

Kneeling down on the floor of her closet, Angela took out an empty banker's box and set it open on her bed. Tucking a stack of her ten most read books into the box, she gathered a few college textbooks that she had ordered online and placed them inside the box as well. Closing the lid, she jumped slightly when the cell phone in her pocket vibrated and began ringing, the soft melody of Butterfly Kisses filling the air. Carlisle hadn't programmed his own ringtone, she had, and there were times when she wondered what he would think of it. Answering the call, she held the phone to her ear and smiled at his warm greeting.

"I'm fine," she assured him with a soft laugh. "Just about done here actually, I should be heading home in about twenty minutes or so."

"Take as much time as you need, Angela. It is your childhood home, I'm certain it can't be easy for you to give up," he told her, his voice gentle and soothing.

"There's really nothing worth remembering here," Angela said with a sigh. "It wasn't much of a childhood."

Carlisle was quiet for a moment as he digested that and Angela frowned as she looked through her desk drawer. Tucking the phone between her ear and shoulder, she used both hands to move around things in the top drawer before moving to the next one down and repeating the process.

"Angela?" Carlisle's voice reminded her that she wasn't entirely alone.

"It's missing," she said absently, moving to hold the phone with her hand and turning the call on speaker before laying the device on top of her desk.

"What's missing?" he asked her, taking note of her distracted and worried tone.

"My journal, I've always kept it in my desk and it's not here. It wasn't in the things that Emmett brought back either." Angela's frown deepened and she sat back on her heels, staring up at the phone as though she were looking into Carlisle's face. "You don't think he… I mean they searched his place, right?"

"It is possible that he took it. If he did, your journal would be held as evidence until the trial and sentencing are completed. Do you remember when you last saw it?"

Thinking back and shaking her head before she realized that he couldn't see her, Angela spoke. "No, not really. I remember writing in it after Emmett and I first started working on the assignment for history class, but I don't remember looking for it after that."

"Let's just hope it's simply misplaced then, hmm?" Carlisle said. "I have to get back, call or text me when you get home."

"I will, have fun camping," she told him using the family's code word for hunting.

He chuckled as he hung up and Angela bit her lip. It was more than comforting to have a family and the feelings that she had concerning the Cullens were an indescribable mix of love, gratitude, affection and everything wonderful. More than once that same confluence of emotions had left her in tears. Whenever she felt overcome by those same emotions, Jasper would appear beside her and simply sit or stand next to her. At first, she hadn't understood why, but hadn't questioned his actions either. Once she remembered what Carlisle had told her about his talent though, Angela had taken to nudging against his shoulder or hugging him, both actions returned with enthusiasm from the southern vampire.

Shaking herself from her thoughts, Angela tucked her cell phone into her jeans pocket and began to carry the boxes from her bed out to her car. After a few moments, the only things left to be carried down were the strange envelope and her car keys. Angela stood still for a moment, scanning the room with her eyes and realizing once again that this home, this place, meant nothing to her. It was a place she had once lived, that was all. Now she had a new home with a family who not only loved her, but wanted her as well. Snatching up the items on her bed, she jogged down the stairs, turning out the lights as she went and locked the front door before climbing behind the wheel of her car.

The drive back to the Cullen's home was short and it took less time than Angela thought it would to carry the boxes from her car up to her bedroom. Looking at her watch, she shook her head. It was almost midnight. Taking the still sealed envelope with her down into the kitchen, Angela dialed Carlisle's phone, and tucked the phone between her ear and shoulder as she bent the metal brackets up to open the flap. Removing a piece of paper from inside the manila envelope, she held it up, her face a mask of confusion as she read the short note over and over again.

_Beauty is a rose in winter._

What did that mean; she wondered and frowned as she set the note aside on the counter. Carlisle's voicemail picked up and she smiled figuring that he may have already left for the hunting trip if he had gotten off earlier than expected. Her smile fell as she withdrew the smooth thick papers from the envelope only to discover that they were photos. Flipping the stack of large photos over to see the images, Angela froze, her phone clattering to the floor below when she lifted her head from her shoulder.

They were all photos of her. In the first few she was simply lying in her bed tucked beneath the covers. But as they progressed, she found images of her sleeping with the covers thrown back and her body exposed. In the next photo she was completely naked on her bed and a man's hand was touching her breast, in the next photo it was her thigh. She felt sickened by the photos, her skin crawling as she began to feel shamed and unclean, but she couldn't stop flipping through the images and they only got worse.

There were photos of her in the shower at her house, in the showers at school. There were photos of her walking next to Emmett, but his face had been scratched out. '_Who is he?_ _You belong to me' _was scrawled in red marker beneath Emmett's waist in the photograph, a Bull's-eye drawn around his scratched out head. The last photo robbed her of the ability to breathe, her heart skipping a few beats before hammering wildly in her chest. She was again lying naked in her bed, but this time the man's hand, the only part of her stalker ever seen, was in between her thighs and it was clear just where his fingers were.

"Angela?"

Screaming and spinning around to face Carlisle, her eyes were impossibly wide and her face was unbelievably pale. She hadn't even heard him come in, hadn't heard his steps or his voice. Carlisle frowned at the sight of her obvious distress. It wasn't that he had scared her, no; whatever she had been looking at had terrified her. The stack of photos in her hand fell to the floor as her teeth chattered and he opened his arms to her, accepting her weight when she crashed into him. Holding Angela tucked against his chest, doing his best to soothe her terror, his eyes scanned over the photos below and he was hard pressed to bite back the growl building low in his throat.

He had come home to change before going hunting and was concerned by the odd voicemail left from Angela. There had been no sound, save the clatter of her phone falling to the floor before the call had disconnected and he had been understandably worried. When he had found her standing in the kitchen, unresponsive to his earlier attempts to get her attention, he had stepped up behind her and called her name once more. Her shrill cry and the look of absolute terror in her face had silenced him; he hadn't expected that reaction at all. Ducking his chin to kiss her head as he stroked her hair, Carlisle's eyes scanned over what he could see without moving the overturned photos to see more. Lifting her into his arms, he carried her out of the kitchen and sat down with her on the couch, doing his best to calm her before asking her about the photos. The girl in his arms was terrified and for good reason, her stalker had been far closer than anyone – including Angela – had ever realized.

"Shh," he whispered to her, stroking her hair.

He held her tightly, rocking her slowly as he tried to calm her. Her heart was beating far too fast and she was beginning to hyperventilate. Moving her back to see her face, Carlisle cupped her cheeks in his hands and stared into her eyes.

"Look at me, Angela," he instructed her gently. "Keep your focus on me. Deep, slow breaths…that's it, good girl," he praised her when she was finally able to calm her breathing, her heart rate slowing as well.

"I found them in my mailbox," her voice was little more than a high pitched whimper. "How did he get those photos?" her anxiety was spiking again. "He was touching me! I was asleep, how could I be asleep. He was-"

"Shh," he interrupted her, tucking her hair behind her ears and kissing her forehead. "Don't think about that right now, Angela. Shh, you're safe, baby girl. You're safe here."

Her arms wrapped around his neck and under his arm as she pressed her face into the curve of his throat and cried. Turning his head, he kissed her cheek and held her tightly, rubbing her back as he spoke softly to her. Abused and neglected by her parents, plagued by severe migraines, and terrorized by a stalker who seemed to be intent on breaking her; Carlisle began to wonder if she would ever feel completely safe. Petting her hair and rubbing her back until she fell asleep in his arms, he withdrew his phone from his coat pocket and pressed the number one speed dial for Esme.

"Carlisle," her warm voice greeted him. "Why are you calling me? Come out and hunt."

"I'm staying with Angela, at least until one of the others comes home," he told her, his voice at once both sad and angered.

"What happened?" Esme asked immediately worried, and he could hear Emmett's voice in the background.

"Hold on," he told her and set his phone down on the low coffee table next to him before laying Angela gently down on the cushions and covering her with his long black wool coat. Picking up his phone he stood and walked into the kitchen, "When Angela went to her house and checked her mail she found an envelope. Her stalker got a lot closer than anyone knew," he said as he tucked the phone between his ear and shoulder as he gathered the photos, turning over the ones that had fallen face down and looked through them before laying them on the counter.

"Carlisle? What was in that envelope?"

'_Envelope_?'Emmett's voice sounded from the background. _'What the hell's going on?'_

"Put me on speaker, Esme," Carlisle instructed and waited until she did so. "Angela found an unmarked envelope in her mailbox. Inside were pictures of her taken by her stalker. He got very close."

"How close?" Emmett snarled.

"There were pictures of her taken while she was in the shower and while she was sleeping. He was touching her while she was sleeping. He disrobed her."

His wife and son were silent for a long moment before Emmett's growl disrupted the quiet.

"I'm coming home," Emmett proclaimed, his tone leaving no room for argument. "Esme, you'll let Rose know? We broke off about fifty miles back."

"I'll let her know," Esme promised, and the sound of rushing wind could be heard. "He's already gone, Carlisle. Emmett will probably reach you in a few hours," she told him.

"She takes to him like a teddy bear," he mused with a soft chuckle.

Esme laughed, "A well muscled and rather protective teddy bear. She lets him guard her and dote on her as he likes to and Emmett is the eternal big brother. He's already caught two bears," she told him. "If Angela feels comfortable enough once he's home, then you should come hunt."

"I love you, my beautiful angel."

"And I love you. Take care of her, Carlisle; don't let her worry too much."

**:::::**

"Forks Police Department, Deputy Carson speaking," the young man barely out of the academy answered the phone. "Oh, hi Doctor Cullen…Chief Swan? No he went home around eleven, is there something I can help with?"

The young man's brow furrowed as he thought over the request. It sounded a bit odd, but there wasn't any harm in following through and he asked Dr. Cullen to hold the line while he stepped away from the desk. Walking back to the holding area and through to the jail cells, he took out his keys and unlocked the door holding the man who'd been arrested for breaking into Angela Weber's home and attacking her. There wasn't much crime in the small town of Forks, most of it consisting of breaking and entering or drunk and disorderly. For someone to have been arrested for attempted sexual assault, a crime that in and of itself was difficult if not impossible to prosecute was unheard of in Forks.

"Wake up, Broomer, show me your right hand," Deputy Carson commanded, his voice demanding as he kicked the bed's leg to shake the glorified bench.

"Go away, police puppy," the man grumbled without fully waking.

Deputy Carson sighed and grabbed the man's right wrist to lift his arm and looked at the back of his hand. There was a bit of deformed flesh near the curve of his thumb where he had been burned some years back and a laughing skull with glowing red eyes the size of a half dollar that decorated the back of his hand. The tattoo was at least five years old, definitely in need of recoloring; he thought and dropped the inmate's hand. Shaking his head as he left the cell and relocked the door, he returned to the phone.

"Doctor Cullen?" he asked to be sure the man was still on the other end of the line. "There's a burn scar in the curve of his right thumb and forefinger and a tattoo on the back of his right hand. Does that help you?"

Carlisle frowned as he thanked the young deputy and disconnected the call. The man being held was not the same one stalking her. The hand in the photographs was unblemished and manicured. This would only validate Broomer's claims of being paid to attack Angela and could get him released from jail. Angela was not safe on her own. He needed to call Charlie and get the photos to him for testing, but it was already well past midnight. Looking up when the kitchen door opened, he saw Emmett enter, his face a mask of anger and determination.

"Where is she?" Emmett asked without preamble, his concern for the girl he considered part of his family evident in his tone.

"Sleeping on the couch, I wanted her close in case she woke up," Carlisle answered and followed Emmett out into the living room.

He watched as his son stepped up to the sofa soundlessly and knelt down in front of Angela's sleeping form. Emmett's movements were gentle and slow as he reached out and tucked Angela's hair behind her ear, sweeping the length over her shoulder to see her sleeping face. Her eyes were still red from her tears and when he leaned close to kiss her forehead, she stirred.

"Emmett?" Angela spoke his name with exhaustion, her voice little more than a tired moan.

"Hey, half pint," he said, resting his hand on her face as he chaffed her cheekbone with the pad of his thumb.

"You're 'pose to be hunting," she said sleep slurring the words, her eyes heavy and half lidded.

He gave a half smile as he moved and lifted her into his arms before taking her seat on the couch and holding in his lap. He cradled her against his shoulder, looking up at Carlisle when his adoptive father moved closer and sat down on the low coffee table. She curled closer against his chest, burying her face into the soft fabric of his shirt as she again told him that he was supposed to be hunting.

"You're more important," he told her, silencing her objections. "Besides that, I've already got two bears," he told her and looked down into her eyes when she lifted her face, pointing to his eye. "See? Sun gold. All stuffed."

Angela gave a tired laugh and tucked herself tighter against him, burying her face once more against his chest as she fell asleep once again. Dipping his head down, Emmett kissed her hair and pulled Carlisle's coat tighter around her shoulders, blanketing her with the dark wool. Looking up at his father he spoke too softly for humans to hear and asked to see the photos. Pressing his lips into a thin line, Carlisle handed the stack of photos over, reminding his son of the girl in his arms when he started to growl dangerously, the sound nearly a snarl. He hadn't fed on or killed a human in over sixty years, but for this bastard, Emmett thought, he would make an exception.

Rosalie slipped into the house a short half hour later, moving to stand behind her husband as she took the photos from his hands. Her beautiful face twisted in rage as she tossed the photos down onto the table next to Carlisle and hissed low, demanding to know how someone had gotten that close to Angela without her knowing.

"Before moving in with us, she was alone taking care of herself," Carlisle told her in a low voice as he looked at the sleeping girl cradled in his son's arms before looking back up at his temperamental daughter. "Those massive migraines that she has, similar to the one that she had a few weeks ago when she was with Bella," he began and raised his brows to see if Rosalie understood to which one he was referring.

"The one that made her cry blood?" Rosalie asked, reaching out to brush the backs of her fingers down the girl's warm cheek.

Rosalie didn't often show it, but she was as worried about Angela as anyone else. She had seen the girl endure a migraine that radiated enough pain to drive Jasper to the floor and left him unable to do more than beg to be taken out into the forest surrounding the house. Anyone, human or vampire, would be screaming out from such pain, but not Angela. No, she had watched the girl whimper and fold herself down into a tight ball where she sat in the corner of her room, rocking slowly with her face tucked into her knees. It wasn't natural for someone to hide their pain that much and she wondered, just as everyone else did, why she was so determined to hide her pain.

"Yes. She informed me that those have occurred roughly once a month for the past year. However, with us, I was able to administer the medicine that she needed and bring her pain down as quickly as possible. Previously, when she was on her own, she would remain unconscious anywhere from one to three days. Also, her migraine medications, when they worked, had a tendency to knock her out depending on what she took." Carlisle's eyes looked away from Rosalie, settling on Emmett and the protective manner with which he held Angela. "Due to those factors, there is no telling what else he could've done to her while she was asleep. She wouldn't have felt or been aware of any of it. I expect that she will feel rather violated and unsafe when she wakes. You two will look after her while I hunt?"

His question didn't require an answer, his words more of a soft command than a request. Emmett nodded, his expression mixed bits of concern, anger and possessiveness, his glower that of a big brother protecting his hurt sister. Standing up and bending low over Angela's sleeping form, Carlisle kissed her hair, the gesture as always a silent promise of his protection.

"There's one other thing," he said before leaving to change into loose fitting clothing suitable for hunting. "The man who broke into her house, Broomer," he clarified. "He is not the man stalking her. I called the station house and had the deputy check his right hand. I have no doubt that the two men are connected as Broomer has always maintained, but until her stalker is apprehended, she is not to be alone when she leaves this house. Either one of us or Bella should be with her at all times."

Emmett and Rosalie nodded their understanding and Carlisle looked down at Angela once more before moving to the stairs and disappearing to the floor above. He returned moments later dressed more casually and smiled somewhat sadly at the sight of Rosalie and Emmett sitting close together on the couch, Angela still cradled in his arms. He offered a silent prayer to the god he'd praised and preached to in his human youth that Angela would find peace and comfort. Slipping out the front door, he rounded the house and sped into the forest, intent on meeting up with Esme and making his hunt as quick as possible.

"Emmett," Rosalie spoke softly, looking between her husband and the girl in his arms. "You should really put her to bed. We can stay with her if you want, but you should lay her down."

He grunted in response, his gaze never leaving Angela's face. She was three days shy of seventeen, plenty old enough by anyone's standards to care for herself, but all his instincts told him to hold her and keep physical contact with her. He couldn't let her out of his sight. Whoever her stalker was, he had gotten too close, close enough to violate her and take away her sense of safety. By sending her the photos he had taken, all this bastard was doing was gloating, taking away her comfort and marking her by making her constantly look over her shoulder.

"I know how you feel," she told him, sitting in front of him on the coffee table. "I know how I feel. I knew my attackers, my fiancée and his friends. Angela, she doesn't have that. She doesn't know who this son of a bitch is. She doesn't know how he knows her or why he's hunting her; all she does know is that she feels terrified. To her, there is no place that's safe."

"We're here. Our house, this place is safe," Emmett told her, finally standing with Angela cradled high against his chest.

"Emmett, think about it," Rosalie said as she followed him up the stairs and into Angela's bedroom watching as he laid her down gently. "If we weren't here do you really think that she'd feel safe?"

Rosalie watched as Emmett moved around the room nervously. She had never seen him any way other than absolutely certain of what he was doing. Why did he seem so uncertain now? A soft whimper drew her attention and she turned her head. Angela was still asleep, but she was shivering, trembling and the scent rolling off her was one that every vampire knew from their very first moment after being changed – fear.

"Angela, wake up," Rosalie said, her hand on the girl's ankle, shaking her leg gently. "Come on, Sweetie, you're safe here. Wake up."

"Come on, half pint," Emmett knelt on the bed next to her as Rosalie moved to the girl's other side.

"No, no please," Angela whimpered in her sleep, her breathing becoming dangerously close to hyperventilating as her heart raced madly.

"Angela, baby, you're safe. Wake up, honey," Emmett spoke to her, leaning over her to cup her face in his hand.

She wasn't waking up. Emmett looked up at Rosalie, his golden gaze begging her to do something, say anything that would wake her up. She tried shaking Angela's shoulder, calling her name, tapping her cheek, but nothing worked. Angela cried out, scratched at her arms, Emmett caught her hands before she could scratch at her face. The terrified scream that ripped from Angela was more than either of them could take and Rosalie bent low, her face barely an inch apart from Angela's as she released a deep, loud growl, the sound in and of itself waking the girl from her nightmare.

Angela screamed as she shot up in bed, taking in a shuddering breath as the images in her mind dispelled. Her jaw moved, her lips parted as tears leaked from her eyes, but no sound came forth, no words were spoken. She felt violated, unclean, more unworthy of their love and affection than her parents had ever made her feel and she pulled at her arms until she was free. Rosalie shook her head, telling Emmett to stay where he was while she went after Angela. She had an intimate understanding of how the girl must feel, and knew that having a male nearby when these feelings were too close to the surface would make Angela's unstable mood that much more fragile.

She followed Angela into the bathroom, the shower already turned on as hot as it would go. The steaming water rained down on her, soaking her through the clothes she still wore and leaving red blotches on her exposed skin. Angela was dragging her nails over her skin, digging deep enough to draw pearls of blood in some places, her breath coming too fast to understand the words she was trying to speak.

"Stop. Stop," Rosalie said, catching Angela's wrists in her hands and trying to draw her attention. "Angela, look at me. Look. At. Me."

Her dark eyes were wide, her face terrified and pale even under the scalding water that was turning her skin red. Recognition dawned and a deep, aching sob broke from Angela as she leapt forward, wrapping her arms around Rosalie. The blonde vampire was surprised, but accepted the waterlogged girl against her, wrapping her in her arms and doing her best to soothe her upset. Those photos, Rosalie pursed her lips and tightened her arms around Angela's soaking form as she petted her wet hair, it was almost worse than being raped. The photos were evidence that someone had gotten close enough to touch her, close enough to violate her more than once while she slept. There were photos of her in the school's showers, in her shower at home; there wasn't a single place that felt safe to her now.

"Come on, sweetie, let me help you," Rosalie said softly as she pushed Angela gently away and began undressing her.

Waterlogged clothes fell to the tiled floor with loud splats. Rosalie caught the girl's hands when she began scraping her nails against her skin again, the already sensitive and torn flesh breaking as blood droplets bubbled to the surface. Understanding her discomfort, her terror, the feeling of invisible hands touching her, Rosalie stripped down to her bra and panties and stepped into the shower behind Angela. She held the human against her, let her cry into her shoulder as she gently shampooed her hair and washed her body.

"It's going to be alright, Angela," Rosalie said softly as she turned off the spray and wrapped the girl in a thick dark green towel.

"He touched me," Angela said, clenching her jaw against the rising tide of panic and nausea that left her dizzy. "He had his fingers inside me and I never knew. What else did he do to me? How many times was he in my home?"

Rosalie sighed and tucked the damp locks behind Angela's ears. "I don't know," her eyes and voice were sympathetic as she did her best to offer the girl comfort. "We may never know."

"What did I do?" Angela begged Rosalie for answers.

"What?" Rosalie's face contorted in confusion, her question little more than a breath of air.

"What did I do? I had to do something. He came after me, not someone else. I - "

"No!" Rosalie's voice was sharp, demanding Angela to listen as she grasped the girl's shoulders and shook her gently. "Listen to me, Angela. This is not your fault. You didn't cause this."

"Then why?" Angela sobbed and Rosalie's eyes fell closed in pained silence as she leaned forward and kissed Angela's brow.

"I wish I knew, sweetie. I wish I had an answer for you…But I don't. I don't know why this bastard is stalking you or what it is he hopes to gain. All I can tell you with absolute certainty is that my family and I, we will protect you. We will never let him get near you again. You will be – you _are_ safe with us." Looking up as the bathroom door opened without a sound, Rosalie nodded quietly to Emmett. "If you're ok with it, Emmett's going to take you back to your room to get dressed, and then I'll be in to tend to your arms."

Angela looked down at her arms that she had scratched raw, her broken skin bleeding in more than one place. There were deep red lines over the majority of each forearm, long gouges raked from three inches below her elbow to her wrist, the lines thick with congealing blood. Angela sniffled and nodded as she looked at the dark red lines, her fingers returning to scratch at the clotting blood. Rosalie laid her hand on Angela's, shaking her head to stop her from opening up the wounds.

"Don't do that," Rosalie said and looked to the side, beckoning her husband closer. "Emmett's going to take you back to your room now, ok?"

"Hey, half pint," Emmett said softly, his voice gentle and concerned as he scooped her towel clad form up in his arms. "Let's get you into something warmer, ok?"

Angela drew in a deep, shuddering breath as she nodded and laid her head against Emmett's broad shoulder. He walked slowly as he carried her back to her bedroom and stood just outside the door as she changed into a long sleeved cotton sleep shirt and drawstring lounge pants. Her voice was soft, trembling as she told him that it was ok to enter and he opened the door slowly, sticking only his head inside until she bid him to enter fully.

He sat next to her on the bed, opening his arms and catching her as she fell against him, her tears making him want to hunt down her stalker even as he held her closer in a vain effort to guard her from her fears. Rosalie came in a moment later dressed in fresh clothes and tended to the self inflicted abrasions on Angela's forearms. Emmett sat behind her, holding Angela on his lap while Rosalie finished wrapping the gauze around her left arm. His cheek rested on her head, his voice low and hypnotic, soothing her to a near sleep state as he told her about the bear attack that led him to Rosalie and how he thought her to be an angel.

She was almost asleep, her eyes closed and her body relaxed when the door downstairs opened and closed loud enough to shock her awake. Angela jumped in Emmett's arms, grabbing onto his shirt in a desperate attempt to find safety from the shadows of her fear. Rosalie brushed her fingers against her cheek, drawing Angela's attention with her gentle touch.

"Hey, who comes into this house beside us?" Rosalie asked her as she sensed Jasper and Alice ascend the stairs.

"No one," Angela responded after a moment.

"That's right," Rosalie told her, her voice soothing. "No one but family ever comes in here. He won't get you here, we won't let him," she promised.

"Hey, Little One," Jasper said from the doorway as he entered her room slowly and moved to sit in front of Emmett on the bed.

He could feel Angela's fear, had been told by Alice what had happened and had seen the photos lying on the table downstairs shortly after entering the house. His love had told him that as much as Angela needed to feel safe, she would want him and Emmett more than she would herself or Rosalie. She needed to feel guarded, protected. He traced the pad of his right middle finger up over her cheek, tucking her hair behind her ear before leaning close to kiss her forehead.

"You just need your big brothers, huh?" Jasper asked, feeling her shame, fear and the deep seated feeling of being unclean. "We won't let him come near you again," he promised. "Let's get you to sleep, ok?" he said and helped Emmett guide her to lie back on the pillows as they sandwiched her between their bodies.

"We'll protect you, half pint," Emmett promised her as Alice and Rosalie covered the three of them with the thick heavy quilt from Carlisle and Esme's room. "You can sleep, we'll keep you safe."

Jasper kissed her temple, his silent promise of protection affirmed as he began infusing ribbons of safety and comfort to the girl. She turned toward him, her small hands clutching at his shirt as she fought against the sleep beckoning her. She still couldn't break free of her nightmare, the images of her dream and from the photos plaguing her mind.

"Will you tell me about Texas?" she asked Jasper, her voice soft as she sniffled.

"What do you want to know, Little One?" he asked and petted her hair.

"Were you as rambunctious a child as Emmett was?"

Jasper smiled and drew the backs of his fingers over her tear fevered cheek. "I don't know that rambunctious is the right word, but I did cause my fair share of trouble…"


	14. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Blinking in the darkness, she rolled onto her side and gave up all pretense of trying to sleep. Reaching her hand out from under the thick blankets covering her, she reached for her cell phone that rested on the edge of the night table next to the bed. One-forty-five AM. The only thing she had to be thankful for was that it was the weekend. Sunday, technically, she would have to go back to school on Monday. Moving quietly, slipping soundlessly from the bed, she took two pillows from the bed along with the top comforter and moved to lie in front of the wall of glass. Pulling back the curtains just enough to see the night outside, she pressed against the magnetic latch to open it, letting the cool breeze drift over her softly as she settled herself on the floor.

Curling up on her side, she tucked one arm under the pillows beneath her head while the other arm dragged the blankets up under her chin. She couldn't get the conversation with Chief Swan out of her head. He had been so kind to her when he had come to the house at Carlisle's request to collect the photos she had discovered. He had taken them, envelope and all, for testing and further documentation to provide the proof that she had a stalker. She couldn't silence the thought that she had been at fault though, that she had somehow let this happen. How could she not have known that someone was touching her like that? Why hadn't she woken up? Why hadn't she stopped him?

Silent tears slipped down from the corners of her eyes, rolling over the bridge of her nose, down her cheek and temple to drip onto her pillow and the carpeted floor below. Sniffling as she looked out into the night and listened to the hooting owl and chirping crickets, she wondered once more if she had caused all this. Had she somehow unknowingly led her stalker on? Did she make him believe that she wanted this attention? What had she done to draw his attention? What was worse, what was becoming infinitely more difficult to handle, was her guilt. She felt guilty for bringing this trouble on the Cullens. Pulling her knees halfway to her chest, she blinked as more tears fell.

Her mother's harsh and hateful voice sounded in her mind telling her once again how terrible she was and how she was causing too much trouble. If she had done something different, behaved better or more modestly than maybe she wouldn't have led this man to believe that she wanted his attention. This was her fault; it had to be her fault. Why else would this man, whoever he was, be doing this to her? She didn't hear the door open behind her, but did feel the soft tug on the blanket as someone laid down on top of it behind her. A sleekly muscled arm wrapped around her, but she didn't look down to see who it belonged to as she continued to stare into the forest. She had a pretty good idea who it was.

_Edward?_

He answered her by kissing her hair and rubbing his hand over her arm before holding her close. He remained silent as he waited to hear her next thoughts, and smiled slightly when she wrapped her hand around his arm just above his wrist. He had known that she wasn't sleeping for a while now, but when her thoughts had turned to blaming herself, he could no longer stand idly by. He knew that she wouldn't hear him if he called out to her. He had learned early on that she was the kind of person who would easily get lost in their thoughts and not notice anything around them.

_Why is he doing this? What did I do?_

"It's not your fault," he told her gently, keeping his voice low as he held her. "You didn't do anything wrong, Angela."

_I keep thinking…if I knew why, if I knew his reasons for coming after me, then maybe it would make sense. _

"Sweetheart, don't," he said softly, his mournful expression reflected in the clear glass in front of them. "Knowing his reasons, it won't make anything better. Obsession isn't something that can be understood. And even if you had his reasons, would that really make you feel any better? Would it make you feel any less scared?"

_I just feel so…dirty. I swear sometimes I can feel his hands on me. I'll close my eyes and I'll be back in my room with Broomer and I know – _I know_ – that nothing really happened, but – _

"Hey, you listen to me," he said cutting through her thoughts, his voice gentle yet fierce. "What happened then was not nothing. He broke into your home, he was on top of you and held you down and touched you without your consent. You fought back and got away before he could hurt or rape you, yes, but that doesn't mean that what happened was nothing. You were attacked, Angela and it is perfectly alright for you to be scared because of it." He rubbed his hand over her arm as he watched her reflection in the glass. "None of us will ever tell you not to be scared; we can't tell you how to feel, Sweetheart. What we will do is promise you our protection, guard you as much as we can, and hold you whenever you want or need us to."

_I hate that I'm hurting you and Jasper all the time._

"You're not hurting us," Edward told her as he took comfort in the feel of her heartbeat thrumming slowly through her back. "You're not hurting me, I know you think you are when your mind takes you back to your attack, but you're not. And Jasper…Jasper's strong and I'll have you know that he wants to do whatever he can to help you with your migraines."

_But to do that he has to feel them…I…he shouldn't have to…he doesn't deserve…_

Edward grew still, his eyes widening before he put his hand on her shoulder and turned her to lie on her back. Propping himself up on his bent arm, he looked down on her with concern.

"God, Sweetheart," he rasped almost mournfully as he stared down into her dark chocolate eyes. "Tell me you don't believe what he used to say," he begged as he studied her eyes. "Tell me you don't believe your migraines are a punishment."

_You know about that?_

He could feel her shrinking away from him mentally as though she had done something wrong and he clenched his jaw as he closed his eyes. Opening his eyes and looking down upon her, he kissed her forehead and tucked her hair behind her ear.

"When your memories flow through your mind, I can see them," he confessed as he watched the emotions flit across her face. "Baby girl, what they did to you, what they _both_ did and said to you was wrong. You are not bad, there is nothing wrong with you at all, and your migraines are not a punishment." He was quiet for a moment as he looked at her. "I know you're worried about the Toradol losing its effectiveness, but is that the only reason you're hesitant to take it?"

He was the one person in the entire family that she could never hide the truth from. Not that she wanted to hide, it was just her fear that they would come to see her as her parents saw her. Her father had told her so many times that her migraines were a punishment and she deserved the pain, that after awhile she had started to believe him. Her parents didn't want her, didn't want anything to do with her and she felt their rejection and abandonment in every memory that she possessed. She wasn't sure when exactly it was that she had begun to believe her father's hateful words, but after awhile she had found that she thought she must deserve the pain. If she didn't deserve it than the migraine medicines would have worked and she wouldn't have needed to go through so many prescriptions and scans. Folding her lips over her teeth and pressing down on them, her breaths grew slightly more labored as her tears increased.

_Why else would the other medications not work? _She asked him slowly, blinking as more tears fell. _They never wanted to be around me and I was always doing something wrong…_

"Baby girl, no," he choked on the words as he wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly. "Sweetheart, I want you to listen to me," he said as he lifted up enough to stare into her eyes. "Your migraines are _not_ a punishment. You have _not_ done anything wrong and you _do not_ deserve to be in pain. Do you hear me?" he asked and watched her nod shakily after a long moment. "I will tell you that every day, if I need to, until you believe me. So will Carlisle and so will everyone else. You have _not done anything_ to be punished for. You're not bad, or dirty, or evil. I promise you that."

He kept his arms around her as she turned in his hold to bury her face in his chest and wrap her arms around his waist. Pressing his lips against her hair, he held her while she cried and whispered soothing comforts to her while she grew closer and closer to sleep. He knew she had no idea that Carlisle had been standing in the doorway since the middle of their silent conversation, the man only able to hear Edward's side of it. He knew that his father's thoughts were as conflicted as his own, wanting to hold her and comfort her while at the same time needing to destroy something in order to vent the anger caused by her parents' abuse.

She was almost asleep in his arms when he heard the half formed thought flit through her mind. Carefully untucking the blanket from around her, he moved to kneel next to her before gathering her into his arms and standing. Carrying the drowsy girl across the room, he walked past Carlisle and down the hall. His steps were slow and soundless as he walked down the stairs to where Jasper sat in the library below. He smiled at his sister in amusement and gratitude when he saw Alice standing near him with a blanket in her arms.

She waited until he got closer before spreading the blanket over Jasper and then helped him to wrap it around Angela once he'd laid her in his brother's arms. Jasper kissed Angela's forehead as he cradled her swaddled form in his arms and rested his cheek on her hair. Whispering a few words to his brother, Edward watched his lip curve up in a lopsided smile.

"I was seven years old in the summer of eighteen-fifty-one," he began his southern voice warm and smooth. "There was a girl a few years older than me named Henrietta Clyne that lived not too far from my family and I delighted in catching frogs from the creek and taking them to her…"

**:::::**

Angela rubbed her hands tiredly over face as she yawned and waited for the program to finish loading. She was almost done with the gift that she had been working on for Emmett and was excited to see it finally printed and bound. The most tedious part of the project was soon to come as she had to arrange all the three hundred and seventy-five pages of family history and photos into the clear plastic sheet protectors. She couldn't take the risk of having the information professionally bound for fear of someone reading over the histories and finding out the truth about her new family.

Smiling as the picture finished loading, she hit the print icon and waited as the cover for the three ring binder printed out. The image was a dual crest: on the left hand side was the McCarty family crest and on the right was the Cullen family crest. A ribbon was dropped down beneath the crests, joining them together and inside that ribbon in stylized font was the name 'Emmett Liam McCarty Cullen'. She still wasn't entirely certain how he would like it, but trusted Carlisle's assessment that Emmett would be pleased with the gift. Waiting a few moments for the ink on the glossy photo paper to dry, she slipped it into the clear sheath on the front of the black four-inch wide three-ring binder.

She needed to run one errand before she could print the book and put it into the binder, but it required driving to a nursing home in Olympia. Normally she wouldn't mind such an outing, having always enjoyed driving, but she was so very tired. She had tracked down Emmett's last living sister, Mary Catherine Jessup, formally Mary Catherine McCarty, at the Twin Oaks Nursing home. She had asked to speak to her in regards to a genealogy project only to be told that she had died a few days ago at the age of eighty-eight. Her family had left her things behind, telling the nursing home to do with them as they pleased and the woman she had spoken to had promised to hang onto Mary's box of photos for her for a few days.

The problem was, today was the last day the photos would be held for her and Angela really didn't feel comfortable driving with how tired she was. Making certain that all of her files were saved before shutting down her computer, Angela took her laptop and the currently empty three-ring binder up to her bedroom. Tucking the binder into the back of her closet so that Emmett wouldn't accidently find it, she tried to think of a way to make it to the nursing home before the offices closed for the day.

"Well, come on," Alice's excited voice sounded behind her and Angela turned around. "If we don't leave now we'll never make it in time," she said, her car keys dangling from her finger.

Angela was still for a moment before a wide smile broke out over her face and she rushed forward to hug Alice. The pixie haired vampire laughed and returned her embrace before telling Angela to grab her purse so they could leave. Following Alice down the stairs and into the garage, she smiled as they climbed into Carlisle's black Mercedes, clicking her seatbelt before waving at Jasper as they drove off. Her eyes were blinking heavily before they had even made it to the interstate and though she tried to fight it, she was asleep within moments.

Alice smiled at the girl sleeping next to her and pressed the button in the middle console to turn the seat warmer on low for Angela. Little by little Angela was gaining weight and her human complexion, though still pale, was beginning to take on a healthier glow. Smiling as she watched her sleep out of the corner of her eye, Alice felt impatient for tomorrow. Angela's seventeenth birthday was just hours away and while the girl was distracted by the boys during the day tomorrow, she would be decorating the house for her birthday party. Alice was excited for the party, but even more so for Angela's reaction to it.

Turning her gaze on Angela when the sleeping girl whimpered, Alice smoothed her hand over her cheek, smiling when her touch calmed her almost immediately. It was a source of unspoken pleasure for every member of her family that Angela delighted in being touched, hugged or cuddled. The small physical actions for her were simply a reminder that she wasn't alone, but for Alice and the rest of her vampire family, it was the delicate piece of the puzzle they had never known they were missing. Smiling as she exited the freeway, Alice thought back to the lessons in car repair that Angela was getting from spending time with Rosalie. She was fairly certain that Angela had no real interest in cars or repairing engines, but it was another way that she used to spend time with a member of their family without making it obvious that she was doing so.

Emmett and Jasper both loved to hold Angela and tell her the stories of their pasts, both through their human and vampire years. Edward was a bit different though. Alice had known that Edward would not follow in his brothers' footsteps and tell her stories of his past and though she knew that he and Angela often had silent conversations, she wondered when her brother would find his own way to bond with her. She had thought a few times that he would read to her as Carlisle or Esme did, but he hadn't done that either and no matter how many times she tried to look for it, her visions would not show her what thing would be special for them. Turning left and driving through an old wrought-iron gate, Alice reached over and gently shook Angela's shoulder.

"We're here, Sweetie," Alice said as she parked the car under a flowering tree.

"How long was I out?" Angela asked as she undid her seat belt and stepped out of the car.

"The whole trip, you were pretty tired," Alice told her as she walked next to her into the administration offices of the nursing home.

Angela greeted the woman at the desk with a smile and had only given her name before the woman told her that she was the person she had spoken to and placed an old hat box before her. Opening the lid and looking inside, Angela gasped at the first picture she saw and lifted the delicate black and white photo that had yellowed slightly around the edges with age. She would know his face anywhere, no matter how old he was and showing the picture to Alice for confirmation, she watched her vampire sister nod and smile.

"Thank you," Alice said as she covered the box and followed Angela back out to the car, the girl too distracted by the photo to notice much of anything else.

"I can't believe he was ever so small," Angela said in wonder as she stared at the three year old boy in the photo.

"We all start out small, don't we?" Alice asked with a laugh and shook her head.

She knew without a doubt that Angela would hold that photograph all the way home, regardless of whether she fell asleep again or not. Watching her as she started the car, Alice tipped her head to the side as a small smile tugged at her lips.

**:::::**

Smiling as she placed the last photo from the box into the third scrapbook, Angela looked at the books before her and smiled. It had taken her nearly three hours to put everything together, from the family histories in the binder to the photographs in the scrapbooks, but she wouldn't trade a second of that time for anything. Closing her eyes when she realized that the one thing she had forgotten to get was wrapping paper, she covered the books on the bed with her comforter and moved to her closet. Chewing on her lip as she looked through the bags inside, there really wasn't anything that she could use to wrap the books with.

She would need to go in search of wrapping paper, or a box at the very least. Looking back when a soft knock sounded at her bedroom door, she smiled when she saw Esme poke her head into the room. Her caramel colored hair hung down in smooth waves that Angela envied and she smiled brightly when the woman held up a roll of metallic blue wrapping paper.

"Alice told me that you might need this," she said as she stepped into the room carrying tape and a pair of scissors in her other hand. "Are you alright?" Esme asked as she stepped toward Angela, the girl's expression unreadable.

Angela nodded silently as she stared at Esme and swallowed back the sudden tightness in her throat. There were still times that she would be completely overwhelmed by the love of the family surrounding her and the warmth of the feeling would rob her of the ability to speak. Walking back to her bed and flipping back the comforter to reveal the books, she nodded when Esme asked permission to look inside one of the scrapbooks.

"Sometimes I just get a little…overwhelmed, I guess," Angela said, her voice barely above a whisper. "It's really only been a little more than two months that I've had you all and sometimes it feels like a dream. I keep thinking I'm going to wake up and just have imagined this all," she admitted quietly as she stared down at her hands.

Setting the scrapbook aside, Esme moved closer and wrapped her arms around Angela. Assuring her that it wasn't a dream, that they wouldn't disappear on her, Esme kissed her cheek and sat back. Her gold eyes scanned over the large binder on the bed and the three scrapbooks with pride and wonder. Angela had gone through so much research and done so much work for a present that she knew the girl still wasn't sure would be liked. Esme couldn't wait to see Emmett's reaction.

"Everything alright?" Esme asked as she watched Angela frown at the hat box she was trying to put a lid onto.

"It won't fit," Angela said in confusion. "The photos were light and didn't displace the sides at all, but the bottom feels…weird."

"Let me see it," Esme requested and reached out for the round hat box. "This belonged to Emmett's sister, right?" she asked, watching Angela nod as she felt around the bottom of the hat box. "In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, they used to make women's hat boxes with false bottoms," she said as she pushed down gently on one side and waited for the edge of aged cardboard to pop up. "It was because some of the nicer hats had jewels or pearls strung on them that could be removed. You would remove the valuables from the hat and put them in the bottom of the box while you were traveling."

Pulling the false bottom out carefully, they looked inside and Angela's eyes lit in wonder at what had been revealed. Removing the contents carefully, Angela and Esme gently unfolded each piece of paper before placing them in chronological order.

"These are letters," Angela said, her voice barely above a whisper as she held the aged paper with delicacy. "Esme, look at the date on this one," she said holding out the letter carefully. "She's wrote these to Emmett after he disappeared."

::

_Dearest Emmett,_

_Today is March thirty-first, nineteen-thirty-six. You would have been twenty-one today. You were always my favorite among our family and it is hard to reconcile the fact that I will never see you again. Father was told that you were killed by a bear five months ago. Of course father, being the stubborn man that he is, believed you had run away with the Owens eldest daughter until our family received an invitation to her wedding. Mother is beside herself and Sean and Juliana, they will be fine in time. You disappeared before mother had a chance to tell you that she was pregnant again. She is as big as a house! _

_I miss you, brother. I miss the way that you would always make time to run and play with me, no matter what else you had to do. I miss all the times that you would sit and talk with me. I miss the way you would hold me at night and read to me until I fell asleep. No one does those things anymore and it is very lonely for me without you. I pray each night that they were wrong and that you were not the poor man who was attacked by the bear. I know in my heart that you are gone, but I hope and pray that one day you will come back to me. I will write to you later, but I must go now, mother is at the point where she is no longer able to reach the stove due to her belly. I am sure you remember how those days were when she was pregnant with me. _

_Your sister,_

_Mary Catherine _

_~ I'll always be your 'Katie'._

::

Angela handed the letter to Esme and watched as she carefully slid it into the protective plastic sheet guard. Closing her eyes, she sent up a silent prayer to Mary Catherine, thanking her for allow her to have Emmett as her big brother as well. She released a soft breathy laugh when Esme reached out to smooth away the tears that had fallen from her eyes.

"He loves being a big brother," Esme told her as she helped Angela put the rest of the letters into protective sheet covers. "Did you want to put these in a separate folder or in the binder?"

"The binder, I guess, I don't have another folder," Angela said as she looked down at all the letters. "Can I…" blushing and looking down at the letter she was currently holding, Angela shook her head. "I know it sounds stupid, but do you think maybe we could visit her – her grave, I mean. In a way, she kind of gave Emmett to me and I wanted to thank her for that."

"It's not stupid at all," Esme assured her with a warm smile. "In fact, I think that it's something that you and Emmett could do together, if he wanted to go as well."

Glancing up at the sound of a knock on her bedroom door, Angela asked who it was and bit her lip as she waited for an answer. Carlisle's warm voice came through the wood and she jumped off the bed to usher him into the room quickly while she checked the hall to make certain that Emmett wasn't near. Closing the door and turning around, she found both Esme and Carlisle to be watching her with matching expressions of amusement and adoration. Explaining that she didn't want Emmett to see anything yet, she returned to the bed only to stare quizzically at a rather tall and large wooden box that lay on her bed.

"I thought you might like something to put the books in before you wrapped them," Carlisle said as he watched Angela study the hand-carved box.

"Did you make this?" Angela asked in awe as she ran her hand over the carefully carved stylized initials in the center of the hinged lid.

"Yes," he admitted and smiled at her look of awe.

"This is amazing," Angela breathed out. "Thank you, Papa, this is wonderful."

"Two weeks between her saying it, I can wait," Carlisle said to Esme as he smiled his voice too low for Angela to hear.

"Yes, now you just have to get her to call you that knowingly instead of when she's too distracted to notice she's said it," Esme returned just as quietly with a wink.

"Oh look," Angela's attention snapped to Carlisle, the smile on her face bright. "Did she show you? They were in the bottom of the hat box," she said and handed Carlisle a few of the plastic sheathed letters.

Carlisle read over the three letters in his hands and smiled as he shook his head. Leaning forward, he kissed Angela's forehead and praised her efforts. Disappearing from the room, Esme reappeared a moment later with a dark green three-ring binder that was only a half-inch wide, just large enough to hold the small collection of letters. Taking the letters from Carlisle and tucking them into the binder before snapping the rings shut, she watched her husband and Angela with the love of a wife and mother.

"He will treasure this," he promised her and looked down at the other letters, counting thirty-two in all. "You have an amazing gift, my daughter," he said and waited to see Angela's reaction to his acknowledgement of her.

Her lips parted as she gasped soundlessly. Her chocolate eyes widened slowly as her cheeks flushed. Her parted lips curved up in a slow, but brilliant smile as tears shone in her eyes. Her movements were somehow slow and fast at the same time as she leant forward and embraced Carlisle in a tight hug, burying her face in his shoulder. He returned her embrace with as much fervor, smoothing his hand over her long hair as he felt her tears soak through his sweater. Turning his head, he kissed her temple and told her that he loved her.

"Alright you two," Esme smiled as Carlisle and Angela sat back a moment later. "We need to get this present wrapped and then you, Miss," she said to Angela, "need to get some sleep. You have a big day tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" Angela questioned with a frown as she carefully laid the thick binder into the bottom of the wooden box. "I have school tomorrow, what's so big about that?"

"No, you don't," Esme grinned as she handed her the first of the three scrapbooks.

"We called you in, along with the rest of them," Carlisle said as he carefully placed the green binder holding the letters on top and closed the lid of the wooden box.

"Is it going to be another bright day?" she asked in confusion.

"No, it's your birthday," Carlisle told her as he lifted the box so that Esme could lay out the wrapping paper beneath it.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Angela asked even more confused and shook her head at their matching expressions of amusement.

"Your brothers have a day planned for you," Esme said with a secretive smile.

"A day?" Angela shook her head in confusion and watched as they both frowned in question at her.

"Angela," Esme glanced at Carlisle before looking back at the girl seated in front of them. "Haven't you ever done anything for your birthday before?"

"No," she said quietly with a shake of her head.

"Well, then it's high time you did," Carlisle said, his smile returning as he stared at her. "Your brothers will be collecting you early in the morning, so I suggest you get as much sleep as you can."

"What are they planning?" Angela asked as she placed the last piece of tape on the wrapping paper, sealing the wooden box in the metallic blue color.

"We have been sworn to secrecy," Esme chuckled and lifted the box. "Did you want to give this to him tonight or wait for another time?"

"I was thinking tomorrow, actually," Angela said as she looked at the present.

"Tomorrow it is then. We can bring it down when you return home tomorrow afternoon." Leaning forward, Carlisle hugged Angela tight. "Now, get some rest. You'll be needing it."

They left quietly, the present and wrappings taken with them and Angela stood. Stretching her arms up over her head as she walked to the wall, she made certain that the glass was open just enough to let the breeze inside and breathed in deeply of the forest air. The days were lengthening with the summer months and at nine-thirty at night she was able to sit in front of the open glass wall and watch the sky change with the setting sun. Before having this view from her room inside the Cullen's home she had never known how strikingly beautiful the sunrise and sunsets were.

Closing her eyes as she breathed in the wild air, she listened to the sounds of the forest. The music of the wind rustling through the trees, the chirping birds and animals skittering through the grasses soothed her. She was awestruck with how peaceful she felt and wished Jasper were near so that she could share the beauty of the moment with him, wanting to share this with him rather than her pain. Glancing down when she heard her name called, she saw Jasper standing on the ground below. He motioned for her to open the wall wider and then asked her to step back. Doing as requested, Angela's eyes widened as a surprised smile bent her lips up when he leapt into her room with one push of his legs.

"I felt that," he said to her, his gold eyes awash with wonder.

"My emotions?" she asked with a shake of her head.

"No," he stared at her in wonder. "Your call. It was like this…tug, a gentle little tug. Do something for me," he requested as he stepped closer to her. "Close your eyes and think of Emmett the same way you just thought of me."

"Why?" she asked curiously, biting her lip.

"Humor me," he said with a grin.

Shrugging slightly, Angela closed her eyes and breathed in deeply. She pulled up an image in her mind, a favorite memory of Emmett holding her and telling her stories of his childhood in Tennessee. She could hear his voice clear in her mind; hear the emotions in his voice as he told her about his sister 'Katie' and the trouble he would get into with her. She thought about pulling him to her, wanting him to tell her another story tonight or perhaps just read to her until she fell asleep. Opening her eyes when her door opened, she looked back to see Emmett sticking his head inside. Her eyes opened wide, her lips parting in an expression of surprise and wonder when he asked if she had called for him and she turned back to Jasper.

"You didn't…?" she asked Jasper, letting the unfinished question hang in the air.

"That was all you," he said with a proud smile.

"So you didn't call for me?" Emmett asked slowly as he stepped inside, wanting to know what was going on.

"No, I did," Angela said softly with wonder and nodded for him to come closer. "But I didn't."

"What does that mean?" Emmett asked confused as he stepped closer and wrapped his arms around Angela.

"I'm not sure," she said, her brows furrowing as she leaned against his chest and covered her mouth with her hand when she yawned.

"I'll explain later," Jasper told him, his voice too low for her to hear. "We should get you to bed," he told Angela with a grin. "We've got a big day tomorrow."

"Everyone keeps saying that," she said and laughed when Emmett scooped her up in his arms. "I can walk, you know," she teased him only to shriek in surprise when he dropped her on her bed.

Emmett laughed at her and waited for her to climb beneath the covers before he sat down next to her. Looking at Jasper, he told them both that he was out of 'human' stories for Angela. He doubted that she would want to hear his stories of hunting quite yet and hadn't taken her past the time that he had met Rosalie and Carlisle. Grinning and moving to sit on Angela's other side, Jasper leaned back on the pillows and waited for her to settle against him before he began to tell her more stories of his youth. Tugging at Emmett's sleeve until he laid down as well, Angela closed her eyes at Jasper's request and listened to the sound of his voice, falling asleep as they held her.

**:::::**

"We could always splash water on her face."

"Rosalie," Esme rebuked her with a soft laugh. "We will not splash water on her face."

"Ice cubes could work."

"Alice," Esme shook her head as she looked between her daughters and laughed at their suggestions for waking Angela.

"You know what will happen if we let the boys wake her," Alice said as she studied the sleeping human hidden beneath the blankets. "Emmett will come in here and bounce on the bed until she either wakes up or rolls off. I swear, I think he's reverted back to the age of five."

"Three," Rosalie corrected with a shake of her head and rolled her eyes. "It's adorable now, but if we don't wake her up before he does, his excitement will turn annoying and then Jasper will kick him."

"My Jasper will not kick him," Alice assured haughtily as she laughed.

"Somebody better kick somebody," Angela grumbled without opening her eyes and pulled the blankets up over her head. "What time is it anyway?" she asked, her voice muffled by the blankets.

"Six-thirty," Esme laughed. "We are here to help you get ready for your day."

"My day?" she asked, peeking out from beneath the covers. "Does this 'day' include coffee?"

"Triple shot mocha with extra chocolate and whipped cream," Alice said holding up a twenty-ounce paper cup. "I had Edward go get it while Jasper distracted Emmett."

"Alright, Tigger," Angela said as she sat up looking at Alice. "Hand over the coffee."

"Tigger?" Alice asked, tipping her head to the side not understanding the reference as she stepped forward, handing Angela her coffee and helped her to her feet.

"Don't tell me you've never heard of Winnie the Pooh," Angela said and grinned at Rosalie over the lid of her cup when the blonde rolled her eyes.

"You're encouraging her, you realize," Rosalie said and took Angela's hand before leading her over to the closet. "Clothes first," she said and looked at the contents of Angela's closet. "You're going to need something loose and comfortable."

"What exactly will I be doing?" Angela asked and nodded her thanks to Esme when she was handed her glasses.

"It's a surprise," Alice bounced on the balls of her feet and slipped between Angela and Rosalie. "This," she said with a decisive nod as she pulled out a pair of Angela's flare-legged jeans and a long sleeved t-shirt. "Now for shoes."

"Comfortable," Esme reminded her daughters with a smile. "And something you don't mind getting dirt on."

"Will I be doing a lot of walking?" Angela asked.

"A fair amount, I'd imagine," Esme said with a smile.

Nodding and raising her arm to yawn into the curve of her elbow, Angela reached down and grabbed her sneakers. Esme silently laughed at the waking girl walking around with her coffee in hand. She was certain that the only thing Angela wanted to do at that particular moment was climb back in her bed and sleep a little bit longer, but the boys were anxious to get on the road. What no one had told Angela was that today was also the arraignment hearing to determine whether or not the charges of breaking and entering would stick for Jason Broomer. She and Carlisle would be attending the hearing while Rosalie and Alice prepared for Angela's birthday party.

"Take these with you," Alice said, handing her two boxes of contacts. "I've labeled which eye they're for."

Setting her coffee down on the bedside table, Angela left her room, clothing and contacts in hand to tend to her needs and dress. Wrinkling her nose as she brushed her teeth, she knew that she still had at least half of her coffee left, but hated the feeling of morning breath in her mouth. The more she moved around the more awake she felt, it was strange not to be going to school. Sure it was her birthday, but that had never meant anything before. She'd never had a birthday party or done anything special, it was just another day. She didn't really know what to expect. Opening the bathroom door, she blinked in surprise to see Alice standing in front of her and let out a tiny squeak when the pixie haired vampire grabbed her hand and led her back to her bedroom.

"We are losing time here, Angela," she said with mock seriousness despite the wide excited smile that decorated her face. "What do you think Rose? Twin French braids?"

"We'll have to make them tight for what the boys have planned," Rose said as she directed Angela to sit in the desk chair. "You're fairly quiet," she said to Angela as she began brushing the girl's hair.

"I'm still waking up, thank you," Angela said and giggled when Alice tried to play keep-away with her coffee. "No fair, Tigger, I need that."

"Tigger?" Emmett laughed as he stood in the open door way. "I like it, too bad she's the size of Piglet."

Angela looked up at Alice and burst out laughing at her look of confusion. It was too funny. For someone who had been alive for who knows how many years, she had no idea what they were talking about. They attended high schools to keep their cover, how was it possible that Alice had no idea who Winnie the Pooh was? She tried to stop laughing; she really did, but when Alice asked who Piglet was Angela just about fell out of the chair.

"Rosalie," Angela chortled as she looked up at the blonde. "You need to educate her."

Arching a perfectly shaped brow at the human girl, Rosalie told her in a flat voice that she would leave the 'cartoon education' to her. Directing her to turn her head back around so that she could start one braid while Alice worked on the other, Rosalie watched as Emmett fairly vibrated with excitement. There were times when he was such a big kid, but she loved it. At Alice's proclamation that she and Rosalie were done with her hair, Angela ran her fingertips lightly over her folded hair and smiled.

"What was that, like five seconds?" Angela asked in amazement as she took the Toradol pill Esme had given her and finished the rest of her coffee before dropping the cup into her trashcan.

"Thirty seconds, thank you," Alice said with a smile. "Advantages of being able to move really fast."

"And now," Rosalie said and nudged Angela toward Emmett, "it is time for us to let the boys take you away."

"Finally," Emmett said and eyed Angela with a dangerous grin. "You're mine, half pint."

Angela shrieked and giggled, kicking her feet when Emmett caught her around the waist and threw her over his shoulder. Calling out for Jasper and Edward, he ran down the stairs with her in a fireman's carry. Angela waved at Carlisle who stood laughing as Emmett carried her through the living room and out the front door to the car waiting outside. He finally set her back on her feet next to his Jeep and held the door for her while he waited for her to climb inside.

**:::::**

"We're here," Emmett announced as he parked his Jeep and looked up into the rear view mirror. "Three shots of coffee and she's asleep?" he asked in disbelief.

"She's been gaining a bit more weight, becoming healthier," Jasper said as he looked at the girl sleeping tucked under his arm. "The closer she gets to a healthier weight, the less severe her migraines are and," he said, taking a breath as he smiled down on her. "The less severe her migraines, the more tired she is. I never realized before how much sleep she was losing due to them. She stays so quiet at night, we've always thought her to be sleeping, but I doubt she was getting more than a couple hours a night before recently."

"It's a good thing she did sleep though," Edward said with a grin as he looked at Emmett. "You're going to run her ragged today."

"Half pint!"

Emmett's voice was just loud enough to startle her awake and she moaned softly as she rubbed at her eye with one hand. Nuzzling her face against Jasper's chest as she blinked slowly, she looked up at him and blinked to moisten her eyes. She was still getting used to the contacts that Alice had gotten for her, insisting that she would need them today instead of her glasses. Brow furrowing as she turned her head to look at Emmett, her eyes opened wide as she saw the fifteen foot tall lighted sign standing proudly outside of the gates in front of the car.

"Wild Waves?" she asked as she read the name of the amusement park. "This is the surprise?"

Edward arched a brow and laughed. "The surprise will be seeing if you can survive Emmett's enthusiasm to show you how to have fun. The roller coasters don't go nearly as fast as we can, but he loves them as much as the next…person," he told her with a crooked grin.

_I've never been to an amusement park before,_ she thought as she stared at the outlines of the roller coasters hidden behind the thick fog.

"We know," Edward said with a wink as he opened his door.

They all exited the vehicle, standing in the damp parking lot. It was a cloud covered day, fog hanging heavy in the air as rain threatened to fall. Seattle was as famous for rain as Forks was, but the city also tended to get a bit more sun than Forks did. Yawning deeply as she twined her fingers together and stretched her arms above her head, Angela stood on her toes and heard the soft pops as her vertebrae cracked. Emmett laughed at her before grabbing her by the arm as she finished her stretch and threw her onto his back. Catching her behind the knees as she grasped his shoulders, he ran with her up to the gates.

"What are we going to do first?" Angela asked, laughing as the man at the ticket booth smirked at them as he took the money from Emmett's hand.

"It's your birthday," Jasper said with a laugh. "What do you want to do?"

"I don't know," she said, biting her lip as she stared wide eyed at all the attractions. "I am kind of hungry," she said and the three Cullen men chuckled.

"Well then," Edward said. "Food it is."

**:::::**

Carlisle and Esme sat in the back of the small county court room listening as the prosecutor stated the charges laid against Broomer. Esme's hand was clasped tightly in Carlisle's, the worry she felt for Angela shared by her husband. Charlie sat in the bench behind the prosecutor's table waiting to be called to give testimony regarding the incident that preceded the man's arrest. Angela wasn't there, she wouldn't be needed for the arraignment, but it was possible that she could be called upon if there was a trial. Carlisle had pulled Angela out of school for two reasons: first and foremost, it was her birthday and he wanted her to enjoy the day as much as possible and second, he wanted her out of town during the arraignment. He wanted to know with absolute certainty that she was safe and when Emmett proposed the idea of taking Angela to Wild Waves amusement park in Seattle, he hadn't thought twice of giving his approval.

"What evidence do you have regarding these charges, counselor?" the judge asked.

"Your honor," the man said as he stepped forward. "Here is the police report and victim statement from the night that the defendant, Jason Broomer, broke into the home of Angela Weber."

"It says here that he had a key, is this correct?" the judge asked as he read over the police report.

"Yes, your honor," the man nodded grimly. "By all accounts the key was obtained illegally. He has no ties to the family at all and was never known to the victim before the night of the attack."

"According to her statement, she cannot positively identify her attacker, is that correct?"

"Yes, your honor, that is correct," the prosecutor ground his teeth together. "Your honor, Miss Weber was more focused on getting away from her attacker than she was looking at his face."

"So, the charges that you have presented: breaking and entering, attempted sexual assault and conspiracy to kidnap, you have no concrete proof of these charges."

"Your honor, as you will also see, Broomer's written confession is in the stack of papers that I gave you."

"I do not see the form indicating that he waived his right to counsel before he gave his confession," the judge said as he read through the typed statement.

"He never asked for an attorney your honor. As soon as he was taken down to the station, he admitted to everything. I have the arresting officer, Deputy Michael Carson, as well as Forks Police Chief Charles Swan here. Both are ready to testify to the validity of the confession."

"And these are all the forms from the incident and arrest?" the judge asked.

"Yes, your honor."

Carlisle turned his head sharply; his eyes locked on the defendant's table when he heard the court appointed defender tell Broomer that his release was a sure thing. All the papers were in order, the man's own confession was there leaving Carlisle confused as to how the man would be released. Rubbing his hand over the back of Esme's he tried to soothe her worry, though found himself feeling increasingly tense as he waited for the judge's ruling as to whether or not the charges would stand.

"Will the defendant please rise," the judge said and Carlisle sat stiffly as he watched the man and his lawyer stand. "Jason Broomer, you have been charged with breaking and entering, attempted sexual assault and conspiracy to kidnap. How do you plead?"

"Not guilty, your honor," he said, Carlisle and Esme's eyes widening in disbelief. "The confession was signed under duress. I was not allowed counsel."

Everyone knew that what the man had said was a lie. Even the judge looked skeptical of the man's statement, but the one form that was missing would prove to be the deciding factor. Hearing his wife's soft growl next to him, Carlisle rubbed his hand over hers, keeping his voice low as he shushed her gently. He felt the same anger that she did. This man was a threat to Angela and because he was human there was very little that they could do without drawing attention to themselves.

"Your honor," the defense attorney spoke, "because there is no form signed indicating that my client waived his right to counsel, I move for dismissal of all charges."

"Unfortunately, I have no choice but to grant your request," the judge said and looked at the prosecutor. "Next time, counselor, make sure you have all your ducks in a row. Charges dismissed," he said and banged his gavel.

"Did that really just happen?" Esme asked with wide-eyed disbelief. "Angela's attacker was just released?"

"Yes," Carlisle said, his smooth voice tense with worry and an edge of anger.

Standing slowly, Carlisle and Esme both breathed in deeply as Broomer walked past them, making certain they both knew his scent. Moving into the wide aisle, they watched as Charlie spoke with the prosecutor for a few moments before coming back to talk with them. His face was tense, his chocolate eyes hard. Motioning for the couple to follow him out of the courtroom, he took them down to a small room used for private talks between lawyers and clients.

"We had that form," Charlie said, his voice tense when Carlisle closed the door behind himself and Esme. "We gave that form to the prosecutor last night along with everything else. I don't know what's going on here, but what happened in there shouldn't have happened."

"What else, Charlie?" Carlisle asked, knowing that the man would not simply have asked them into the small room to vent. "What else happened?"

"My second petition was denied. Angela doesn't even have the base security of a restraining order. The search warrant didn't turn up a damn thing. There was nothing in the man's apartment connecting him to Angela, her family or anything showing that he had ties to anyone who could be stalking her. Everything was clean, too clean."

"And if he comes after her again?" Esme asked, her eyes wide with alarm. "What do we do then?"

"Aside from calling us…" Charlie sighed and shook his head. "Just don't let her out of your sight."

"Thank you, Charlie," Carlisle said, his voice smooth and refined. "I know that you did everything you could. We'll let you know if anything else turns up."

**:::::**

Sneering in disdain at the stupidity of the man next to him, the defense attorney walked away from him into the bathroom and into one of the stalls. Closing the door behind him, he set his briefcase down on the floor and turned to face the toilet. He was careful as he removed the delicate face mask that was holding the false beard and mustache on his face. Dropping both items into the toilet, he used a moist towellette to remove any traces of the spirit gum that he had used to adhere the mask to his skin. Setting his briefcase on the back of the toilet, he opened the case and removed the dark wig made of natural human hair. Tucking it inside the case, he took a red wig from the case and covered his short cropped natural dark blond hair. Next he removed the blue colored contacts and dropped them into the toilet as well before flushing them away.

Where once he had stood with dark hair, a full beard and blue eyes he now stood cleanly shaven with copper red hair and his natural grey eyes. It was so easy to fool people by changing his appearance. He had perfected the art of looking differently for years now, his talent for blending in anywhere having been used for over a decade. The only people who knew what he truly looked like thought he had died back in his home state of Massachusetts. People knew of his other identities certainly, he had to move often because of it, but he was careful to move before anyone caught on to who he truly was. Stepping out of the bathroom stall, he stopped in front of the mirror and made certain that his appearance was absolutely perfect.

"Ah, Judge Robinson, good morning," a young man in a bailiff's uniform greeted him as he exited the bathrooms.

"Good morning, Joe. How are Karen and the twins?" he replied, smiling inwardly at how easy it was to fool people in this small Washington county.

"Good, good. The boys are getting into everything. I thought the terrible twos were bad enough, but it seems that the 'adventurous fives' are worse."

**:::::**

"Ok, half pint," Emmett laughed as he bounced her on his back. "We've got two roller coasters down and five more to go," he told her. "It's about one o'clock, you hungry yet."

"Not at all, besides I'm having too much fun to stop. Oh, look!" she pointed over his shoulder to an area ahead of them and to the left. "Frontier pictures! And they have costumes and everything!"

"You wanna go play dress up?" he asked with a laugh as he looked at Edward and Jasper.

"Pfft! Of course! You have to dress up, too," she told him with an authoritative voice only to shriek and laugh when he began tickling her behind her knees. "Not fair!" she cried out laughing as she tried to kick away from his hands. "Stop or I'll fall off."

"Ah, you won't fall," Jasper laughed and waited until she turned back to wave his fingers at her in a tickling motion.

_Best day ever!_

Edward laughed. It had been their intention to give her a day of silliness and fun, something that they all felt she had missed out on through the perils of her childhood. It had also been a way to honor Carlisle's request to take Angela out of town while the arraignment hearing took place. Her thoughts from the moment they arrived had been filled with nothing but fascination and excitement. They had each made certain that she had the most fun possible, Emmett even refusing to let her walk had carried her on his back all day, giving her a higher vantage point with which to see the rest of the park. She may have been tall on her own, but riding on his back had lifted her higher by a good six inches.

Jasper laughed, unable to stop smiling throughout the day. No matter what it was that she was feeling, her emotions were always hypnotic, pulling him in and her excitement had him feeling almost hyper. Her wonder and amusement captivated him, the way that she experienced every emotion was so pure it was almost childlike and he was addicted. He shook his head at her request that they dress up and take pictures with her, delighting in her blushes. He watched her bite her lip, her eyes losing focus as she stared at the costume place. He cast his eyes on Edward as her emotions filled him. The love, gratitude, honor and wonder that she felt whenever her thoughts drifted to his family filled her and overflowed and he felt her nearness to tears as well. Edward's eyes were riveted on Angela as they walked, the soft smile playing on his lips making Jasper wonder what it was that Angela was thinking.

_I can't believe I have a family. A real family. Oh please, oh please, oh please, don't let this be a dream. If this is a dream, I never want to wake up. I don't think I've ever felt this happy before. _

"Alright, half pint," Emmett said as he stepped inside the covered area and let her slide off his back. "Let's find you a dress."

**:::::**

"They let him go," Alice whispered, her eyes regaining focus as she looked at Rosalie. "I can't believe they let him go."

"They let him go?" Rosalie asked slowly, her voice little more than a growl. "You have got to be kidding," she dropped the decoration in her hand to the table before she crushed the crystal bowl in her iron grip. "How the hell could they let him go?!"

Alice shook her head and looked up as the front door opened and watched as Esme stepped into the house. She had dropped Carlisle off at the hospital on her way back from the Clallam County Courthouse and was still as tense as she was when the verdict had been announced. She looked at Rosalie and Alice, seeing the upset mirrored in their faces that she felt in her heart. If Broomer had been one of their kind then the problem would have been easily handled, but as he was a human they had to be careful to let the human authorities handle the situation. If he were to be killed or to suddenly go missing it would draw too much attention on their family.

Hanging her jacket in the closet and setting her purse on the table by the stairs, she moved to help Alice with the rest of the hanging decorations. The house was decorated with delicate gauzy fabrics in place of streamers, bowls of candles sitting on the table that would hold Angela's presents from their family. The cake Esme had baked and decorated the night before was in the fridge and would need to be taken out soon to warm to room temperature in time for Angela's arrival home.

"I know that you both are upset, both Carlisle and I are as well," Esme said as she finished affixing the end of the merlot colored fabric to the staircase. "But I want you both to keep quiet about Broomer's release until tomorrow. Carlisle and I want this day to be perfect for her; we don't want it spoiled by his release. Rosalie, do I make myself clear?" she asked, knowing that Alice would abide her word but that Rosalie would feel angry at the secret being kept.

"Yes," the blonde said after a moment, her tone anything but hospitable. "So long as she is told about it. His release shouldn't be something she discovers by seeing him on the street."

"It won't be. And we are all going to make certain that she is protected at all times. If we are out hunting, either Carlisle or I will stay behind until the other returns so that she is not left alone. When she leaves this house, no matter the reason, she is to be with one of us or Bella. We're working on the 'safety in numbers' rule. There is only one week left of school and then we won't have to worry about the weather. Rosalie, I know that you and Emmett have been planning a trip to Africa for this summer - "

"We cancelled it as soon as the photos were found. We'll go once she's safe," Rosalie said.

"Are you certain?" Esme asked as she studied her daughter.

"Very certain. Emmett has no intention of being away from her until her stalker is caught by the authorities or dealt with by us. You and I have a unique understanding of what her stalker is making her feel. I don't want her alone until she's safe."

Esme nodded and looked up at the sound of her ringing cell phone. Digging the device out of her purse and answering it, she laughed at Angela's excited greeting, the girl's happiness dispelling her dark mood. Speaking with her for a few moments before asking for Emmett, she told him of what had happened and listened to the low growl that was below the range of human hearing. He promised that Angela would be kept safe and that they would be home in a few hours before he passed the phone off to Edward as he was called away by Angela to go on another roller coaster.

"How is she doing?" Esme asked her son and smiled at his response. "Good, make certain that she has whatever she wants…No, we plan to tell her tomorrow. The house is decorated and the cake has been taken out of the fridge. We are ready here whenever you are ready to bring her home… Ok, have a good time."

Snapping the device closed and tucking it into her pocket, she walked into the kitchen and picked up the cake she had set on the counter. Carrying it into the living room, she set it down on the table holding the floating candles and smiled at the sight of the decorated room. Everything was perfect.

"Why does this one say 'Emmett' on it?" Rosalie asked as she looked at the large gift wrapped in metallic blue paper.

"That's something Angela's been working on for him for a while now. You'll get to see what it is when he opens it tonight," Esme assured and watched Alice smile brightly.

**:::::**

"Ok, half pint," Emmett said as he looked at the darkening sky. "We've gone on every roller coaster twice and it looks like it's about to start raining. Is there anything else you want to do before we leave?"

Angela unfolded the map of the park's attractions in her hands and looked over what was listed. They had visited almost every area, gone on every roller coaster and done most of the side rides as well. They had taken pictures, she had had both breakfast and lunch and she pursed her lips in thought as she tried to decide what she wanted to do last before they left the park. They had done everything…except the Ferris wheel. Looking up to state her intent she laughed when Edward shook his head with an amused grin and took her hand. Tossing the map at Emmett, he lifted her onto his back and carried her over to the ride in question. He knew that she was tiring quickly and had no doubt that as soon as they sat down and began the rotation she would be asleep.

Stepping up to the short line, he let her slide off his back and watched her eyes dance as he listened to her happy thoughts. They were led to the caged seat by a middle aged man and locked into the swinging bucket seat. Wrapping his arm around her shoulders, Edward drew her against his side and watched her look out over the park as they rose slowly into the air as other riders boarded.

"Have you had fun today?" he asked her though he already knew her answer.

"More than I ever thought possible," she said, leaning her head against his chest as the music started and the ride began to move slowly. "I don't think it could get any better," she said softly as her eyes drifted closed.

"Sleep well, baby girl," he whispered to her, amused as she slumbered lightly against his side.

Short moments later the ride came to a stop and he stepped out of the seat before lifting the sleeping girl into his arms. She didn't wake once as he walked with her, carrying her over to where his brothers stood waiting. He chuckled silently at the sight they made; Jasper's arms were laden with the bags of stuffed animals and souvenirs. There was also one large bag that contained the corset and dress she had worn for the pictures they had taken, Jasper having used his talent to influence the man to sell him the clothing.

He knew that Emmett wanted to take Angela from him; his brother having been the first one of their family to truly befriend her was also the most protective of her. He resisted though and Edward grinned at him before looking down at Angela. Her head rested against his shoulder, her dark hair freed from the sides of her braids from all of the roller coasters rides she had taken. She looked younger, he thought, more innocent and vulnerable as she slept. Just seventeen years old, a fragile little human sleeping so easily in his arms as she trusted her vampire brothers to protect her.

"All tuckered out, huh?" the man at the gate asked with a smile as he watched Edward lift her over the turnstile as he walked through. "So which one of you is the lucky man?"

"We all are," Jasper laughed. "She's our little sister."


	15. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

"They're here!" Alice cheered, clapping her hands excitedly as she heard the low rumble of Emmett's Jeep pull up into the drive.

Esme and Carlisle looked at each other, standing with their arms wrapped around each other as they chuckled in amusement at their adoptive daughter's excitement. Waiting for the engine to shut off, they turned the house lights low, the twenty floating candles adding enough ambient light to fill the room with a warm glow. It was almost six o'clock and Esme wondered when they had actually gotten done at the amusement park, the knowledge that they all preferred to drive fast telling her that the three plus hour drive had likely taken less than an hour and a half. Edward was the first to enter the house, followed by Emmett who had his arms laden with bags. Jasper came in a short moment later, carrying Angela in his arms, the girl still sound asleep.

"She's sleeping?" Alice asked, her voice and stance reprimanding her brothers and husband. "I told you all not to wear her out."

"Give me a minute, Ali," Emmett chuckled before disappearing up the stairs with the bags in his arms. "Ok, these are for you two," he said with a grin as he handed a flat square folder to Esme.

Esme opened the heavy-weight paper folder to reveal a photo taken in sepia tones inside. She smiled at the scene of her three sons dressed in period clothing standing behind Angela who was dressed in a similar style as well. Carlisle chuckled as he looked at the photo over his wife's shoulder, they all looked perfectly happy, Angela's eyes dancing with merriment. He could tell that her cheeks were flushed in the photo, her smile wide and happy. She looked every bit the frontier's woman with her brothers standing behind her. Jasper and Edward had their arms slung over her shoulders while Emmett stood next to them with his arms crossed over his muscled chest. He was smiling as well, even as his eyes dared anyone to mess with Angela.

Handing the photo to Rosalie and Alice, they watched as the girls looked over the picture before handing it to Bella. Smiling as she laughed silently and shook her head, Bella looked up at Edward, blushing at his loving gaze as he came to stand next to her and wrapped her in his arms. Cupping her cheek in his hand, he kissed her before moving to stand behind her, holding her with his arms around her waist. Emmett adopted a similar pose with Rosalie and looked to Jasper. Shaking his head and rolling his eyes at his burly brother, Jasper gently bounced Angela in his arms as he called her name softly. She sighed softly after a moment and turned her face into his chest, yawning as she slowly woke.

"Are we home?" she asked Jasper, sleep still blurring her vision.

"We're home, Little One," he smiled down at her. "The day's not over yet, you should take a look," he said and nodded over her shoulder.

Frowning and pouting in curiosity as another yawn broke from her, Angela turned her head and stilled. Blinking at the scene in front of her, she kept her hand on Jasper's arm as he slowly set her on her feet. There was a table with presents, another table with a two-tiered cake surrounded by several small bowls holding floating candles and lengths of delicate fabric decorating the room. She had seen decorations like this before but had never been the recipient of them until now. This was her very first birthday party. She didn't know that silent tears were sipping down her cheeks until Esme stepped forward and smoothed them away before hugging her tightly.

"Happy birthday, Sweetheart," she said and kissed Angela's cheek.

Angela bit her lip, unable to give voice to the emotions that overflowed from within her. It felt to her that her heart would simply burst from the love and warmth she felt. Carlisle stepped forward and wished her happy birthday as well before enfolding her in his arms. Angela sniffled and hugged him tightly before stepping slowly over to the tables and looking over everything. She couldn't believe that they had done all of this just for her. No one had ever given her anything like this before and she wasn't certain that she had the words to express all that she felt. Not knowing what to say she looked back at Jasper, the request clear in the expression on her face.

Smiling at her and tipping his head down at a shallow angle in a slight nod, Jasper took in a deep breath and focused on her as he flooded the room with the emotions she felt. Turning back around and seeing Bella standing in Edward's arms, Angela stepped forward and laughed as Bella stepped away from Edward to hug her. One by one she was hugged by everyone in the room and then directed to her presents. Laughing as Alice winked at her before handing her Emmett's gift, Angela mouthed 'thank you' to her and stepped toward him.

"It's not my birthday," Emmett said as he took the gift and looked curiously at her.

"Good a time as any," Angela quipped with a shrug and laughed when Alice put another present in her hands and told her to open it.

Turning the long, flat box this way and that, she looked for the edges of the taped paper and slipped her fingernail beneath it, cutting the tape cleanly so that she didn't tear the paper. Removing the paper carefully, she folded it and set it down on the table as she studied the wide flat jeweler's box. Opening the box she gasped in surprise as she stared down at the long silver chain that held an intricately carved red jade stone set in a platinum oval the size of a half dollar. The stone was carved into the Cullen family crest and Angela couldn't stop staring at it. She couldn't believe that what she was seeing was real.

Carlisle smiled, knowing exactly what was in the box as it was the present from him and Esme. Stepping up to Angela, he took the box from her slowly and removed the necklace from the velvet bed it rested upon. Opening the clasp and holding onto the ends, he put the necklace on her and kissed her forehead. The family crest was typically given after his children had become vampires, but he had never had a human daughter before Angela. He hoped that the necklace would dispel any lingering doubts she may have regarding his family's desire to have her join them and watched as she gently traced the carved crest with her fingertips.

"Half pint," Emmett's breathy voice sounded from across the room. "You did all this?" he asked with amazement and wonder as everyone turned to look at him.

Biting her lip as she looked at Emmett sitting on the bottom of the stairs, she nodded. "Do you like it?"

"Like it?" he asked staring at her with wide eyes as Rosalie came to stand next to him. "Are you kidding me? This is the best thing I've ever gotten," he said as he looked back down at the large book in his lap. "I can't believe you found my family's history all the way back that far. And my currently living relatives…"

"Um…I was hoping that I would be able to talk with her, but she died before I could," Angela said apologetically as she stepped forward and lifted the dark green colored binder that he had set aside without opening. "She wrote you these though."

Emmett frowned in curiosity as he took the folder from her and opened it. His eyes flared wide as he looked down at his sister's handwriting and read through the first letter. He knew that if he had the ability to, he would be crying. Setting the folder and books aside, he stood and wrapped Angela in his arms.

"Thank you, half pint," he said, his voice thick with the emotions he was feeling. "Now open your other presents, before I get too distracted."

"Ok," she giggled and looked to her side to see Alice holding out another present to her.

"That one is from Rose and me," she said with a giggle and watched Angela open it.

Angela once again repeated the same careful process of opening the present and set the undamaged paper aside before looking at the box in her hands. Opening the large box, she looked inside and blinked in surprise before she began laughing outright. The smile on her face told of her pleasure at the gift, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't stop laughing.

"Alright," Jasper said as he stepped forward. "What's making you laugh so…really?" he looked up at his wife and chuckled.

"What is it?" Carlisle asked curiously as he stepped forward and looked down into the box. "Oh my," he said and began chuckling as well.

"What is it?" Bella asked as she looked at her friend.

One by one, Angela lifted the three items out of the box. One was reddish-brown, the other was gold while the last one was dark brown. Three teddy bears with fangs, each embroidered with the name of the brother they represented across their chests. The stuffed bears were ten inches tall and wore red lined black capes. Bella laughed as well when she saw the 'Edward' bear and stepped forward to get a closer look. Studying the bear, she noticed that there was a small red heart on the left hand and pressed it between her thumb and forefinger.

'Don't even think about messing with my little sister!' the bear said in menacing voice that was somewhere between a tenor and an alto.

Angela's eyes flew wide as she laughed harder and looked at the other two bears. They each had a similar red heart on the left hand and when she pressed down the one on the 'Emmett' bear, it spoke as well.

'Just try messing with my half pint!'

"Hell yeah!" Emmett boomed from where he stood, laughing along with everyone else.

"Oh, I gotta hear this," Angela said, as she pressed the paw on the 'Jasper' bear.

'Do you want to feel my wrath?'

Snorting as she laughed even harder, Angela hugged the bears to her as she bent over at the waist. She was laughing so hard that tears were streaming down her cheeks and she was certain that if Bella wasn't standing next to her, she would be on the floor. Choking out an excuse, Angela ran for the stairs, her laughter beyond control as she felt the need to relieve herself. Bella followed her up with the bears, pressing their paws every now and then as new threats against would be suitors, specific to each brother, came from the stuffed animals.

"Vampire bears?" Edward chuckled as he looked at Rosalie. "From Alice I would've expected that, but you, Rose?"

"Yes well, neither one of could resist after seeing them in the store and being told they could be customized. She needed a bit of humor," she said and looked up when Bella and Angela reappeared at the top of the stairs.

'Don't make me sick my Rose on you,' the Emmett bear said to which everyone burst out laughing.

"I don't think I've ever laughed so hard," Angela said as she stepped back down to the floor. "Thank you."

"You've still got more," Alice cheered and held out another present.

"There's more?" she asked with a giggle and took the gift from Alice.

"That one's from me and the boys," Emmett said recognizing the wrapping.

"But I thought today was my gift from you all," she said in reference to their adventures at the amusement park.

"No," Edward said with a smile. "That was just a distraction so that the girls could decorate."

Smiling, Angela removed the paper and looked down at the box. It felt empty. The outside didn't give any indication as to what it might be holding and when she set it down on the table to open it, she gasped. The box was filled with ten-by-thirteen sketches of her in their family's embraces. She was lying in Carlisle's arms, wrapped in a blanket while he read to her. There was another of her cuddled between Carlisle and Esme on their bed while Esme held open a book. There were a few of her being held in Emmett's lap or lying curled against him as she slept, his mouth open and the expression on his face making it clear that he was telling her his stories. There were similar sketches of her and Jasper. There was one of her sitting next Edward at the piano, his arm wrapped around her as he instructed her how to play. Yet another one showed her bent over the engine of a car as she stood next to Rosalie, the blonde's hair tied back by a bandana. The last one was of her first night in the Cullen home; Rosalie was styling her hair while Alice was doing her makeup.

"These are…these are perfect," she said as tears slipped down her cheeks and she studied the pictures. "Who?" she asked as she looked around the room before turning her eyes back on the sketches in her hands.

"Ali's the artist," Jasper said with pride as he stood behind his wife and wrapped his arms around her waist. "We just showed her what we wanted to give you and she drew them."

"Thank you," she said without looking up from the sketches.

"Last one," Bella said and held out a small package. "It's from me and Charlie. Charlie wrapped it," she said with a shrug as she saw Angela look at the haphazard wrapping.

Carefully laying the sketches back into the box as though they were made of glass, Angela took the small package from Bella's hand and opened it. She tried to be careful with the paper, but it was wrapped in such a manner that demanded ripping. Setting the pieces of torn wrapping paper on the table, Angela looked at the small tube and frowned until she realized what it was: pepper spray. Not your typical birthday gift, but appreciated nonetheless.

"Thank you," she said to her friend. "And thank Charlie for me as well."

"I will," Bella said with a laugh. "It may not be fancy or silly, but it's practical."

"And appreciated," Angela said. "I don't really like being alone out in public anymore, but if I am, then I have a little bit of protection," she said motioning with the canister.

"Oh!" Rosalie's gasp drew everyone's attention and they looked at her affectionate smile. "You were so tiny," she said as she looked at the photo of Emmett when he was three.

"That's my favorite one, too," Angela said as she looked over the blonde's shoulder at the scrapbook.

"Let me see," Esme said with a smile and chuckled. "Oh you were tiny."

Edward suddenly barked with laughter and stared at Angela who was blushing scarlet. His arms were wrapped around Bella's shoulders from behind as he looked at Angela and laughed at the sound of the theme song running through her mind. When Emmett asked what was so funny, Edward laughed harder as his voice sparked an image in Angela's mind that made it nearly impossible for him to stay upright. Composing himself, Edward shook his head.

"I don't think he got big and strong from eating canned spinach," he said to Angela as he chuckled.

"Canned spinach?" Carlisle asked with a confused shake of his head.

Bella's brow furrowed in confusion until it dawned on her what Edward's words meant and she giggled as well. Carlisle looked at them both for an explanation before turning his attention on Angela. It was Bella who answered his question, though certainly not in the way Carlisle expected.

"Popeye the Sailor Man. Toot! Toot!" Bella sang softly, blushing before giggling as Angela's blush darkened despite her laughter.

"Random thoughts get me in trouble around here," she giggled and mock scowled at Edward.

Esme smiled as she stepped up next to Angela and handed her a small clear glass plate with a piece of cake on it before handing another one to Bella. Encouraging them to eat, she smiled at the family she was surrounded by. She had never expected to ever feel happiness again after her son died so many years ago. She had jumped off that cliff to escape her soul-tearing despair only to wake in the arms of the angel she had met when she was sixteen. In a way that was uniquely his, Carlisle had given her the family that she had always wanted, surrounding her with the laughter and love of children. Perhaps they were never her babies, but each and every one of them was special to her. Her eyes caught his and she looked deep into his golden gaze, basking in the love and warmth that he had given her.

"To family," she said as she stared at her husband.

"To family," he repeated with a smile.

**:::::**

Rosalie sat on the bed she shared with Emmett, leaning against his chest as he held her wrapped in his arm. She studied his smiling face and listened to his voice, filled with wonder and happiness, as he read to her from the book of history that Angela had collected for him. She had seen him happy before several times, but she had never seen him quite so enthralled. He had carried his gifts up to their room after tucking Angela in for the night and hadn't been able to put them down since.

"I still can't believe this," he said with wonder as he broke from reading the pages aloud. "This is…"

"She loved your stories," Rosalie said, unable to contain her smile at her husband's delight. "Like she said earlier, she wanted to give your human family back to you in whatever way she could."

"Looks like we've got a little historian on our hands," he chuckled as he set the massive binder aside and picked up one of the scrapbooks. "And the pictures. I can't believe she found pictures."

"It'll be interesting to see what she becomes, if she develops any talents," Rosalie said as she smoothed her finger over an image of Emmett holding a baby. "Who are you holding?"

"My sister, Mary Catherine, or Katie as I always called her. I was eight when she was born. She was so tiny, too. Tiny enough that my mom was afraid she wouldn't survive."

"She survived alright," Rosalie said as she turned her face up and kissed him on the cheek. "Eighty-eight years. She lived just long enough for Angela to find her and get her pictures."

"Yeah, I guess Katie did," he said and set the books aside as he cupped his hands around Rosalie's beautiful face. "I love you, my angel," he said before kissing her full sweet lips.

The silence of the night surrounding them was broken by a terrified scream and both of them were out of their bed and at Angela's door at the same time as the rest of their family members.

**:::::**

Angela wasn't sure what had woken her, but looked around her room as she blinked sleepily. She had been sleeping peacefully, exhausted from the events of the day and happy beyond all comparison. Sitting up slowly, she tried to determine what it was that had woken her and jumped when she felt something moving next to her in the bed. A hissing growl filled the air when she touched a lump under the covers near her feet and she screamed as she shot across the room to crouch in the chair by the bookcase. Her door flew open a second later and she stared wide-eyed as Carlisle came through the door.

"There's something in my bed," she choked out, her dry throat barely able to get the terrified words out.

Edward moved with lightning speed and threw back the covers as more growls filled the air. She saw something move and shrank back against the chair she was crouching in when his hand shot out and caught the creature. Everything had happened in less than a second, barely enough time for her brain to fully register what had happened as Emmett flicked on the light.

"Ordering take out already, half pint?" Emmett chuckled as he stared at the enraged and thrashing raccoon hanging by its tail from Edward's steel grip.

Falling limp against the back of the chair, she stared at the hissing growling animal. A raccoon? She shook her head as the adrenaline rush suddenly left her exhausted. Carlisle stood next to her with his arm wrapped around her shoulders, and dropped a kiss to her hair as he grinned at the revelation that a raccoon had climbed into bed with her.

"A raccoon?" she said looking at the animal as her tongue peeked out to wet her dry lips.

"A raccoon," Carlisle confirmed with a chuckle. "They can jump about thirty-five to forty feet at a time and there are quite a few trees near your window," he told her and watched Edward drop it out of the open wall before closing it. "Perhaps tonight we'll keep the glass closed. Just so no more…visitors disturb your sleep."

"Sure, why not," Angela said as she moved from the chair on unsteady feet. "You're the ones who hunt the animals and I'm the one they crawl into bed with."

Jasper laughed from where he lounged by the door. Shaking his head as he stepped closer he waited for her to climb back into the bed before he brought the covers up around her shoulders. Lying down next to her, he wrapped his arm around her and chuckled.

"Alright, Spitfire," he chuckled, "let's get you back to sleep."

**:::::**

Angela smiled as she walked down the hallway at school, the pendant of her new necklace in her hand. No one had commented on it simply because no one could see it. She was continuously touching it, rubbing the pad of her thumb over the carved stone tracing each rise and hollow. It was just a small thing, but its meaning was momentous. It gave her comfort, a sense of belonging and she couldn't stop touching it. Hearing Alice's chuckle, she looked over at her as their history teacher ended the class for the day. Standing from her desk, she shook her head and watched as the rest of the students filed out of the classroom to enjoy the weekend.

"Two more days," Alice said with a smile. "Two more days and we are free for the summer."

"I'm actually impatient for it," Angela said as she bit her lip and blushed. "I used to hate the end of the school year because it meant that I would be alone again. But I'm not alone anymore," she said so softly that only her vampire siblings could hear her.

"You'll never be alone again, half pint," Emmett told her as they walked slowly out the classroom.

Angela watched as Alice twirled into Jasper's open arms and Rosalie walked over to Emmett. Bella came up slowly to Edward and slipped beneath his arm. She wanted that. She wanted that time stopping, all consuming, heartwarming love; but as she thought about it more she realized that even if she never found a love like they had what she did have would be enough. The love they had shown her, the family they had given her would be enough. Walking away from them toward her locker, she promised that she would meet them in the parking lot in just a few moments. She had one last article to drop off before the weekend, her last article for the school year and she wanted to gather her things from her locker before Monday.

She was too distracted by the thoughts of the family she had found with the Cullens and the happiness they had bestowed upon her to notice the note sticking out of the top of her locker. But as she opened the metal door, she froze in place, her mind screeching to a halt. Inside her locker on the top shelf was a propped up photo frame that hadn't been there before, the picture under the glass making her feel as though ice had formed in her veins. She was lying naked on her bed in her parents' house, her legs spread open and her stalker's hands were touching her. His right hand was on her left breast, his left hand between her thighs while she lay motionless and sound asleep. Across the top of the photo in red marker was written '_You belong to me'_ in crisp careful lettering.

She clenched her jaw tight just to keep her teeth from chattering together. She stared at the photo, unable to move, unable to blink and no matter how much she wanted to, she couldn't look away. She was terrified of this person coming after her. She was upset that he scared her so much and angry that she couldn't control her reactions to him. Her attention was captured by a flash of white falling to the floor and she looked down to see a folded piece of paper on the floor. Brow furrowing as she bent down to retrieve it, her hand shook as she lifted the thick smooth paper in her hand, recognizing the feel of it as photo paper. Standing up slowly and closing her locker to hide away the picture inside, she opened the single folded photo and felt her heart skip a beat.

It was cloudy the day the photo had been taken and she and Emmett were sitting outside in the quad during their free period. She was leaning against his shoulder, his cheek resting on her head while she drowsed under his arm as he talked with Jasper about something. She recognized their clothing, she knew the scene, this photo had been taken two days ago. Emmett's face was again scratched out and across the grass along the bottom of the photo in red block lettering was written: '_You belong to me. Get rid of him or I will.'_

Folding her lips over her teeth and biting down on them, Angela closed her eyes and shook her head. She had thought, had hoped, that the silence from her stalker in the past several days meant that he was gone or had lost interest. These pictures not only meant that he was still looking for her, but that he was also growing impatient. She felt tears stinging behind her eyes and wished that she was already at home so that she could climb beneath the hot spray of the shower. These pictures made her feel unclean, tainted, and more than a little terrified. The thought that she was putting them all in danger wouldn't quiet and she pinched the bridge of her nose as her migraine flared to life. She wanted this man gone, whoever he was, she wanted him to leave her alone.

"Angela, are you coming?"

Turning her head at the sound of Alice's voice, Angela looked at the shorter girl unable to hide the emotions on her face. Alice's brow furrowed, her steps quickening as she came up to Angela's side. Looking away from her and down to the floor, Angela couldn't suppress the guilt and anxiety these new notes made her feel and opened her locker, revealing the framed photo inside. Handing Alice the bent photo in her hand, she looked up and tried to swallow back the urge to cry, feeling as though everything that was happening was her fault.

"What do I do?" Angela asked, her quiet voice pleading and apologetic.

"We take these to Charlie and you let us protect you," Alice told her, taking the photos and wrapping her arm around Angela's waist.

"He won't stop, not until he gets me," Angela said, her voice frightened.

"We won't let that happen," Alice assured her, trying to soothe her.

"He's going to hurt Emmett," Angela said as she covered her eyes and shook her head. "I'm putting all of you in danger."

"No you're not," Alice said before Angela could continue along her frightened train of thought. "Listen to me, Angela," she said, standing in front of her and grasping her arm gently as she looked into her dark eyes. "Nothing can hurt Emmett, or any of us," she looked around to make certain that the hall was empty, "nothing human anyway. We will protect you."

"Why is he doing this?" she begged her vampire sister for an answer.

"I don't know," Alice said slowly, reaching up to tuck Angela's hair behind her ear. "I can't see you," she said shaking her head. "I wish I could, it would make it easier to protect you."

"You can't see me?" Angela's eyes were wide. "Is there something wrong with me?"

"No, sweetie, it's not you. I think it's your migraines that are blocking me," she said as she led Angela down the hall toward the doors.

"But why would that matter?" Angela asked as they stepped outside. "You see people's futures," Angela argued shaking her head as they descended the concrete stairs. "If you can't see me that would mean that…" her voice trailed off as her face grew pale and her eyes widened.

"Angela," Alice cautioned, trying to soothe her alarm.

"I don't have a future?" Angela's words were spoken slowly; each word softer than the last until her voice was little more than a whisper.

"Angela," Alice cautioned again and shook her head. "This is something you should really talk to Carlisle about."

Jasper stepped toward them worried by the mix of emotions coming from Angela. Her face was pale, frightened, her emotions skittering back and forth too quickly to fully understand. She was frightened, that was the one emotion that didn't change or leave her. He didn't think twice as he stepped closer and pulled Angela into his arms, tucking her head beneath his chin as he looked at his wife. His voice was too low for Angela to hear as he asked Alice for an answer to Angela's upset.

Pressing her lips together in a thin line, Alice held up the photos for him to see. His growl was low, his arms tightening protectively around the human girl in his embrace as Edward stepped up behind them. He knew his brother would have seen the photos through their eyes and cast his gaze to the side as Edward came up to stand beside him. Alice looked at Edward, directing her thoughts to him as she spoke to him through his talent.

"I'll run the photos to Charlie," Edward said keeping his voice low. "You two should take her to Carlisle. She wants – she _needs_ – answers."

Alice nodded and handed the photos to him before turning her attention back on Angela. Her arms were wrapped around Jasper, retuning his embrace as he petted her hair in slow strokes. She knew that as frightened as Angela was by both the photos and her revelation, that it was more Jasper's need to protect her that kept the girl in his arms for so long. Alice knew that Angela was strong; she would have to be to survive through the lifetime of abuse and neglect she had suffered without letting it darken her spirit, but she also knew that Angela needed to feel protected as much as her husband and brothers needed to protect her. The way that the men in her family comforted and guarded Angela gave the girl strength, it was their way of showing her that she would never be alone again. Stepping back and wrapping his arm around her shoulders, Jasper walked with them toward Emmett's waiting Jeep.

"Hey, half pint," Emmett smiled at her as he held the rear passenger door open for her.

"What aren't you all saying?" Rosalie asked, able to feel the quiet tension in their faces as they climbed into the back seats.

"He's back," Angela said, her voice soft. "He left photos in my locker. They weren't there before history class which means…"

"He's got access to the school during hours," Rosalie finished. "Someone no one would question seeing."

"Another student?" Emmett asked as he started the engine and pulled out of the school parking lot.

"Doubtful," Jasper said. "Probably staff or teacher, maybe a janitor even," he hypothesized.

"Then I'm seeing him every day?" Angela asked beginning to feel sick.

"We'll figure out who he is," Emmett said as he turned down the road. "We won't let him get you," he promised her.

"He's threatening you, too," Angela said softly the feeling of guilt resurfacing.

"Just let him try," Emmett growled. "You've got the toughest big brothers around, kiddo," he said with dark amusement, relishing a chance to get his hands on the man threatening his newest sister. "There's not a damn thing that can stand against us."

"If this guy's at our school," Angela said as she looked up from her hands, determination clear in her eyes, "then I want to learn how to fight. I don't want to be defenseless."

Emmett looked up into the rearview mirror, catching Jasper's gaze. They didn't need words to understand each other and Jasper nodded once, his agreement in his eyes. They both knew that they couldn't be the one to teach her how to fight, no matter how gentle with her they were they would still run the risk of hurting her. Rosalie's mouth lifted up in the corner in a small smile. She knew Angela had a bit of spunk in her.

"We'll have Bells talk to her dad," Emmett said. "He should be able to teach you basic self defense, enough to get away from any would be human attacker. Wouldn't be a bad idea for Bella to learn some either, she seems to be a magnet for trouble."

**:::::**

"Carlisle," Angela's voice was soft, hesitant as she stepped into his office inside their home. "Can I talk you for a minute?"

"Of course, Angela," he greeted her warmly, moving to sit on the couch and motioning for her to take a seat beside her. "What can I do for you?"

Angela's steps were slow; her brow furrowed as she bit her lip and moved to sit next to him. She wanted to know, needed to know the truth, but was afraid of it at the same time. What if it was true? What if she was dying? Sitting down next to him and staring at her hands folded in her lap, she tried to think of how best to ask, not knowing if she truly wanted to hear the answer. Where would it leave her?

"Sweetheart?" Carlisle tucked her hair behind her ear to see her face, studying the expression on her face. "What is it, Angela? What has you so worried?"

"Alice said something today…about her visions…and my migraines." She looked up at him, her dark eyes wide and a little frightened. "Am I…am I dying?"


	16. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Carlisle pressed his lips together, his golden gaze steady as he looked into her frightened chocolate eyes. Cupping her face in his hands, he leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her forehead. Taking in a deep slow breath, he took her hand and stood.

"Let's go to the library," he said softly, his voice gentle.

"Then it's true?" she asked, her voice shaking as she remained seated, her hand holding his tightly.

Releasing a deep breath through his nose, Carlisle turned and knelt in front of her. He looked into her eyes and watched the emotions play across her face. He hadn't told her before because he hadn't known how to. He had treated dying patients before, yes, but those patients had always known they were dying. Angela didn't have cancer or an illness or a defective organ, what she had was migraines. Migraines had never been known to be a fatal affliction, it was only within the past eighteen months that a doctor in New York had began to take a serious interest in the two percent of people experiencing extreme and debilitating migraines like Angela had. It was only through that study that the same doctor had discovered that of those experiencing migraines like hers, one percent of the people afflicted would experience fatal migraines.

Carlisle nodded slowly only once and watched as her eyes widened and her face paled. She shook her head, unable to believe what he was telling her as tears filled her eyes and spilled onto her cheeks. Lifting his right hand to her face, his left still clutched tightly in her hand, he cupped her cheek in his palm and smoothed her tears away with the pad of his thumb. Even as she cried she remained quiet, her lip caught between her teeth and it saddened him how she restricted herself, knowing why she did so. Sniffling and blinking fast to rid herself of the remaining tears as she fought back her upset, Angela took in a deep breath.

"How long?" she asked, her voice trembling even as she tried to fight for a calm she clearly didn't feel.

"One, maybe two years," he told her slowly, his voice soft and compassionate.

"That's not very long," she said as she felt an odd numbness creep over her. "That's what? The end of high school, maybe my first year of college?"

Again he nodded, keeping silent as he studied her face. He wanted to take her into the library, show her the MRI scans and give her the medical explanation. He wanted her to understand what was happening and not simply take his word on blind faith alone. Her fear had been compounded over the years by doctors who hadn't wanted to take the time to explain what was happening to her, he didn't want to add to that now. It disturbed him how quiet she was, how she seemed to accept the news without question or sound. He couldn't ask her to react any other way than she did, to cry or scream as he half expected her to. He knew what she had been through, and knew how her emotional expressions were always punished by her parents through her own quiet confessions as well as Edward's revelations of her memories.

He moved smoothly, standing and backing away slowly as she stood from her seat on the couch. She nodded without a sound, releasing his hand as she walked away quietly. He sighed silently as he watched her leave. The ghost was back, the girl who moved quietly throughout the house without making a sound or speaking a word. She hadn't been this silent since the incident at the Java Hut with Lauren Mallory. Pursing his lips his attention turned away from her when Esme slipped into his office and came to his side. He could tell that she was worried as well and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, drawing her against his side.

"I'll keep watch over her," Jasper said as he moved toward the stairs, following her up to her room.

"Edward?" Carlisle looked at his son, requesting that he speak of Angela's thoughts to him.

"She's just still," Edward said with a shake of his head. "It's as though her mind can't process anything. I've never known anyone to be so silent in their thoughts; it's as though she's hiding herself away, trying to be unseen. I don't know if it's because of her parents' treatment of her whenever she was upset, or if it's something that would be a natural part of her personality otherwise, but there's simply nothing there."

Carlisle clenched his jaw and looked down at the floor. He hated that she was so upset and knew that there wasn't much, if anything, that he could do to ease her troubled heart. Lifting his head and kissing his wife's temple, he dropped his arm and stepped away. Moving to the high bookshelf he bypassed the volumes of classic novels and instead reached for his journals. He took an ancient text; his first journal after he had began his study in France. The journal was two inches thick, a good size for a journal, but it only covered a single month: December, sixteen-eighty-one. Stepping past his wife and son, he took to the stairs; his steps slow as he ascended to the floor above.

He came to Angela's room slowly. Her door stood open, Jasper stood just inside watching her as she sat on the floor with her knees drawn up to her chest. Her arms were wrapped around her legs, her chin resting on her knees as she stared out the glass wall. The cool damp breeze blew in through the open space, the glass pushed open by only a few inches. Nodding to Jasper, he stepped inside the room and waited for his adoptive son to leave before he moved to stand behind Angela. She didn't seem to notice his reflection in the glass in front of her, though he doubted that she noticed much of anything at the moment. Moving slowly, he sat down beside her and looked at the forest that surrounded the estate.

"Baby girl," he spoke softly and waited as she slowly turned her head to look at him. "Sweetheart, I know you're scared and I'm sorry that I didn't tell you earlier."

She turned her attention back to the forest, her eyes and face telling him nothing of what she was thinking or feeling. He watched her reflection in the glass, hoping to gain some kind of insight. She moved slowly, leaning to the side just enough to lean against his shoulder. His smile was small and sad as he lifted his arm and wrapped it around her shoulders to tuck her closer against his side. Kissing her hair, he rested his cheek against her head and looked out at the trees. He could see the birds fluttering near the top, restless as they made or repaired their tiny nests. He could see the squirrels scurrying back and forth along the branches, the butterflies and moths finding perches lower down. His vampire vision, the detailed sight of a predator, was as sharp as an eagle's from far away and allowed him to see everything her human eyes were blind to.

He set the journal in his hand down on the floor when she turned to press her face into his shoulder. Wrapping his arms around her tightly, he moved her to sit in his lap as her tears came in earnest, great painful sobs tearing from within her as her fear and pain refused to be silenced any longer. He rubbed her back, petted her hair and held her close as she cried. He rocked her, soothed her, promised her that she would always have them with her, but never once did he try to quiet her upset. She needed to cry, she needed to release her emotions before they ate her from within. He knew this as he knew that the sun would set in only a few hours and rise once again the next morning. Time held no meaning as he kept her in his arms, comforting her as she cried. She was the first of his children to truly need him as a father and he would not fail her.

Her arms were wrapped around his chest, her hands clutched in the back of the sweater he wore as she cried. Her face was pressed against his chest, her head tucked beneath his chin as she sought the safety and comfort of his embrace. He watched the sky change, the light blue of the day darkening as burnt oranges and furious reds traversed the canvas of the sky. Reds, golds and oranges gave way to the darker hues of night, the blues and almost purples of the starlit sky. The moon was slow to rise, the silver disc but a sliver of light in the darkened sky. Grasping his journal in his hand, he tucked his arm behind her knees and moved slowly as he stood with her cradled in his arms.

She was quiet now, but he knew without having to look at her face, that she wasn't asleep. Stepping over to her bed, he nodded gratefully when Alice pulled back the blankets. She stood holding a pair of Angela's pajamas in her hands and he set Angela on her feet next to his psychic daughter and kissed her forehead before he stepped out of the room so that Alice could help her change. The door opened behind him a short moment later and he turned, looking back over his shoulder as Alice nodded to him. Turning his gaze on the bed, he found Angela to be dressed in the dark blue brushed cotton night clothes, the girl tucked beneath the blankets.

He stepped up to her bedside slowly, looking down upon her tired face. Her emotions were unhidden, her eyes filled with fear, grief, and the pain of uncertainty. He had seen these same emotions countless times upon patients who had been told they were dying, but never once had that person been someone he cared so deeply for. Toeing off his black leather shoes, he laid down on top of the covers beside her and slipped his arm beneath her shoulders, drawing her into his side as he brought his hands together and opened the journal he had written a lifetime ago.

"It was not easy adjusting to this life after so many years working with my father to hunt down those who I now shared an existence with. It was a discovery that saved my soul when I learned that I could feed on animals and survive. I have never wanted to hurt any human or other living creature, but to know now that I could be what I am without becoming a monster is truly a gift."

His voice was smooth, low and soft as he read to her, the sound hypnotic in its own right. She moved slightly, curling on her side as she pressed her cheek against his shoulder, her ear resting over where his silent heart lay. Her hand came up, her palm lying flat in the center of his chest as she blinked slowly and listened to the sound of his voice. He paused in his reading, tipping his head down to kiss her hair before continuing.

"Never had another future been offered me, save that of following my father as a man of God. Though I still pray to him often, I fear that God has very little place in my life anymore as I am no longer one of his children. I am in France now. I swam across the English Channel. It was an amazing thing to discover that not only do I have the endless energy to do anything, but I can also walk across the sea floor without feeling the burning need to breathe. The waters are so very full of life, beyond my wildest imaginings and I want nothing more than to learn everything I can. If I can do one thing with this eternal life that I have now, than it will be to help those who need helping."

His voice trailed off and he grew silent as he looked down on the girl lying tucked against his side. Her breaths were slow and even, her heartbeat a steady rhythm that was less than one beat per second. Her eyes were still slightly open, and he knew that while she wasn't asleep yet, she would be very soon. Turning back to his journal, he let his head roll upon the pillow, his cheek coming to rest upon her hair as he returned to reading aloud.

"I wasn't certain where I would be able to stay when I arrived in town yesterday. I was thankful that the sky was dark, covered in clouds that threatened to rain as I have discovered the strange effect the sunlight has upon my new skin. An elderly couple has taken me in, their home is filled with books and paintings and the love that I see expressed between them each time they look at each other is something I envy. It is difficult to resist the pull of their blood, but not impossible and I have found that the more often I feed on animals, the less their blood calls to me."

Pausing once again, he looked down to find her asleep. Smiling softly, his lips turned up only a fraction at each corner, he placed the attached ribbon between the pages and set the journal aside on her night table. Kissing her hair, he reached up and switched off the lamp, content to stay by her side and holding her while she slept. Closing his eyes, he released a deep breath slowly before focusing on the sound of her heart and letting it lull him into a meditative state. It was an impossibility for his kind to sleep, the closest they came to it was the state he was in now, the calm meditation that allowed him to think of nothing, or focus on everything. Opting for the former, emptying his mind of all thoughts and worries, he held Angela close as he took silent pleasure in the moments when he was able to hold her while she slept.

It was these moments and those like it that he would commit to memory. He treasured the role he played in her life, the need she had of him as she was now, human and delicate. All too soon, the time would come that he would change her and bring her into his family eternally, but it was these moments that he would never forget. The warmth of her human body, the sound of her heart beating and the delicate soft breaths as she lay sleeping against him and he imagined that this must be how a human parent felt when they held their children as infants. The realization that these moment were more precious than gold simply because they would be so few in comparison to the rest of her life, made him envious of all the moments that he had missed out on. He wished that he met her years ago, before her parents had abused her, before she had been abandoned, but he knew also that taking her in at such a young age would have been impossible. She was his daughter now, his to protect and his to love. That would have to be enough.

His eyes opened when he heard a sound near the door, footsteps too soft for a human to hear, and looked up. Esme stood in the open doorway, leaning against the wooden frame as she stared at her husband lying with their newest daughter tucked against his side. It was a beautiful sight to behold, precious and timeless. Her smile was soft, loving as she looked upon them. Her husband had been a guide and a friend to the other children in their family, but to Angela, he was a father. She needed him as much as he needed her and the realization that in rescuing her from the abandonment she suffered had completed their family in a way they never knew – never thought – possible was a gift unlike any other. As every member of their family helped to heal Angela's heart, this delicate, gentle girl served to strengthen their familial bond in a way that was unfathomable and inexplicable. Stepping up to the bed, Esme sat beside her husband's hip and leaned down, kissing first his forehead and then Angela's sleep warmed cheek.

"Tomorrow is Saturday," she reminded him, knowing that he would hold her throughout the night as she slept. "You're not on shift or on call," she told him and gently tucked Angela's hair behind her ear. "Perhaps you should take her to the museum; she does seem to truly love history in all its forms. It could be a father-daughter outing, just the two of you."

His lips turned up slowly, his gold eyes shining in the darkness as he considered her suggestion and felt his still heart warm. Reaching up with his free hand, he combed his fingers into the hair at the nape of Esme's neck and brought her down for a slow, sweet kiss. He smiled when she pulled back and rested her forehead on his, her smile soothing and peaceful. He loved the idea; it was perfect and would give him the chance to spend some quality time with Angela. Tucking Esme's caramel hair behind her ear when she sat back, he watched her as she looked upon their newest, for now human, daughter while she slept. He loved his wife with every fiber of his being; it was something that would never change, a love that could never be taken away. For those of his kind, love was forever. It was not a temporary or fickle emotion as it could be for humans, when a vampire fell in love, there was no falling out of love. Their hearts and souls joined and became as one.

"It is a perfect idea," he told her, praising her aloud even as his voice remained below Angela's range of hearing.

"Just don't forget to feed her," Esme teased with a cheeky grin and he chuckled silently.

"Pull up a listing of the museums in the area," he requested and watched as his wife's smile widened.

"Strictly historical, or art as well?" she asked and looked down on Angela's sleeping face.

"Both," he answered. "I'll let her decide what she wants to see. Bookstores as well," he added. "The ones that contain the oldest texts."

"I'll see what I can find," she said with a smile. "But if you truly want old texts for her, you'll need to take her to England or at least New England."

"I love you," he told her, watching as her butterscotch eyes took on a darker glow, passionate and caring.

"And I love you, Mr. Cullen," she said before leaning down for a lingering kiss.

Standing slowly from the bed, Esme turned back and saw Alice standing at an angle outside the open doorway. She stood at the exact right spot to see into the room and the occupants of the bed without them seeing her if they were lying down. The smile on Alice's face was affectionate, warm and soft and she nodded able to see the desire Esme had to have a charcoal memoir of the moment. Stepping out of the room and pulling the door behind her, she left it open by only an inch and walked beside her psychic daughter down the stairs.

"There is not a single moment that goes by that he doesn't absolutely love being a father to her," Alice said softly her voice filled with love and wonder. "Had I been able to see that she would have the effect on our family that she does, I would've brought her home long ago."

Esme chuckled softly and nodded. "I was thinking the same thing."

**:::::**

Angela woke slowly, the feelings of comfort, safety and love surrounding her in peaceful warmth. Breathing in deeply as she blinked heavily, sleep still clouding her vision; she braced her hand against the stonelike chest she was curled against. She had grown so used to sleeping curled around or lying on top of her vampire family that the plushness of a pillow no longer held the same sense of comfort that it once had. Yawning as she sat up, she rubbed the sleep from her eyes and felt the person she'd been lying against move as well. She could vaguely remember the sound of Carlisle's voice from the night before, her mind so distracted by the news she'd been given that it had been hard to pull herself from her thoughts of despair.

This morning felt different to her though and she vowed not to cry anymore over the knowledge that she only had a limited amount of time left. She would spend the few years she still had loving her new family and being as happy as she dared. She still wasn't strong enough to let herself believe that she would become a vampire, her past with her parents too prevalent in her mind to allow herself the dream of being truly accepted. Whatever time she had left, whatever may come in those months or years, she would spend it loving them as much as they loved her. This family, this unique collection of souls had given her something that she had never before dared to dream possible. They had given her love and acceptance and shown her what the word 'family' truly meant. No matter what happened on the day her human life ended, she vowed to treasure these moments and let herself be happy.

A second yawn parted her lips, air drawing into her lungs deeply enough to make her ears pop as the remainder of sleep left her. She felt peaceful, refreshed and in a way she didn't quite understand, new. She heard Carlisle's soft greeting of 'good morning' behind her and turned to look at him. The soft smile that tugged at her lips was answered by him with a smile of his own. Kissing her forehead as he stood from the bed, he told her that he would leave her to dress and tend to her needs. Before he left the room completely, he asked her to join him in his office once she had eaten her breakfast and she nodded quietly.

_I don't know what I did to deserve all of you, but I only hope you know how much you all mean to me,_ she thought as she stretched her arms above her head and rolled her head to loosen her neck muscles.

Standing from her bed, she couldn't help the soft smile that lit her eyes and curved her lips when she felt the cool place where Carlisle had rested beside her. It was true that their bodies were hard as stone and cool as marble, but every touch, every action they bestowed upon her made her feel warm and soft. It was a strange thing to realize that human touch, the heat of the delicate skin, now felt almost foreign to her. Straightening the blankets on her bed and smoothing any wrinkles from the top comforter, Angela moved to her closet and looked through it for clothing to wear. His request had made it seem as though he had something planned and she didn't know what to wear. Wishing that Alice were there to help her decide she tried to imagine what the pixie haired girl would choose.

Tipping her head to the side as she looked at the array of flared jeans, khaki style pants, and skirts of different lengths and fabrics, she tried to imagine what Alice would select. The tiny vampire had the most impeccable fashion sense, even for mundane outings such as shopping and Angela found herself wishing for her wardrobe insights. Calling distractedly for the person tapping at her bedroom door to enter, Angela turned to her shirts and blouses, trying to imagine the same scenario. What would Alice choose for her? What kind of outfit would be best for today?

"Jasper's right," Alice said as she came to Angela's side. "Your call is like a gentle little tug. It's amazing that you can do that without being one of our kind. What were you thinking about?"

"Clothes," she admitted with a soft blush. "I don't know what to wear and you always know what to wear."

Alice laughed softly and nodded. "I can certainly help you with that," she said before her expression turned somber. "Are you ok?"

"I am," Angela nodded slowly and looked at Alice with a sad smile. "I decided this morning that whatever time I have left, I'm going to spend it being happy."

"Whatever time you have left?" Alice questioned with a shake of her head before realizing what Angela meant. "I know you may be afraid to believe it right now," she said with a soft sigh. "You may not even believe it until the moment you wake up as one of us, but this," she said catching the Cullen crest that hung around Angela's neck between the pad of her thumb and her curled index finger. "This doesn't end just because your human life does. This is forever if you want it. We will never stop being your family and we will never tell you that you can't be with us. You're a Cullen now," she said, letting the pendant fall back to rest against Angela's chest and stepped forward to hug her. "You'll be a Cullen for however long you wish it, and that includes forever."

"Promise?" Angela asked, her voice little more than a trembling whisper, her eyes speaking her uncertainty.

"Always," Alice assured her with a smile. "Now, why don't you go take a shower, while I pick out an outfit for you and then Rosalie and I can style your hair and do your makeup for the day?"

"That sounds perfect," Angela said before hugging Alice tight.

"Go on," Alice chuckled when Angela broke the embrace.

"You know, I've almost always hated this existence," Rosalie said as she stepped into Angela's bedroom after the girl had shut herself away in the bathroom.

"Are you saying you don't anymore?" Alice asked as she selected a pair of flare-legged jeans with butterflies made out of rhinestones decorating the legs.

"I don't know," Rosalie said as she reached into the closet and withdrew a sapphire silk peasant blouse from the closet, the bell sleeves ending in a single tiny loop meant to be worn around the middle finger of each hand. "All I know is that Angela makes me see it differently. I was mad for so long at what happened to me, at what I thought I had lost, that I never realized there could be things worse than being what we are."

"Angela makes you see that there are worse things?" Alice questioned with an arched brow as she took a pair of black suede Granny-style boots from the bottom of the closet and set them by the girl's bed.

"That didn't sound as awful when I was thinking it," Rosalie chuckled. "I just meant that I always thought this life to be a curse, but Angela sees it as a gift."

"So does Bella," Alice reminded her.

"No, she sees it as a way to stay with Edward, giving up everything she has, everything she could have for a love carved in stone. Angela's not in love with anyone, I heard your conversation with her, she's even still doubtful that we'll want her with us for forever. To Angela, this life is a blessing. The way she sees us makes me see us differently, too. I never thought anyone would ever be able to change my perspective on this life, least of all a fragile little human."

Alice chuckled and nodded, understanding the sense of wonder one felt when they realized the massive impact Angela had on their lives. She was a quiet girl, gentle and unobtrusive; Jasper had once compared her to a spring breeze. She was able to flow past you, as graceful as the wind, bringing everything beautiful with her. She was the kind of person that you never knew you were missing in your life until she was suddenly there. Emmett of course had told her that Angela reminded him of a few lines of the William Blake poem _'Auguries of Innocence'_: 'To see eternity in a grain of sand and heaven in a wildflower, Hold infinity in the palm of your hand and eternity in an hour.' He was right, Alice nodded silently to herself, Angela was gentle as a whisper and as timeless as a diamond.

**:::::**

Angela stepped into Carlisle's office slowly, her eyes held in rapt attention by the book in her hands. He sat back in the black leather office chair, her distraction allowing him a moment to study her. Her dark hair had been brushed until it shined, the hair caught up by the sides in combs decorated with blue butterflies that matched the color of her blouse. Her makeup was expertly done by Alice, the colors chosen to match her shirt while also complementing her eyes and skin. Alice's signature shimmer dust decorated her temples, the powder unobtrusive but adding an element of delicacy that was almost fairy like. The sapphire blouse she wore came down in a gentle arch in the front, displaying the new pendant she wore perfectly.

He chuckled softly as she turned the page, realizing that she had most likely walked across the house while reading the book and wasn't aware that she had reached her destination yet. Smiling as he stood from his desk and came around the corner, he recognized the book in her hands to be the same one he had given her almost a month ago. She was always exceedingly careful with the ancient book, the first edition novel a treasure she adored. Moving to stand in front of his desk, he leaned back against the polished wood and grinned.

"Angela," he called to her softly, his voice filled with amusement as he gained her attention.

"Oh!" she blushed, the surprised word little more than a whisper and he chuckled.

"I thought you and I might do something today, just the two of us," he told her and watched her gaze become curious and fascinated.

"Like what?" she asked, a smile toying with the corners of her lips.

"I thought perhaps a museum, or an art gallery," he told her and watched as her chocolate eyes danced with delight at the idea. "I had Esme pull up a list of the museums around us," he said as he traded her the list in his hand for the book held in hers. "Choose any one of them you like or more if you'd like to see a few of them."

He tucked a ribbon between the pages of the novel, setting it aside on his desk while she studied the list in her hands. Her eyes lit up suddenly and he moved closer, peering over the top of the sheet to see if he could determine which one she was looking at. He watched her draw her bottom lip between her teeth as her thumb moved next to the name of the museum she was looking at before her eyes fell and he knew that she had seen the distance it was from their home.

"Distance means nothing to us, remember?" he said with a smile. "We like to drive fast. The Washington State History Museum it is. Was there any other one you wanted to visit after?"

"I don't know," she said her voice filled with happiness and wonder. "Can I take this with us?"

"Of course," he chuckled and kissed her forehead. "Why don't you go make certain you have everything you'll need and then we'll leave."

Her eyes danced as she surged forward and hugged him tight, the papers still clutched in her hand. He returned her embrace and chuckled as he watched her practically skip out of the room in search for her purse and phone. Jasper stepped up to his side and shook his head.

"It's almost unfair," the southern vampire said as he watched her disappear up the staircase. "You have no idea how elated she is right now, just from the prospect of going to that museum with you. Her delight of spending the day alone with you… If you could feel her like I can," he said, unable to hide his grin. "It's like touching the sun."

"I'll make sure she has a good time," Carlisle said, smiling as he watched Angela appear at the top of the stairs.

"The trick of it is, you really don't have to do much of anything. She just likes spending time with you, Papa," he added Angela's secretive title for him in with a teasing chuckle.

"Get out of here, troublemaker," Carlisle laughed at Jasper and shook his head as he watched him walk toward Alice. "Ready to go?" he asked as Angela stepped up to his side.

He chuckled when she nodded quietly, her eyes lit with merriment. Wrapping his arm around her shoulders and telling his other children to behave, he stepped outside with her and over to his Mercedes. Alice had told him the few times that she had driven anywhere with Angela that the girl was quick to fall asleep in the car and he smiled when he found this time to be no different. They had barely made it to the highway when he saw her eyes fall closed, the smile ever-present on her face. He knew it was because she was gaining weight. She still had at least twenty pounds to go before he would consider her to be healthy, but as she gained more weight her body demanded more sleep as well. Her migraines were also less frequent, giving her complete days where she was in minimal or no pain at all.

It didn't take him long to cover the three and half hour drive. They had left the house moments before eight-thirty and it was barely after ten when he pulled into the Museum's parking lot. Turning off the engine, he watched her sleep for a few moments before gently rousing her and watching as her eyes shined at the sight of the museum in front of them. Exiting the car, he led her up to the front walk, holding the door for her while she stepped inside. Handing the money to the man behind the desk, he nodded his thanks and accepted the glossy tri-fold map of the exhibits. Turning back to Angela, he found her eyes to be riveted on the large portrait on the wall that was taken shortly after the building's completion in nineteen-ninety-six. The framed page next to the picture detailed the building's history and architect as well as the opening events of the museum itself.

Stepping up behind her, he placed his hand on her shoulder, not at all surprised to hear her proclamation that she could spend all day in the museum and never grow tired of it. He led her around the first floor, watching her examine each exhibit, her eyes taking everything in. At times she would look around them, making certain that they were alone or had a relative sense of privacy before standing close to him and asking him what it was like in the times displayed. He would answer each and every question she had as honestly and completely as he could, delighting in how she seemed to absorb the information and beg for more.

When they came to the exhibit detailing life on the frontier, he watched her face light up as she stepped forward to press the button for the first animatronic frontiersman. She listened to what the mechanical man had to say about life in the wild northwest and the hard times spent working on building the railroads. He chuckled when she commented that Emmett told stories of building railroads better than the machine did and watched her move down the line to the next mechanical display.

"Your sister?" a woman asked and Carlisle turned to look at the redhead dressed in the museum's uniform.

"Daughter," he corrected with a smile. "She's my daughter."

He gave the woman a nod as he stepped away and went to stand beside Angela. She moved to the electronic journals, reading through the information as though she were starving for every last bit of information she could gain. Looking up when the announcement came that the museum would be closing in fifteen minutes, he shook his head when he discovered that it was already after four-thirty. It felt to him as though they had just stepped through the doors and when he saw the slight pout in Angela's otherwise delighted expression, he laughed silently.

"They're closed tomorrow, but we can always come back next weekend," he told her as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder, his smile widening when she tucked herself into his side as they walked. "We've missed lunch," he observed as they descended the stairs and stepped out into the cloud covered day. "Are you hungry for anything in particular?"

Closing her eyes as she thought about food, Angela walked next to him trusting that he wouldn't let her fall as she kept pace with him. She heard his chuckle and knew that he had looked at her and seen that her eyes were closed. She tried to imagine what food she wanted, what sounded good, but all she really wanted was Esme's home cooking. She knew that he would want her to eat before they headed home and finally opened her eyes as they stepped up to his car.

"Italian," she requested as he held her door for her.

"Italian, it is," he answered her with a smile and nod.

**:::::**

Jasper smiled as he looked up from the book he was reading. He felt Angela before he even saw Carlisle's car pull into the drive and his smile widened as he set his book aside and descended the stairs. He chuckled when she stepped into the house, her eyes dancing as brightly as the North Star. Her emotions filled him, the feel of her happiness, her love and peace burned through him with a fire he hoped to always feel. He had never known anyone to have emotions as hypnotic as hers. She was alive with every breath, every blink of her eyes. As soon as her eyes lit on him, she jogged the few steps forward and hugged him tightly, her touch making him feel her emotions ten times stronger. It felt selfish to keep her bubbling emotions to himself and before he realized that he'd made the decision to share them, her emotions were filling the hearts of every person in his house. He heard the silent intake of breath and looked back to see Carlisle standing motionless inside the closed door of their home.

"That's her?" Carlisle asked too low for Angela to hear and his smile widened when Jasper nodded. "All that from a trip to the museum?"

"All that from spending the day with her 'Papa'," Edward corrected keeping his voice low as he stepped up to his father. "If you could hear her thoughts," he said with an amused shake of her head. "Her elation is addicting. Do you feel that tug, that warmth surrounding you like an invisible hug?" Edward asked and watched Carlisle nod with a confused grin. "That's her alone. That's her call when she's happy. We're all feeling it right now. Jasper, pull back," Edward commanded in reference to his brother's sharing of Angela's emotions.

"I still feel it," Carlisle said with a shake of his head.

"That's because that 'tug' is not coming from Jasper. That's coming from Angela herself. Jasper was the first of us to feel it, the first person she ever 'called'. Over the past few days she's been calling all of us in turn, testing out how it works. I'm curious to see what happens with it when she becomes one of us."

"So am I," Carlisle said with wonder as he watched Angela disappear into the kitchen. "Is she still in the kitchen?" he asked Esme when his wife stepped across the house to him a short moment later.

"Yes," she laughed embracing Carlisle and kissing him. "She is unbelievably happy and I insisted that since she had dinner out, she have more of her birthday cake for dessert."

"I'm glad to see her eating more," he said as he smiled at Esme. "She adores your cooking, if you didn't know."

"I know," she chuckled and looked back toward the kitchen. "I know that she's noticed the weight she's been gaining, and while she may not have said anything yet, I know she's confused as to why she hasn't been sick once since being here. Do we tell her? I feel as though telling her the truth of her weight problems in the past will only hurt her."

"I think when it comes to the subject of her parents that it is better to wait until she asks then it is to volunteer the information." He looked up as Angela stepped out of the kitchen slowly, her expression almost frightened. "Sweetheart, what's wrong?" he asked as he stepped away from Esme and walked up to her.

"I let it go to voicemail," she said handing him her phone, her hand trembling. "I don't think I want to hear what they have to say," she said.

Taking the phone from her hand, he looked down at the silent device and pressed the optical track pad to see the screen. The missed call listed was an international number and he understood who the 'they' she was talking about was. Asking if she would rather he listen to it instead, he watched her nod as it seemed to him that she was almost shrinking away. Wrapping his arm around her, he kissed her forehead and told her not to worry. He would protect her from anything he possibly could, even a voicemail left by her detestable parents. Tucking the phone into his pocket he told her that he would return it later and watched her nod before she left the room, the expression on her face making it clear that she was looking for someone.

"He's in the backyard," Edward said before she could turn onto the stairs.

Her smile returned and they all chuckled as she darted through the house for the door leading outside. Emmett was clearly her favorite and no one could deny how easily he took to her either. Shaking her head as she descended the stairs, Rosalie looked at her family collected below and rolled her eyes in amusement. Even she had to admit that she enjoyed watching Angela and seeing the emotions play across her face when she was happy. Jasper was right, the girl was hypnotic, when she was happy you had no choice but to be happy as well and when she was frightened you would become a raging beast in order to protect her. But the most powerful pull was when she was feeling the love she held for their family, in those times it felt as though you couldn't be anywhere other than close to her and Rosalie wondered if it was her parents' abuse and neglect that made her positive emotions so unbelievably strong.

Emmett had told her that Angela reminded him a bit of his sister, Katie and she was happy that he was so happy all the time, though she did have admit a certain jealousy. He had always been happy before Angela had stepped into their lives, but now for each and every one of them, that fragile little human girl seemed to complete them all in a way they had never realized was needed. For all of her protestations, all of her reservations, Rosalie knew that if Angela were ever to be lost from them only catastrophe would be left behind. How did this little slip of a girl hold so much power when she was so quiet and unassuming? It seemed impossible, but the truth was undeniable.

Her thoughts grew dark, an angry growl spilling from her throat when she heard the demeaning words spoken in direction to Angela and she stepped into Carlisle's office without bothering to knock. The voicemail her father had left her was cold and cruel, spoken carefully with the intention of breaking the girl down and making her doubt herself. A woman's voice sounded close behind; as though they had chosen to speak to her one after the other, both furious that they were made to speak to her voicemail. Her voice was carefully pleasant as though she took great care to be happy in the way that she was ripping into her daughter and tearing her down with every word. Rosalie could see the anger carved into both Esme and Carlisle's faces. It was never easy to anger either of them, disappoint on occasion, but outright anger was a rarity. In fact there were only two things she had ever seen draw the tightness of the anger she now saw in their faces. The first had been James' threat to Bella; the second was Angela's parents.

He was careful to erase the message once it had played through and he left the phone sitting where it was on his desk as he stood and left the room. Rosalie wasn't surprised in the least to see that Esme was too angered to speak, she knew exactly how their matriarch felt, and could feel venom pooling in her mouth as well. It happened whenever the desire to hunt became strong, venom would pool in their mouth preparing for the bite, but both she and Esme were careful to swallow the thick sweetness back. She walked beside Esme as they both followed Carlisle. He stepped outside the back door, and the women stood on the porch watching as he went up to the boulder that Angela and Emmett sat upon.

He could feel the anger coursing through him, the desire to hunt down her parents stronger than anything he had ever felt and Carlisle was not used to feeling this level of hostility. He was compassionate by nature, gentle and kind, feeling anger left him almost ill. He was careful to hide the emotion though as he stepped around the boulder. As soon as Angela saw him she slid off the massive rock and stepped up to give him a hug, her embrace banishing the anger he felt so fast it was almost dizzying. Stroking her hair as her peaceful happiness infused him; Carlisle took a deep breath and asked if she would be adverse to him getting her a new phone.

"Um, sure, I guess," she said with a curious tilt of her head. "I'd just have to see what the cancellation charges are."

"You let me worry about that, ok?" Carlisle said and watched her nod.

"Is everything alright?" she asked, her brow furrowing with worry.

"Everything's fine, Sweetheart. I'm just glad you didn't listen to that voicemail."

"I don't want to know what they said, do I?" she asked and he answered her with a silent shake of his head. "Thank you," she said softly after a long moment.

"For what?" he asked her.

"For giving me a family."

Carlisle wrapped her in his arms and held her as tight as he dared. "Thank you for being part of it," he whispered to her and kissed her hair.

**:::::**

"Two more days," Angela said to herself as she fell back onto her pillows and stared up at the ceiling in the darkness. "Two more days and then I'm free for the summer. My first summer spent with a family. My family," she mused, rubbing the pad of her thumb over the carved crest she wore.

Her eyes fell closed slowly as a sense of peace so invigorating it made her feel as though she was floating swept over her. She was tired after the long day she had spent at the museum with Carlisle, but it was the kind of happy exhaustion she delighted in. Turning on her side as she hugged the pillows to her, she fell asleep as dreams fueled by her emotions filled her sleeping mind. The happiness she felt was a drug to her and she hoped that she never grew immune to its power.


	17. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

His eyes opened slowly, his breaths relaxed and even as he tried to reason why the daylight shining upon his face seemed so out of place. Blinking as he sat up slowly, he looked at his watch and cursed. He had over slept, forgotten to set his alarm last night and now he was running late. He only had twenty minutes at the most to accomplish what it took an hour or more to do. His socks, pants and shoes were first, and he buckled his black leather belt in haste as he clipped on the white cloth around his shoulders. Brushing his teeth as he lifted the tackle box of makeup and prosthetics onto the closed toilet seat, he rinsed his mouth and turned to the mirror.

He was growing restless. He knew that he had to be patient, but he had already been patient for so long. She was almost his before that other…man? Teenager? Whatever he was had intervened. His other roses had only taken him a few months – six at the most – to take. He would follow the same pattern, always the same pattern. He would find the buds, the flowers that hadn't yet opened, still delicate in their innocence. He would cultivate them over time, introduce himself to them and watch as they grew a little bit and then once they were ready, once their blossoms opened, he would cut the stems. He had collected so many roses over the years. He would take them away, keep them with him until they wilted and then add them to his own garden.

Looking into the mirror, he had been careful to always wear gardener's gloves when he touched the things here, but in his haste he didn't notice that he'd forgotten them. He couldn't leave any traces, couldn't let anyone find his real identity. It was so easy to slip into this character; no one knew that he was a gardener. No one knew that he collected roses. He wasn't a rapist or a killer; he wasn't vile like the police in Massachusetts had claimed. He was a gardener, a collector, and he collected roses. Lifting the brush to his face, he carefully applied the spirit gum before lifting the false skin mask. The scar across his right cheek was carefully placed and just barely visible. It amused him how the tiny imperfections made him more attractive while also making him less visible. Carefully applying the foundation, he made his skin tone a few shades darker, making it appear as though he were Italian or Grecian instead of the pale faced Anglo-Saxon that he was.

Lifting the bottle of temporary spray in color, he turned his blond hair black and waited a few moments before brushing his hand through to make certain it was dry. Applying the false eyelashes so that his natural blond coloring didn't show, he began to apply the last step of the facial changes: age lines. He was only thirty, but he had perfected the art of in-person makeup to a level that was unquestionable. He had appeared fifty several times before without anyone being the wiser. The fact that he was doing so for a class of teenagers who cared more about their own lives than paying attention to a substitute teacher suited him just fine.

Taking off the white cloth he used to cover his shoulders when applying the makeup, he stepped over to the closet and removed the inch thick foam padded vest that made him appear slightly heavy around the middle. Donning a white tank top before putting on the dark blue button-down shirt, he selected a sport coat from his closet. Hearing the alarm on his watch go off, he grabbed his briefcase from the floor and headed out of the rental house he lived in. He couldn't be late, this was his last chance to pluck the rose he had been cultivating and he wasn't going to miss the chance to take her with him. If he had been more careful, woken earlier, or done a few things differently then he would have had the time to notice two things. One, he had forgotten to color his blond brows black, and two; he had left his hands untouched. Hands were always the key. If your hands didn't match your face then the game was up. But he had spent nearly a year cultivating his current rose and in his impatience he was growing sloppy.

Speeding off in his car, he made it to the front of the building before school began. Striding down the hall, he went into the classroom at the end of the hall and sat down. It was the last day, his last chance, and if he didn't get this right then he would have to find a way to make sure that the other man with her didn't have a chance to have her. She was his rose, he had spent all this time cultivating her, and he wouldn't let anyone else have her.

**:::::**

Angela looked down at her desktop and bit her lip as she tried to hide her smile. Rubbing the pad of her thumb against the intricately carved red jade, she let her mind drift back to the night before. Carlisle had taken up the tradition carried out by Emmett and Jasper, but instead of telling her his human life stories, he read to her from the journals he kept after having been changed. He read to her at night to help her fall asleep, an activity that while perhaps being slightly juvenile, brought her greater comfort than she had ever known. He would lay down beside her once she had climbed underneath the covers and wait for her to curl against his chest before he read to her. She loved those moments and selfishly wanted the day to be over just so that she could go home and know that she was only a few hours away from the time when he would read to her.

Looking up at the clock and seeing that there were only two hours left to the last day of school, she sighed. She was bored, horribly bored. The topics of discussion had been uninteresting to say the least and while the snacks had been passable, the only thing she really wanted to do was get out and go home. Rolling her eyes as yet another round of 'this is how I will spend my summer' filled the room, Angela twisted her lips to the side and wished that one of her adopted vampire siblings or even Bella was in homeroom with her. _I wonder_, she thought. Closing her eyes and deciding to give into her curiosity, Angela focused her mind on the classroom around her and thought of Alice.

She didn't know when the idea had occurred to her, or where it actually stemmed from, but somewhere along the way as she had been sitting in the class she had wondered if it would be possible to project to Alice. Perhaps the thought had developed from her newly discovered ability to 'call' her family to her, but wherever the idea had come from she decided to finally test it out. She imagined Alice sitting next to her in the class with her and bit her lip as she focused on letting Alice see everything that she was seeing. Feeling her phone vibrate in her pocket, her mental focus crumbled and the image faded away.

She took the new phone Carlisle had given her from her pocket and pressed down on the roller ball to see the screen. She smiled when she saw that the text was from Emmett and was hard pressed not to laugh out loud at the image he'd sent her. Somehow he had managed to take a snapshot of himself making a face and send it to her without anyone noticing, or perhaps his homeroom teacher didn't care what he did as long as he stayed in his seat. Biting her lip as she chuckled silently, she quickly pressed down on the QWERTY keypad and sent him a short message begging him to free her from the boredom of the pointless discussion.

"Alright people, I know you're restless, it's the last day before school lets out for the summer and you've only got an hour left, but please try to stay focused on the topic."

Angela's brow furrowed as her focus changed and she studied the substitute teacher. He had been here in their classroom for six months now, ever since Mrs. Rothchild had decided to take up snowboarding and broken both her legs. Something was different about him today though and she couldn't quite put her finger on what it was. She watched him walk around the room, paying little attention to what he was saying as she instead studied him slowly from head to toe. She hated the feeling of paranoia, the feeling that she was unsafe inside the school, but the evidence was striking. The notes on Friday had been placed in her locker without anyone questioning someone opening it and she knew that whoever had put it there had done it during class. The knowledge that her stalker could be a teacher sent chills up her spine, making her casual observation that something was off about Mr. Clemmons all the more frightening.

Her new Blackberry Bold buzzed in her hand and she was careful to keep the device hidden as she opened the text message. A smile tugged at the side of her mouth when she found that it was from Edward and she read the message.

_You're close enough that you're still in my range. What's weird about this guy?_

_I don't know exactly,_ she thought and looked up, watching the man pace as she tried to determine what it was that made him seem so different. _Can you see through my eyes? Does your gift work that way?_

Her phone buzzed again and she looked down through the canopy of her folded hands to see the LED screen.

_Not so much. I can see through your point of view and observations, but I can't see directly what your eyes are seeing. Try thinking of all the other times you've seen him and then look at him now. Maybe you'll see what makes him different._

Angela nodded absently to herself and looked up, quickly tucking her phone into her pocket when the man came up to her desk. _His eyes_, she thought pulling back and remaining quiet as he spoke to her. _They've always been black, but today they're grey, light grey._ _And his eyebrows, they're blond while the rest of his hair is black._ That didn't make any sense.

"Miss Weber?" Mr. Clemmons placed his hands on her desktop as he loomed over her. "Do I need to repeat the question?"

"I'm afraid so," Angela said and gave what she hoped looked like a sheepish smile. "It's just so beautiful outside," she said hoping that her observation of the day would give her a credible alibi for her distraction.

"Yes, well, I understand the desire to be free of these walls," he said as he stood up and moved away. "The question, Miss Weber, is grape or cranberry apple?" he said lifting up the two bottles of juice.

"Oh," she laughed, her heart regaining a normal rhythm. "Cranberry apple, please," she said and accepted the cup from him.

She didn't see him empty the small vial of clear liquid into the cup before he poured in the juice, but took the cup from him as she noticed that his hands were far paler than the rest of him. She didn't realize how thirsty she was and downed the juice in only a few seconds. His face and even his neck were a tanned olive, a Mediterranean complexion, but his hands were white, paler than Bella's. She watched him walk around the class as he discussed random topics, not one of them having to do with anything that could truly be considered educational. Wondering if Edward could read the man's mind, she felt her phone buzz again in her pocket and took it out, shaking her head in a small quick jerk to rid herself of the sudden feeling of vertigo.

_You ok? Your thoughts are jumbled._

_Jumbled?_ She questioned and blinked down at her phone as she waited for a response.

_I can't read him at all Angela, make an excuse. Say you need to go to the bathroom or something, just get out of there._

_Out? Why do I feel so weird? Out of where?_

Her phone buzzed again and she looked down at the screen, but her vision kept going in and out of focus. At one point there were three phones swimming in front of her and she didn't understand what was happening. Edward had told her to get out, she needed to get out. She thought about raising her hand, tried to get up only to realize that she had never moved at all. She didn't understand what was happening to her. Her muscles were becoming increasingly weak and her vision kept swimming in and out of focus as she fought to stay awake. The only thought in her mind was to try and push the feeling away, if she could move the feeling of vertigo away then she could focus enough to move.

She hadn't had a migraine in days, but suddenly it flared to life, screeching inside her skull. A thousand piercing needles dipped in acid, fire burning as hot as lava, pain stronger than she could comprehend filled her brain and chased away enough of the vertigo for her to be able to focus enough to move. Bracing her hands against the sides of her desk, she stood up slowly and looked around. The classroom was empty except for the substitute. Where was everyone? Why was she alone?

"Miss Weber, the others have already made it outside to enjoy the rest of our discussion in the quad," the man said and she swore he looked excited and impatient. "Aren't you going to join us?"

She tried to speak, but she couldn't get her voice to work. Her steps were slow, trembling as she leaned heavily on the desks and tried to make her way to the door. What was wrong with her? Why was it so difficult to focus? Why did she feel like she was going to pass out when not ten minutes ago she had been fine? And why, why did he not seem concerned that she was practically falling down with each step? Her breaths were heavy, labored with her efforts to stay upright and the only thought in her mind was that she needed Carlisle. Something was wrong with her, something was very wrong and she didn't know what.

Blinking heavily as she made her way slowly to the front of the empty classroom, she screamed inside her mind for Carlisle, begging for his help. Looking up as she panted, she swore that the man appeared to be triumphant and she didn't understand why. Grunting as she lost her precarious balance and fell to the floor, Angela stared up through blurred vision at the teacher coming closer to her. In a single moment of horrifying clarity she realized that this man, this substitute teacher must be her stalker. That was only reason she could think of for him to look happy about her collapse.

"And now you are mine, my beautiful winter rose," he said as he knelt over her.

She didn't have much energy left, she knew she had no real chance to get away, but she would fight in whatever way she could. Taking in a deep breath, she focused her mind and screamed for help from her vampire family while she thrashed out with an arm that felt to be made of rubberized lead and clawed at his face. She barely felt her hand connect with his face when the world around her went black.

**:::::**

Jasper was hard pressed not to roll his eyes as he stared out the window of his homeroom classroom. The last day before school let out and instead of having actual classes, everyone was assigned to spend the day in their homeroom classes for 'end of the year fun and summer activities'. What it really meant was in that days' time, their teachers could go over whatever they wanted, anywhere from their usual curriculum to letting the students have a free day. His homeroom teacher, Mr. Simmons, fancied himself a Civil War enthusiast and had decided to lecture on the 'romance of the war between the states'.

_For a 'Civil War enthusiast' he's damn good at getting everything wrong,_ Jasper thought and looked up to see how much time was left in the man's diatribe. _I don't know if I can take ten more minutes let alone thirty_, he thought and felt Edward kick his leg. _What? This guy's an idiot. Don't tell me you're enjoying this?_

He watched as his brother's lips twitched and felt the amusement Edward was trying to hide. Arching a brow, Jasper was about to give his brother a mental rundown of how fictional the man's 'factual account' was when he noticed his distraction. He could tell by the way that Edward was staring at his desk that he was no longer listening to his thoughts, but rather focusing on someone else's. Watching Edward type furiously into his cell phone, he wondered who he was texting with such urgency.

Looking up at him when he heard the low dangerous growl spill from his brother too low for the surrounding humans to hear he was about to ask what was wrong when he was suddenly riveted in place. A screeching noise reminiscent of an alarm filled his head seconds before he felt the blinding pain of Angela's migraine pulsing faster and faster. She hadn't had a migraine in days and he knew from past experience that this wasn't her normal migraine, this was her distress signal. Angela was in trouble. Looking at Edward to see if his brother had felt what he just felt, they both looked around the classroom before disappearing without sight or sound as only ones of their kind could.

Emmett, Alice and Rosalie had escaped from their classrooms as well and were following Angela's panicked call down the hall to her homeroom class. The room stood empty, the five of them filling the quiet space with their low growls as they each breathed in deeply. By the side of the teachers desk laid a few drops of blood. Angela had successfully scratched her attacker and left his blood for them to follow.

"Good girl," Jasper praised quietly. "You gave us his scent."

His blood was a pure scent, easy to follow, but the scent of the person it belonged to was odd. Covered by makeup and hampered by something else, it smelled as though the man had falsified his appearance. There was also a scent that seemed to be masking Angela's, making them unable to find her easily. Vinegar, black pepper and aerosol. The man had sprayed Angela to cover up her scent. This man either knew what they were or was trying to cover up any evidence should search dogs be brought in. Seeing Angela's phone lying on the desk, Alice picked it up and gasped as her eyes flared wide.

"A truck," she said distractedly as she bypassed the door and climbed out the open window. "She can see a black truck."

"You can see Angela?" Jasper asked with hope, knowing that her visions of the girl were almost always blocked.

"It feels like she's talking to me, calling for me," Alice said as she followed the pull of Angela's energy. "I think she tried earlier in class, but I didn't make sense of it at the time. She's not going to last much longer, I can feel her drifting away."

They followed after her as she ran into the woods, following along the roadway, but keeping out of sight of the cars. There wasn't a single black truck and Alice realized that the black truck Angela had seen wasn't the vehicle she was in; most likely it was a vehicle next to it. Relaying the information to Edward through her thoughts, she listened as he talked swiftly into his cell phone to Carlisle. He called out to her, told her that there were drugs that could paralyze her, making her appear to be passed out while her mind stayed alert. She wouldn't be able to move her body, open her eyes, or talk, but she would be alert otherwise. The sparse traffic below came to a stop and Alice shook her head, furious and frightened that she couldn't find which one had Angela.

"She's trying to move!" Alice said as she felt Angela pulling on her for strength and searched frantically for where her human sister was as she shouted again. "She's trying to move!"

"Where is she?!" Emmett asked as he watched her staring at the vehicles below. "Damnit, why did that bastard have to cover up her scent?!"

"I don't know!" Alice said, upset by her inability to find Angela. "Come on, Sweetie, fight it!" she commanded in a low desperate tone.

**:::::**

The fear ignited stronger the moment she realized that he had perfectly planned his abduction of her. No one would question a class being released early on the last day of school and the other classes were busy watching movies or making too much noise to be alert to a struggle. But he had taken care of that as well. Whatever he had put in her juice blurred her vision, left her muscles feeling almost paralyzed and clouded her mind to the point that it was difficult, if not impossible, to speak aloud. She tried her best to reach out for Alice, for Jasper, for Emmett, for any and all of them including Carlisle and Esme.

She held onto the pain of her migraine, used it to fight the pull of the drug. She couldn't pass out; she couldn't let herself be taken. It took her nearly five seconds to force her eyes to open; she counted every move every effort, just to have something to keep her focus on. She focused on Alice in her thoughts as she stared through half-lidded eyes at the black truck behind the man as he threw her into the back seat of his car. Her eyes fell closed again as he shut the door and she whimpered silently as she tried once more to push the haze of the drug away. She needed just one moment, one chance to escape. She could feel the car moving; hear the road under the tires. He was talking to himself, she had to move, had to get away before he drove too far. It took all of her effort to move her arm and reach for the door handle, in his arrogance he had left the door unlocked and she thanked whatever god was listening that he hadn't bothered to lay her across the seats or buckle her in.

**:::::**

A car came down the street behind them and Alice turned, her eyes flaring wide as she watched the back driver's side door open. Alice and Edward shot forward at the same time as a body fell out of the car before the vehicle had a chance to stop and they caught Angela as she rolled limply in the street. The other three were on them in an instant, surrounding Edward as he clutched Angela to his chest. He kissed her forehead, the others doing the same as they each touched her in some small way to assure themselves that she was there.

"You did it, little one," Jasper praised her; "you got away."

"Papa," she mumbled her voice below the range of human hearing.

"We're taking you to him right now, Sweetheart," Edward said as he followed the others into the woods and sped toward the hospital.

She was crying, he could smell her tears as they ran and even though she remained asleep in his arms, he knew that she wouldn't be comforted until she was with Carlisle. They each made her feel safe in their own way, with their touch or presence, but it was Carlisle who took away her fear. She kept moaning, whimpering, as she lay nestled in his arms as he ran, her voice too low for anyone but his family to hear. He slowed as they neared the entrance of the woods, the outline of the hospital in view. Edward looked down upon her face as he jogged out of the woods. She was so still, so limp that it worried him beyond measure.

**:::::**

There was nothing that could describe how he felt in that moment when the pull of Angela's call reached out and grabbed hold of him. It wasn't happy or calm, it was frantic and terrified. He had never felt anything like it before, but the moment, the very second that he felt her call it felt to him as though the world had crumbled beneath his feet. He knew it was Angela's call because at the same moment that he felt the heart stopping terror fill his being, he had also heard her voice inside his mind screaming for him to save her. His body was well below a human's warmth, but in that moment he could never remember having felt so very cold before.

He had moved from his office, called out to the nearest orderly and asked him to find Nurse Marks and bring her to the ER. He could remember telling Camille that Angela was being brought in, that she was hurt or sick, he wasn't sure which, but that he would need her help. Then he had stepped outside the doors to wait. Rosalie had called him only a few moments after he felt Angela's call to inform him that they had her. She was safe, he had been told, but she was injured and drugged. He heard the rustling of the trees, the rushing of the wind that the humans around him were deaf to, and breathed an almost painful sigh of relief when he saw Edward jog from the edge of the forest with Angela in his arms.

He didn't wait for his son to come closer, jogging away from the hospital; he met Edward halfway and took Angela from his arms. He cradled her gently, called to her repeatedly, telling her that she was safe. She didn't seem to be aware of anything though as her voice, too low for humans to hear, kept calling for him. She didn't call his name, she didn't ask for him by title, but instead her whispered whimpering voice continued to chant 'Papa'. He had never felt this unstable, this level of upset before in all his near three hundred fifty years.

He didn't want to put her down, he didn't want to let go of her, but he knew that he must. He had to treat her, he had to be the doctor, logical and detached even as a greater part of him demanded that he take her and run. His need to treat her, to see her stalker brought to answer for his crimes, to make certain that she would be safe in the human world outweighed the insanity of the worried father that constricted his heart and choked his voice. Kissing her forehead as he carried her in through the doors, he nodded to Nurse Marks as he took her to the curtained off area.

"I've got you, baby girl, I'm here," he promised her in low tones as he laid her on the hospital bed.

"Dr. Cullen!" Chief Swan's booming voice called out to him as he came running down the hall. "Bells called me; she said Angela's stalker had taken her!"

"We've got her here, Charlie," Carlisle said as looked down at Angela. "Edward found her, he brought her here."

"Thank God," Charlie said as he came up to her bedside and looked down at the girl. "She's got so many scratches and cuts, what happened?" he asked with a shake of his head as he looked up at Edward.

"I came out in time to see her being loaded into a car and driven off," he lied, unable to give the human Sherriff a true account of what had happened. "I ran after the car, I didn't really think about too much except getting her back. She…I don't know how, but she opened the door and threw herself from the car," he said as he stared at Angela. "She was barely conscious, but she still got away. I don't know how she did that."

"Adrenaline is a powerful thing," Charlie said as he looked down at Angela. "Did she get a piece of the guy?"

"Yeah, it looks like she scratched him pretty good," Carlisle said as he held Angela's right hand. "She has blood and tissue under her fingernails. Camille, could you hand me the evidence bags please?" he requested. "Her blood will need to be tested right away, I need to know what kind of sedative he gave her," he said and looked up at Edward. "Who was it?" he asked his son before Charlie could. "Who took her?"

"Mr. Clemmons, the full time sub that's been in her homeroom class."

Carlisle clenched his jaw, feeling the venom pool in his mouth as he bit back the deadly growl building low in his throat. That man, her stalker, had been so close to her all this time without any of them ever knowing. Looking up at Edward as he took the small manila envelope, no bigger than a business card, from Nurse Marks he projected his question to Edward. His son met his eyes and shook his head, the knowledge even more disturbing. Whoever this man was, Edward was unable to read his mind.

He was careful as he took the scrapings from under Angela's fingernails and dropped them into the tiny paper envelope. Lifting her left hand, he looked at her fingernails and though he didn't see any blood or tissue, he included the scrapings from them as well. He watched Nurse Marks come closer with larger plastic evidence bags and knew that she needed to take Angela's clothing as evidence for her abduction.

"We should move her into a room before that happens," he said nodding to the bags she held.

"Exam room one is standing open and ready," she told him and he nodded before disengaging the brakes on the wheels of the bed.

Carlisle closed the door behind him as he stood inside the exam room with Nurse Marks. He nodded at her when she looked at him and watched as she carefully removed Angela's clothing. It was standard protocol to have a female nurse remove the clothing from an unconscious or traumatized female victim, but he couldn't wait outside while she undressed Angela. He couldn't be out of sight of her. Stepping up to the bed once Angela had been redressed in blue scrubs, he took samples of her blood and asked that a rush be put on the analysis of what was in her system.

Charlie stepped into the room as Nurse Marks left and he looked down on Angela with a mix of worry and anger. He couldn't help seeing Bella when he looked at Angela; they were the same age, the same basic body type aside from their height difference. Her arms were scratched, so were the heels of her hands. He watched as Carlisle tended to every cut, every scratch and bruise. Scanning his eyes up her body as he assessed the injuries, he frowned at the red line he could see on either side of her neck.

"What's that?" Charlie asked as he stepped forward and looked down at her neck.

"Her necklace," Carlisle said and closed his eyes. "He ripped off her necklace. It was a gift from Esme and me for her birthday."

"Son of a bitch," Charlie cursed and nodded, turning to the radio on his shoulder, he spoke into it. "Get Judge Harrison on the line, I need a search warrant for the home of Clemmons, substitute teacher at Forks High. School should have his address. And Peggy, have a bench warrant issued for him. This guy is the one who's been stalking Angela Weber."

**:::::**

He could feel his muscles twitching, his quiet growls reverberating in his chest and rumbling low in his throat. His entire body was vibrating with the repressed desire to hunt, the venom pooling in his mouth and tingling at the back of his jaw. His teeth ached with the desire to sink them into the man who had taken Angela, the need he felt to rend the human limb from limb. He wasn't just his coven's guardian, he was also Angela's big brother and the biggest part of being a big brother was protecting his little sister. She was human, she was delicate and breakable. She didn't have the strength or advantages of his kind.

His breathing was deep, labored even though the action was completely unnecessary. His gold eyes flashed with the anger he felt, the restlessness that kept him pacing back and forth in front of the closed hospital room door. He could hear the movements being taken, knew that the rustling of fabric meant that her clothes were being changed and clenched his jaw to keep from releasing the snarl building in his throat. He could smell her blood through the closed door, the lingering traces of aerosol and vinegar that had masked her scent from them earlier. Easy enough to fool bloodhounds, it worked to hide a human's scent from his kind as well if enough of it was used. He doubted the man knew of his kind and reasoned that he had more than likely used it in case search dogs were brought in.

He looked up at the hand placed on his arm and met his wife's eyes. She was just as mad at what had happened and as concerned over Angela as he was. Shaking his head as he stopped pacing and stood still in front of her, Emmett reached out and drew Rosalie into his arms, burying his face in the curve of her neck as he embraced her. Her arms wrapped around his back, her hand lifting to stroke his hair, her nails scraping lightly against his scalp. Lifting his face from her shoulder when he heard the handle rattle, he looked at Carlisle waiting for his nod before he released Rosalie and stepped into the room.

Angela was still unconscious, lying in the bed dressed in light blue scrubs. A few small bandages covered her arms, a butterfly bandage on the scrape at her left temple from when she had fallen from the car. Stepping up to the bed side, he sat down in the padded wooden chair and lifted her hand in his. She looked so small to him, her human skin warm and fragile. Lifting up out of the chair and leaning over her enough to kiss her forehead, he remained bent over as he pressed his forehead against hers. If she would just wake up he would give her anything she wanted, he didn't care what it was, he just wanted her to wake up.

"I know, Em," Edward said as he stepped up on the other side of the bed and looked down at Angela. "It was hard enough to see Bella in the hospital after James hurt her, but with Angela it's almost worse. She wasn't hurt by one of our kind, she was hurt by a human."

He should have done something, should have know that something was wrong. Why hadn't he seen it? Why didn't he know that there was something wrong with that teacher? Pulling away from her and straightening up to stand tall when he felt his brother's hand on his shoulder, Emmett looked at Jasper and nodded once before standing back so that Jasper could look down on her.

"Blaming yourself for not knowing that there was something wrong with that teacher makes about as much sense as Angela blaming herself for attracting his attention," Edward said as he watched his brother touch Angela's hair while Jasper cupped her cheek.

"It's not her fault," Emmett said as he petted her hair away from her face.

"And it's not yours either," Edward said as he stepped back and let Alice come up to Angela's side. "I couldn't read him, Em. Clemmons is as silent to me as Bella is," he told his brother, their conversation below the range of human hearing.

Alice sat down beside Angela on the bed and turned so that she could lie down beside her. Wrapping her arm over Angela's stomach, she laid her head on the edge of the pillow and whispered into the sleeping girl's ear. She told Angela that they were all there, that she was safe and that she would stay next to her until she woke. Her dark hazel eyes looked up, catching Jasper's worried gaze and she offered him a small sad smile. Angela had made it, she had fought back and she was safe now, but it was that singular moment of knowing that she was in her stalker's clutches that had them all shaken.

Rosalie stood by the foot of the bed, her hand on Angela's ankle. The blanket covering her was thin, barely more than a bed sheet and she knew it wouldn't be warm enough for the girl. For someone who was always being covered by overstuffed comforters, heavy quilts or thick fleece blankets, the thin covering would leave her cold. Turning at the sound of Esme's voice, Rosalie gave a soft smile and stood aside as their family's matriarch stepped up and covered Angela and Alice with the thick quilt in her arms. They all stood aside as she stepped up to Angela's side and sat by her hip. Looking down upon the girl, Esme brushed her hair out of her face and leaned down to kiss her forehead.

"We're all here, Sweetheart," Esme told the sleeping girl. "You fought back and got away, Angela. You're safe, Sweetheart." Looking up at Emmett she nodded for him to follow her before leaving the room. "Emmett, I want you to stay here with her while she's in the hospital. I don't want her alone for a single moment before we bring her home. Don't do that," she said able to see the self blame in his eyes. "This isn't your fault. No one knew, Emmett."

He nodded silently and though she could still see the doubt in his eyes she let the matter drop. Stepping close and leaning up as he bent down, she kissed his cheek. Gripping his arm to give him some amount of comfort, she stepped away and walked up to Carlisle. His eyes were concerned, but also angry, a strange mix of warmth and hardness. As soon as she was within reach he enfolded her in his arms and took in a deep shaking breath.

"He drugged her," Carlisle said needlessly as he held his wife tightly. "There was a combination of GHB and Carisoprodol in her system. The combination is mostly commonly known under the classification of date rape drugs. He wanted her immobile and unable to cry out."

"Unconscious?" Esme asked as she looked up at him.

"No, not entirely," Carlisle said as he released her. "The thing about this drug is that it takes awhile for the person it's been given to, to pass out. What happens is that their muscles are weakened, their minds are clouded, and for the most part, they're unable to do anything. The drug makes them look and act as though they're unconscious, but the victim's mind remains alert anywhere from twenty minutes to an hour depending on the person. Angela was able to fight it just enough to fall out of that car. If our children hadn't been there…"

"I know," Esme said, her voice shaking as she looked back at the room their family was crowded inside of.

"He took her necklace," Carlisle said, his voice hard. "He ripped it off of her."

"We'll find it, or we'll get her a new one," she promised and kissed his jaw. "She's ours, Carlisle. Family crest or not, it doesn't change that."

**:::::**

"Alice, Emmett," Esme spoke their names as she walked into Angela's hospital room. "Could I have a few minutes alone with her?" she requested.

Alice moved slowly, rising from the bed while taking care not to disturb Angela's sleep. She straightened the quilt, tucking it around the girl's shoulders before stepping away from the bed. Touching Esme's arm as she moved past her, Alice offered her a comforting smile. Angela had only been brought to the hospital little more than an hour and a half ago, but the fact that she wasn't waking up was worrisome. Esme looked up from Angela's sleeping face when Emmett moved to walk past her and she stopped him with a hand on his arm.

She knew that he was blaming himself; she could see it in every move he made, in the way that he looked down on Angela. Stepping closer to embrace him, she heard his intake of breath and felt his arms wrap around her tightly. He took the comfort she offered him freely and rubbed her back a few times before releasing her and slipping out of the room. Esme turned her attention back to Angela and stepped up to the side of her bed. Sitting down beside her on the blankets, Esme picked up Angela's hand from where it rested on top of the quilt and held it between her own.

Reaching out with one hand, she brushed Angela's hair back from her face and smoothed the silken locks against the pillow. She had seen her family rally around Bella when James had threatened them, even as Rosalie remained reluctant and Jasper did his best to resist the pull of Bella's blood. But with Angela…In her quiet, unassuming way Angela had tied each of her family members together in a way that seemed unimaginable. Leaning down, she kissed Angela's forehead before turning her head and pressing her cheek against her sleep warmed skin.

"Hello, Sweetheart, it's Esme," she spoke to Angela gently, her voice soft and warm. "I know that you're asleep right now, but I'd like to believe that you can hear me. I want you to know that you're safe. You got away from him, Sweetheart and you scratched him pretty good. Chief Swan sent the blood and skin cells you got down to the FBI crime lab for faster analysis. We'll get him, don't you worry. I have it on good authority that your brothers won't be letting you out of their sight anytime soon. You're going to be with someone every second, and in a few days I'm sure you'll be begging for some time to yourself," she said with a soft laugh.

Rubbing Angela's hand between hers, Esme smiled down at the girl. She was worried, very worried, but she also knew that Angela would be alright. It was a mother's intuition, a mother's assurance that gave her the comfort of knowing Angela would wake up. Reaching out to touch her cheek, Esme brushed the back of her fingers over the girl's skin.

"I don't think you realize the impact that you've had on our family, it's your family, too. We have all lived with and loved each other as family for a very long time," she told Angela with a smile. "Before you came into our lives we were tied to each other through love and the bonds of family, but I have to confess, I never knew that there could be anything stronger. But then you came along."

Esme let out an amused sigh as she stared down at the slumbering girl. Leaning over, she kissed Angela's cheek again before cupping her face in her hand and smoothing the pad of her thumb over her cheekbone.

"Did you know that Rosalie has always hated this life? She's never really been content being what we are and for that Carlisle has always held regret. He has never wanted any one of his children to be unhappy with this life, only to be loved and cared for. Then you, little miss, you stepped into our lives and any doubts and hidden worries that we had, you took them all away. You were so quiet, so unassuming, you never asked for anything. You needed us, not because you were dying, but because you were alone. All you ever wanted was to be loved, to have a family, but you were so afraid to ask for it."

Looking back over her shoulder when the door opened, she smiled when Carlisle entered the room and shut the door behind him. Turning back to look at Angela, she smiled brightly.

"Do you know how much he loves it when you call him 'Papa'?" she asked and smiled at Carlisle's soft chuckle. "You have a family, Sweetheart. You have drawn us all together in a way that none of us ever thought possible. You have made Rosalie see this life differently; you have bonded her and Edward, something I never thought possible. The way you view his gift, the way you look at each of us and see those things that we do not, you are our light, little one. You gave us the beauty of something we never knew we were missing until you stepped into our lives."

Angela moaned softly, Esme growing quiet as Carlisle sat down on the other side of the girl sleeping between them. Her eye lids fluttered gently before slowly opening. It was clear that her vision was clouded, blurred, her pupils too large for the amount of light in the room. The drug would wear off soon, Carlisle was certain of that, but the lingering feeling of vertigo and muscle weakness would last for a few hours more. Her hand held in Esme's twitched, her fingers trying to curl around the woman's hand as her breaths grew labored with her effort to fight the effects of the drug.

"I'm right here, Sweetheart," Carlisle said when he heard her soft whimpers. "You're safe, baby girl," he promised as he bent down and kissed her forehead.

"Where am I?" Angela asked, her words slurred together as she fought to stay awake.

"You're in the hospital, Angela. You got away from him, Sweetheart. You were very brave," Esme told her as she rubbed the back of her hand.

"Home," she whimpered softly. "I want to go home," she slurred and moved against the bed.

"Shh," Carlisle soothed her, stilling her movements with his hand on her shoulder when she tried to sit up. "We'll bring you home once my shift is over tonight," he told her, stroking her hair. "For right now I want you here, just in case anything happens as the drugs make their way out of your system. Emmett, Alice, and I'm certain Esme as well," he said glancing at his wife, "will be staying here with you until we take you home."

"Alice got my message?" she asked as her eyes fell closed, but her heart remained at a steady rhythm that spoke to her state of consciousness.

"I did," Alice said as she poked her head into the room. "Do you mind if we come in?" she asked and waited for Esme's nod before she, Emmett, Edward, Rosalie, Jasper and Bella all filed into the small room.

Alice moved to sit by Angela's feet and touched her ankle through the quilt covering her legs. She smiled down at Angela when the human girl opened her eyes and took her hand when she reached out to her.

"I didn't understand at first, when you tried talking to me while we were in class, but I got your message loud and clear when he tried to take you away. We have his scent now, it doesn't matter what he does to his appearance, he won't be able to hide who he is from us," Alice told her and smiled when Angela looked up over her shoulder. "That's right, everyone's here. We were all worried about you."

"F'm'ly," she slurred as her eyes fell closed once more.

"She's asleep," Carlisle said after a moment. Looking back at his large family filling the small room he couldn't help the soft chuckle that sounded from him. "Are any of you going to go home before I bring her home tonight?"

"Only me," Bella said with a reluctant grin. "Charlie wants me home before sundown since this guy is still out there."

"And I will be staying with her until Charlie is off shift. Amazingly enough it was his idea, he didn't want Bella to be alone, but he also didn't want her to be cooped up in a hospital since he said he was fairly certain that none of us would be willing to leave Angela alone," Edward said with a lopsided smile.

"Excuse me, Dr. Cullen? Oh! Hello, Cullen family," Deputy Carson said slowly as he stepped just inside the room. "Dr. Cullen, sir, Chief Swan asked me to come pick you up. He said there was something you needed to see."

"Alright, I'll be right there, Deputy," Carlisle said with a nod and watched the young man leave the room. "Edward?" he asked in concern when he saw the dark look on his son's face.

"I know what he's going to show you and it isn't pretty. Make an excuse to take Emmett or Jasper with you. Neither Charlie or the deputy are going to let you drive, they won't trust your ability to stay calm after you see what it is they have to show you. Alice and I have already seen it."

Carlisle nodded at his son and stood up. Looking at first Alice and then Edward, he wondered which of his sons it would be best to take with him. If either of them would even be allowed to see what it was that Charlie wanted to show him.

"Emmett," Alice said after a moment. "Charlie will let Emmett see the room, so long as you make certain that he understands that Emmett is Angela's protector when she's out and about."

Carlisle nodded to his daughter before turning to look at Emmett. At Alice's instance that he follow the police cruiser in Carlisle's car, Carlisle handed him the keys before they left the room. Both Edward and Alice's dark looks had him on edge; their refusal to tell him what he would be shown was an answer in and of itself. Wherever Deputy Carson was planning to take them, whatever the Chief needed to show them, it was bad.

Edward turned his attention away from the closed door as he stopped listening to Carlisle's thoughts. Looking back at Alice, he knew that she had seen what he was thinking and the plan that he was making. Her nod told him that it was not only a good idea, but that it would happen. Looking over at Esme, he voiced his thoughts that it would be a good idea if there were at least two more people, two more of their kind to assure Angela's protection until her stalker was found. She didn't disagree at all and when she nodded, Edward knew that she had been thinking the same thing.

"I'll call Eleazer and Carmen. It's been awhile since we've had a chance to visit with each other," Esme said as she took her cell phone from her pocket and stepped out into the hall.

"I'll tell you later," Edward said, rubbing Bella's arm when she turned her questioning gaze up to him. "Everything will be alright," he promised. "Come on, I told Charlie I'd take you home."

Bella nodded and looked back at the bed. If they were in Phoenix, she would've understood a crime like this happening, but here in the quiet town of Forks… How had this happened? And why did it happen to Angela? Hugging Alice and asking her to take care of Angela, Bella stepped out of the room with Edward behind her. Bella understood how protective the family had felt for her during James' threat better now because she felt that same protectiveness towards Angela. If you mess with one Cullen, you mess with them all.


	18. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

There was no thought to the move as he spun around and slammed his clenched fist into the grey metal filing cabinet behind his desk. Hissing and shaking out his hand, Charlie grimaced and fell heavily into the chair behind his desk. He wasn't an emotional person, he was more even tempered and for the most part, unflappable. But this case with Angela's stalker had pushed him to the very limits of his emotional tolerance. He couldn't separate the cop from the father, not on this case and the more he tried to remind himself that Angela was in the protective care of the Cullen family the more he would look at the photos only to see Bella's face in place of Angela's.

Closing his eyes, he propped his elbows up on his desktop and dropped his face into his palms. The worst part of the whole ordeal was the knowledge that Angela's own parents cared nothing for her and wouldn't have done a damn thing to protect her had they been home when she had been attacked in her house. He could still remember the conversation he'd had with her parents after nearly six days straight of doing everything he could to get in touch with them. The way they dismissed Angela, the hateful and demeaning words that they used all while keeping a pleasant tone as though speaking of nothing more important than the weather; it was all burned into his mind.

"_Chief Swan, I'm sorry that you had to be dragged into Angela's delusions. You are free to charge her however you see fit for filing a false report. Lock her up for a month, maybe it will teach her something, god knows she never listened to us. If anything happened, and that's a big if, she brought it all on herself."_

Charlie shook his head, wishing that he could erase her father's words from his brain, but he knew that they would never leave him. It sickened him how uncaring they were, how they blamed her. Angela was one of the sweetest kids he'd ever met; she was just like Bella, quiet and unassuming. It scared him how similar they were because he knew how Bella would react – hiding her fear and pretending to be ok – but Angela; through the things he'd been able to piece together from his own observations and the telling way that Carlisle was careful not to say too much…Angela had been abused. He didn't need anyone to confirm it, he didn't need proof, his experience in law enforcement was enough to tell him what no one wanted to say.

Looking up from his hands when the phone on his desk rang, his brows furrowed at the sight that it was his direct line that was blinking. Picking up the receiver, he listened to Bella's frantic voice and felt his heart stop as his blood froze in his veins. Angela's stalker had taken her. He didn't think twice as he hung up the phone and reached for his jacket. Zipping up the coat almost violently, he attached the portable radio receiver to his shoulder and yelled at Deputy Carson before dashing out the door of the station house at break neck speed.

**:::::**

He couldn't move too fast, he couldn't take her out the front door; either of those things would be suspicious enough to draw attention. He had to do this just right. 'Patience, Abraham,' his mother's voice sounded in his head, 'you must do everything with patience.' Making certain his back was turned and that the vial in his hand was completely concealed, he poured the contents into the bottom of the plastic cup before adding in the cranberry apple juice. If she sipped it then he would have to take her at the end of class, but if she downed it quickly it would only be a few minutes. Turning around, he smiled as he handed the cup to Angela.

She already seemed distracted so taking her shouldn't be that big of an issue. He hid his smile when he watched her take a tentative sip before gulping down the cup of juice in less than twenty seconds. _Perfect_, he thought as he watched her set the empty cup down on her desk. He could already see her pupils widening, the slight exaggerated movements of her arms as her muscles began to relax and weaken. Looking around at the eager students, he smiled and told them that the last two hours were theirs to do whatever they wanted with, including going home. The class was cleared before he could say 'have a good summer', and Angela, well the drugs were doing their job perfectly.

He watched her stare at her desktop as though she were expecting something to happen, but it soon became clear that she was having trouble keeping her head raised. He spoke to her, watched her look up at him before she gripped the sides of her desk and rose slowly on unsteady feet. His smile widened, darkened with malignant delight as she slowly made her way to the front of the classroom, steadying herself on each desk along the way, each step slower than the last. She was panting heavily by the time she got to the front of the classroom and broke through the line of desks. He listened to her grunt as she fell to the floor, twisting in the nick of time to land on her back.

"No," she whimpered so softly that he doubted she was aware she was speaking.

"And now you are mine, my beautiful rose," he said to her as he leaned over to lift her up.

He didn't see her move, didn't know she still had the energy left to fight back, but he hissed when her nails cut four deep gashes down his face, from his jawbone by his ear to his chin. He almost lost himself, almost hit her, but when he looked down at her she looked to be unconscious.

"Little roses shouldn't fight against their gardeners," he told her as he lifted her in his arms and took her to the open windows at the far end of the classroom.

His car was parked near the windows, only a foot or two away and he didn't think twice about dropping her out of the window. She wouldn't feel it, and even if she did there was nothing she could do about it. Climbing out of the window after her, he picked her up and carried her to his car. Holding her tight against his side as he opened his back door, he ground his teeth at the sight of the black truck parked too close to him and he silently cursed the student who had dared leave him such little space. He had to sit her up, he had to make everything look just fine, this was too small of a town to mess up in. As pliable as a doll, he set her in the backseat and didn't bother buckling her in.

_No one sees, no one hears,_ he thought as he pulled out of the school parking lot and drove down the street. _Stick to the speed limits, don't draw attention to yourself._ He had to remember to breathe; he was so excited to finally have her. She completed his second dozen of roses. He wasn't watching her in the mirror; he was too excited to think that his plans might not succeed, to look back at her. As he was slowing down for the upcoming red light, he failed to notice that her eyes were half lidded and that her arm was moving. Just as the light turned green and he moved his foot from the slightly depressed brake pedal to the accelerator, he saw the back door open out of his side mirror and Angela fall out of the car.

Before he had the time to blink, two people were already on her, two students from the school and he couldn't take the chance to slow down and go back. Snarling as he beat the heel of his hand against the steering wheel, he cursed. She was his twenty-fourth rose and she had just gotten away. He didn't think, didn't stop or go back, but instead gunned it out of town. He couldn't go back; they would be guarding his rose.

"She's mine!" he roared as he hit the highway. "She's mine and I will have her back!"

He would drive until nightfall and then circle back. He had left his supplies at home. He would have to go to Seattle or Port Angeles to get new makeup and face masks. He had to make a new image…or an old one. No one knew who Abraham McGinnis was; everyone who did know him thought that he had died over ten years ago when his car was hit by a train. He had made certain the homeless man fit his body structure and age to a 't', no one had even bothered to check the dentals. Maybe this time he wouldn't need any makeup. Maybe this time he would just go back as himself, but with a different name. _Time to meet Mickey A, ladies and gentlemen,_ he thought with a triumphant sneer.

**:::::**

The tires on his car squealed, protesting the sharp turn he took as he rounded the bend in the road far faster than he should have. He could feel his heart beating with the mix of worry and fear. Angela was the same age as Bella, and no matter how hard he tried not to, he would see Bella's face at night when he thought about this case. It was too personal, too close to home and far too disturbing for their small town. He couldn't remember having heard of a stalking case in Forks before and he had been a policeman for over twenty years. Slamming on his brakes hard enough to be thrown against the restrictive safety belt, he stopped his car and turned off the engine before running in through the double doors of the emergency room. The first thing he saw was Carlisle's blond head of hair and he didn't think twice about calling across the expanse of the hospital to him as he ran forward.

"Dr. Cullen!" his voice boomed out, reverberating off the walls as his steps sounded loudly beneath him. "Bells called me; she said Angela's stalker had taken her!"

"We've got her here, Charlie," Carlisle said as looked down at Angela. "Edward found her, he brought her here."

"Thank God," Charlie said as he came up to her bedside and looked down at the girl. "She's got so many scratches and cuts, what happened?" he asked with a shake of his head as he looked up at Edward.

"I came out in time to see her being loaded into a car and driven off," Edward said and Charlie silently praised the teen for being able to stay so calm under the circumstances. "I ran after the car, I didn't really think about too much except getting her back. She…I don't know how, but she opened the door and threw herself from the car," he said as he stared at Angela. "She was barely conscious, but she still got away. I don't know how she did that."

"Adrenaline is a powerful thing," Charlie told him as he looked down at Angela. "Did she get a piece of the guy?"

"Yeah, it looks like she scratched him pretty good," Carlisle said as he held Angela's right hand. "She has blood and tissue under her fingernails. Camille, could you hand me the evidence bags please?" he requested. "Her blood will need to be tested right away, I need to know what kind of sedative he gave her," he said and looked up at Edward. "Who was it?" he asked his son before Charlie could. "Who took her?"

"Mr. Clemmons, the full time sub that's been in her homeroom class."

Charlie Swan stood frozen in his place as he looked at Edward Cullen. A teacher? Angela's stalker was posing as a substitute teacher? He felt a cold rage fill his being and seconds before he thought he was going to scream, a strange sense of calm settled over him. He didn't know that he ever actually believed in any kind of religion, but in that moment it felt as though he'd been touched by an angel, how else could he have been calmed so easily. Although he found it odd that Carlisle's other boy, Jasper, was staring at him, he thought it had more to do with the fact that he was blocking the boy's view of Angela from him than anything else.

He watched Dr. Cullen take the scrapings from under Angela's fingernails and told him that he would take all of the evidence, including her clothes, down to the FBI crime lab. The federal lab would give them faster results and there would be no way for any prosecutor or defense attorney to say that the evidence had been tampered with. Watching as Dr. Cullen and Nurse Marks wheeled Angela into exam room one to change out her clothes, he stood by the door and watched the anxious expressions on the rest of Carlisle's family. He had to admit a certain favoritism for Emmett and Alice. The boy was big, strong and protective; he'd make a damn fine police officer if he chose to go the route of law enforcement. Alice, well he didn't think there was a person alive who could dislike Alice, she was too sweet for her own good.

Nurse Marks stepped out of the room, the large cardboard box containing the sealed bags of Angela's clothing and shoes as well as the smaller bags of blood and tissue evidence from her attacker inside. Signing the clipboard in her hand, he took the box from her and stepped inside the room. Setting it down in the chair by the bed, he looked down at the girl lying in the bed.

_My god,_' Charlie thought as he stared down at Angela lying in the bed dressed in the borrowed blue scrubs. _'She looks so tiny.'_ He couldn't help seeing Bella when he looked at Angela; they were the same age, the same basic body type aside from their height difference. Her arms were scratched, so were the heels of her hands. He watched as Carlisle tended to every cut, every scratch and bruise with a delicate gentleness in his touch. Scanning his eyes up her body as he assessed the injuries, he frowned at the red line he could see on either side of her neck.

"What's that?" Charlie asked as he stepped forward and looked down at her neck.

"Her necklace," Carlisle said and closed his eyes. "He ripped off her necklace. It was a gift from Esme and me for her birthday."

"Son of a bitch," Charlie cursed and nodded. Turning his head as he grabbed the radio on his shoulder, he held the side button down and spoke into it. "Get Judge Harrison on the line, I need a search warrant for the home of Clemmons, substitute teacher at Forks High. The school should have his address. And Peggy, have an APB put out for him and his car. This guy is the one who's been stalking Angela Weber."

Lifting the box of evidence into his arms, he stepped out of the room and walked down the hallway. Asking for Edward to follow him down the hall, he studied the teen in front of him before looking back over the boy's shoulder to see his daughter standing in the circle of Jasper's arms. He couldn't hide the soft snort of amusement, the emotion out of place given the situation, as he realized that all of the men in the Cullen family seemed to be incredibly protective by nature.

"Take Bella home as soon as you know that Angela will be alright," he told Edward before sighing and grinding his teeth. "We'll probably never get along," he said as he looked away from Edward to stare at Bella. "Fathers rarely get along with their daughter's boyfriends, but I don't want her alone tonight. Stay with Bella until I get off shift, hell stay the night – on the couch," he said with a pointed stare, "my shift doesn't end until one am. Be respectful of her, just don't leave her alone."

Edward gave one slow nod of his head, the motion almost seeming to be from another time.

"You have my word, Chief Swan," Edward said, his voice smooth and cordial. "Bella will be home and I will guard her until you arrive."

Charlie gave a single curt nod before turning and striding down the hall toward the automatic doors. He was exiting the building in moments and on the road to the FBI crime lab. There was a woman there, Agent Antonia Romano, she was good at what she did and had the fastest turnaround time for evidence. She would also let him know first what the evidence told him before he had to read her report. It took him less than thirty minutes to get to the lab and drop off the box of evidence with a rush order request and he hoped that there was enough there for a conviction. Reaching for the handset clipped to the front of the CB radio in his car; he called out to Peggy down at the station.

"How soon can I get that search warrant, Peggy?" Charlie asked as he looked down at the rectangular plastic keychain that held a picture of Bella when she was four years old.

His radio crackled before Peggy's voice came over the line telling him that the warrant was being signed as they spoke and that the crime scene photographer would be meeting him at the man's house with it in hand. She gave him the address and he didn't think twice about slapping on his siren, his tires squealing as he peeled out of the crime lab's parking lot.

**:::::**

The cruiser wasn't even fully parked when he jumped from the driver's seat, ripping the keys from the ignition as he went. There was no way in hell that he was going to let this bastard get away with what he had done to Angela, what he had been doing. He ran up to the door, uncaring if anyone was home or not and lifted his foot. Kicking the door in, Chief Swan walked into the house of Marshall Clemmons, followed close behind by Deputy Carson and a crime scene photographer. The search warrant was clenched tightly in Charlie's fist, and he looked over the home that seemed to be strangely absent of its resident. He went to the bedrooms, and then the bathroom as he searched for the man it belonged to, only to find nothing. They moved through the rented house slowly, going over every nook and cranny in detail to gather as much evidence as they could.

"Son of a bitch," Deputy Carson breathed out in disbelief as he stared into the small ten foot by twelve foot room with wide disbelieving eyes. "Chief! You'd better come see this!"

Charlie stepped up behind the young man before looking around him and was frozen in place by the scene before him. All four walls were covered in photos of Angela. Roughly three-fourths of the photos were taken from a distance, but a few of them along each wall were taken from close up. There was a clear progression across the room starting with photos taken from the school year books and snapshots taken with a long-range lens to close up shots beginning in the middle of the third wall. There were pictures of Angela in class at school, pictures of her changing in the locker room for gym class, even photos of her in the shower at school. Then there were photos of her in her home. At first the photos of her at home looked to be taken through a window from outside, but slowly they grew closer until there were up close photos of her sleeping.

Turning around as he looked at the photos on the wall behind him, Charlie felt the blood drain from his face. There were enough photos to paint a scene on the wall behind him and Charlie couldn't help wondering if the man had just snapped the camera continuously as he violated her. At the very top left hand corner of the wall, Angela lay sleeping in her bed, dressed and hidden underneath the thick blankets on her bed. As the pictures progressed, blankets were tossed back; her clothing was removed piece by piece until she lay naked as the day she was born on the bed. The man's hand began appearing in the photos as he touched her cheek, her breasts, her stomach and thighs, the last series of photos showing the man masturbating her with his fingers while she lay sleeping.

Underneath the wall sat a small end table that held a few of Angela's personal belongings. There was a blouse, a blue lace bra, and what looked to be her journal. Just how long had this man been stalking her?

"Don't touch anything," Charlie said as the crime scene photographer moved into the room. "Just document this…whatever the hell this is. Carson, go get Dr. Cullen. Bring him here, he needs to see this."

"You want me to call him down here?" Deputy Carson asked, unsure why the chief would make such a request.

"No, go pick him up in your vehicle and bring him here. I can tell you as a father, that if I saw this mess, there's no way I'd be sane enough to drive afterward. Yeah, Peggy, I'm here," Charlie said into the radio on his shoulder.

"Charlie, I just got word from the State Troopers that the car you put an APB out for was released through a check point leading into Canada a few hours ago. They didn't have the plate or model then, sir," the woman reported from the station, her voice hollow through the radio.

"Alright, Peggy," Charlie said as he opened the bathroom and saw the materials needed to alter one's appearance including facial prosthetics and fake scars. "This guy's a chameleon; he can make himself look like anyone. We've found at least three fake IDs and passports already, so don't bother sending the sketch artist to Angela, I don't think it will do us any good."

"Ten-four, Chief. Oh, by the way, there are a couple Feds looking for you. They said that some of the evidence you sent for testing threw red flags up all over an ongoing investigation they've been working on. I sent them down to the house. You should be seeing them any minute."

"Yup," Charlie said as he looked out the front window of the house and saw Deputy Carson pull up beside a black SUV. "Looks like they're here."

**:::::**

There hadn't been any time to review the case files or talk with anyone in the local law enforcement about the latest victim. They had driven almost twenty hours from San Francisco, California all the way to the small town of Forks, Washington without stopping. The traffic through California and Oregon had been heavy due to multiple conventions throughout the bigger towns and as she looked at her partner, Caliegh found herself concerned by how tightly he was gripping the steering wheel. Twenty-four, this newest victim would make twenty-four women dead and if the local PD hadn't already made the notification, they would have to.

She hated that part the worst, making the notifications to the families. No matter what she did, she would always see the victims standing next to her or next to their parents when she spoke to them. Her partner had been working this case since the very beginning and now, twelve years later, it had become little more than an obsessive hunt for the man the agents involved with the case called 'The Chameleon'. He could act compassionate, but she knew that he no longer felt anything except the desire to hunt the killer down. There were times when it frightened her, but she stayed quiet, her partner always insisting that she was still too new to the case to see it the way he did.

She knew that it irked him, the way he was forced to drive slower in the small town and mind the people who passed through the streets without thought to danger. She had checked the crime rate of Forks, it was under one hundred-fifty incidents a year, more than seventy-five percent of them due to breaking and entering or drunk and disorderly. Basically teenagers acting out and old men forgetting to keep their drinking to the bar or their homes, the only deaths that had occurred were due to the wild animals populating the Olympic rainforest surrounding the town. No one had been murdered in the town in almost ten years.

Following the directions they had been given by the woman at the police station, they drove through town until they came to the section secluded by heavy forests. It was a beautiful part of town, scenic to the point of looking more like a painting than real life and she hated that a death would mar the beauty of the landscape. It felt strange to her though, she hadn't seen the latest victim. She had become so used to seeing flashes of the victims along the roadside as they drove, but she had yet to see anyone. Perhaps her hallucinations were ending. Perhaps she was finally growing used to the stress that this case induced.

Their drive slowed to a crawl as they pulled up to the house. She watched as the doors of the police cruiser parked in front of them opened and two men stepped out. One was young and wore the uniform of a police officer, the other was tall, blond and drop dead gorgeous. He walked with grace, a sense of dignity that seemed to be displaced in the current era and she wondered if perhaps he was from another country. A black Mercedes was parked next to the cruiser, the man who stepped out looked young and he jogged slightly to catch up with the blond man. It was odd, the moment she looked at the dark haired man she felt safer than she ever had. It didn't make any sense to her, but she didn't question it either.

Opening the door and stepping down from the standard issue black FBI SUV, she sighed before closing the door. She was four-foot-ten, not even five feet tall and being short was the worst thing. She was constantly teased by the boys in office, not to mention the women who were average height. At least her partner had stopped trying to help her down from the vehicle, it was embarrassing enough to be short, she didn't need to be lifted in and out of cars like a child. Walking through the muddy earth, she regretted her decision to wear the practical black work boots instead of her usual heels. The heels afforded her height, but wearing the boots meant for climbing through rough terrain left feeling her lack of height in striking clarity.

**:::::**

Charlie stepped outside and nodded in greeting to Carlisle before nodding for him to go into the house with Deputy Carson while he stepped up to speak with the agents. He didn't think too much of the fact that Emmett was with Carlisle, his mind focused instead on how his stalking case had inspired a federal investigation. The agent closest to him stepped forward, his square jaw set in a hard line, his dark eyes serious and somehow haunted.

"Chief Swan, I presume," the man said as he shook Charlie's hand. "I'm Special Agent Michael Redding and this is my partner Special Agent Caleigh Mitchells."

"Agents." Offering them both a single curt nod, Charlie looked at the man in front of him. "Tell me, how does a stalking case in Forks draw the attention of the feds?"

"The DNA evidence you sent to the lab, it hit the lottery in our system so to speak. I've been hunting the man that DNA belongs to for well over a decade now. He's faked his own death, changes appearances like you and I change socks and he's always damned careful not to leave any evidence behind. I've just been finding his…roses…for years now. Tell me, the victim, how was she found?"

"Found?" Charlie asked with a shake of his head. "What do you mean found?"

"I mean, Chief Swan," Agent Redding said as though he were speaking to a child. "Where did you find her body?"

"Angela's very much alive," Charlie said, his brow furrowed, "she got away."

Both of the well dressed agents in front of him froze in place and turned to look at each other with expressions of surprise before turning their focus back on him. No one had ever gotten away from him before. Twenty three women between the ages of seventeen and twenty-one had been killed in the past twelve years and never had anyone been saved in time.

"Alive?" Agent Mitchells said, her voice amazed and disbelieving. "She's alive?"

"Yes," Charlie nodded as he felt a lead weight drop into his stomach. "She's very much alive and being treated down at the hospital right now." Turning his head back to the door as he heard footsteps leaving, he caught Carlisle's eye and motioned for him to come over to them. "This is Dr. Cullen, Angela's foster father," he said and glanced quickly at Carlisle, the look in his eyes telling the good doctor to play along.

"Your daughter's very lucky," Agent Mitchells said as she stepped forward to shake his hand. "No one's ever gotten away from this guy before."

"Before?" Emmett's voice sounded from behind them.

Agent Redding turned at the sound of the voice behind him. The young man was an intimidating figure to say the least. He stood inches taller than him; Redding himself only five-foot-eleven. His dark hair and pale skin made his light hazel eyes that much more striking and the wide berth of his chest and size of his arms was impressive. He was certain that if the boy wanted to, he could easily toss him across the yard without a second thought. Looking at his diminutive partner, the woman shorter than five feet and barely one hundred pounds, he found it odd how comfortable she looked in his presence. His partner had always been a little bit odd.

"And you would be?" Agent Redding asked as he looked at Emmett.

"Emmett Cullen, Angela's big brother," he said having caught the Chief's announcement that Carlisle was Angela's foster father.

"Gentlemen, perhaps we should take this conversation somewhere less public," Agent Redding said as he caught sight of nearby neighbors watching them. "Agent Mitchells, will you go talk with the victim – Angela," he amended quickly catching sight of Emmett's dark glower.

"Of course," she said, shaking her head at her partner's odd discomfort. "Is her last name Cullen as well?" she asked turning her attention to Emmett.

"Not yet," Emmett said, a small smile turning up his lips as he stared down at the woman that he was certain was shorter than Alice. "It's Weber."

Nodding as she jotted the information down on the notepad in her hand, she nodded her thanks to Deputy Carson's offer to drive her to the hospital. She looked back at her partner before leaving him and once again found herself mystified by the hints of fear she could see in a face she had spent the past five years looking at. Emmett was not intimidating at all, in fact, she couldn't remember ever having felt safer than when he had stepped up to them. It was a rare quality to be able to make someone else feel safe, especially someone in her profession.

**:::::**

"At the scene," Carlisle said as he looked across the table at Agent Redding, "you said that Angela was very lucky to have gotten away. Please explain that."

Looking down at his gathered notes, before glancing over at the dry erase board that held the details of Angela's case, he pursed his lips. He had gotten so used to doing notifications over the years in concern to this man, that explaining the situation to the father of a live victim felt somehow unsettling. He wasn't sure how he would take the information, or how her brother would take it either, for that matter; but in the best interests of protecting the girl, they both needed to know.

"His legal name, his given name is Abraham McGinnis, but everyone who's worked on this case calls him The Chameleon. Twelve years ago, he was in high school and doing all of the stage make up for the actors. He was good at what he did and he would often practice on himself, sometimes going to school as a completely different person, or even making himself up as on one of the teachers for kicks. On the night of his senior prom, his date was named Rose and with the long dark green satin gown she wore and her dark red hair, she looked like one, too." He opened the file in his hands, the cardboard well worn over the years, and handed Carlisle a prom photo. "The next morning we found her body. She was wrapped perfectly in the same kind of cellophane that florists use to wrap flowers, there was even a ribbon tied around her waist. She didn't look dead, there wasn't a bruise or scratch on her, she looked as perfect in death as she did in that photo."

He paused as he took in a deep breath and looked back down into the open file in front of him. He had taken Chief Swan aside when they had arrived at the station and told him that perhaps Angela's family shouldn't be here for this information, but the Chief had insisted that they not only be allowed to stay, but be privy to all the information as well. Taking out a small stack of photos, last living photographs from the victims' families, he began to slowly lay them out in a line across the table.

"He is always very careful to leave little or no forensic evidence behind, no matter how many walls of photos he leaves. He even went as far as faking his own death after being questioned in regards to Rose," he said nodding to the picture still held in Carlisle's hand. "Over the past twelve years, he has claimed twenty-three lives and each time we find the victim in the exact same way that we found Rose, down to her dress, shoes and the perfection of her makeup. He calls the girls he kills 'his roses'. We still don't know how he kills them; for all intents and purposes, they look like they're just sleeping. There's no bruising, not even post mortem; tox screens come back clean, no signs of suffocation or strangling. The only thing we do know for certain is that he rapes them before he kills them, but they're helpless to fight back."

"Angela was drugged," Carlisle said with a curt nod as he fought against the growing desire to hunt this man down. "It was soon enough after the drug being introduced into her system that both blood and urine tests came back testing positive for GHB and Carisoprodol. Even just four hours after being given the drugs, no test would be able to find them in her system. It's more than likely that he uses it to subdue the victim and then a larger dose to kill them."

"I must warn you," Agent Redding said, "No one's ever gotten away from this guy before. He may come back and try to take her again."

"This was his second attempt," Carlisle said, having to swallow back the venom pooling in his mouth.

"He won't get anywhere near Angela again," Emmett said, his voice low and dangerous. "My family won't let that happen."

"Son, how can you be certain of her protection?" Agent Redding asked, meeting Emmett's gaze after having spent the majority of his time trying to avoid it.

Agent Redding found himself struck silent by the way Emmett looked at him. He seemed to grow larger; his presence more intimidating than before, if that was possible. It was as though the boy had taken his question as a challenge and was responding in kind. He swore he almost heard a low growl, but chalked it up to his lack of sleep and an over active imagination. Watching as Emmett crossed his muscled arms over his wide chest, he tried not to flinch away from the dangerous stare down he was receiving. He knew that the young man was only responding to the potential threat to his sister, but he couldn't fight how unsettled he felt around this man.

"She's got me and two other brothers looking out for her, plus our parents and our sisters. There is nothing and no one that will get past us," Emmett said and was able to see the slow curling of Carlisle's fist.

Carlisle bit back the need to silence Emmett. He wasn't saying anything that any other human wouldn't say, but he was worried that his family would come under too much study with this investigation. A stalker in a small town was one thing to contend with, but a serial killer? Swallowing back the venom that was constantly pooling in his mouth, Carlisle handed the photo back to the FBI agent and nodded.

"What do you need from Angela?" Carlisle asked as he met the man's eyes.

"Right now, we've got everything we need – the clothes she was wearing and the DNA evidence. Giving us any kind of description really isn't a factor considering how easily he changes from one identity to the next. It's quite possible that he posed as more than one person in your town, Chief," he said and looked at Charlie. "He's done that before in smaller town like this one. Was there anyone new, anyone that seemed particularly out of place?"

Charlie shook his head, before stilling and meeting the man's eyes. "Come to think of it, about three months ago we had a new judge join our town as well as a new public defender, but they both looked so different and were from different places…"

"This man has posed as African American, Middle Eastern and even Asian before, when in truth, he's about as pale as you," he said nodding at Carlisle. "What were the names of these men?"

"Judge Robinson from New York City and Sean Flannery from Chicago, he was the defense attorney."

**:::::**

'The Chameleon', that's what her partner called him. Caliegh shook her head and looked down at the folder she held in her hands. She had wanted to make a difference, change lives, that's why she had joined the FBI. Instead, the only thing she felt that she was doing was collecting bodies and digging graves. Only five years into her career with the FBI and she felt as though she had aged fifty years. She felt weighed down by the deaths of the women and drown beneath the grief of their families. She hadn't had a good night of sleep since she started working this case with her partner and training agent five years ago. The faces of the women haunted her dreams; she'd even see them sometimes when she was awake. Except they wouldn't be dead and bound, they'd be sitting or standing next to her, their mouths moving as though they were trying to speak to her even though there was never any sound.

She closed her eyes against that all too familiar feeling of a cold heaviness next to her. Turning her head slowly to the right, she opened her eyes only to close them again and silently beg for the image next to her to go away. There had to be something wrong with her, normal people didn't see the things she saw. She opened her eyes again, but the image of the person sitting next to her didn't go away. Brandy Carmichael, the man's third victim was sitting next to her. Her mouth was moving, her lips forming words, but there was no sound.

"Please just go away," she whispered, closing her eyes as she tried to breathe normally.

The only thing these visions did was scare her, she didn't understand them or why she was experiencing them. The only other time she had had similar experiences was with her grandmother. There was never any sound with her either, but then again her grandmother had never tried to speak to her before. The visions of her grandmother were comforting, only occurring in times of heartache when she was younger. She hadn't seen her since she was ten and had believed the visions only to be fantasies of youth until she started working this case. The visions had started again two weeks after she touched the case file, before she had been taken out to collect the next victim, only these visions were frightening and occurred at all times day or night.

A shadow fell over her and she looked up to see a teenage girl, a few inches taller than her, with dark hair that was cut and styled in a fashion that made her look like a pixie. Accepting the cup of machine coffee with a small smile and a nod, she watched as the girl sat next to her with a soft smile.

"Hi, my name's Alice," she introduced herself, holding out her hand for Caliegh to shake. "You're here to see my sister, Angela."

"Yes, no one seems to know when she'll wake up and it's important that we get anything she can remember. A victim's memory is usually the clearest right after an attack, pieces come later on as well, but it's best that we talk with her as soon as possible."

"Right now it's just a waiting game," Alice said with a nod. "If you ask me though, I think that as soon as Angela feels safe, that's when she'll wake up. In a hospital like this, she's away from familiar surroundings; I don't think she'll wake up until we take her home tonight."

"Because she'll feel safer at home?" Caliegh asked with a shake of her head and frowned when Alice chuckled.

"That, too," Alice nodded. "But her bed at home is a lot bigger than that tiny hospital bed. She was attacked once before and the only thing that made her feel safe was being held in between her brothers while she slept. Jasper and Emmett, they guard her like pit bulls and comfort her like teddy bears. One piece of advice," Alice said and waited for Caliegh to look up from her coffee to meet her eyes. "When you do question her, make certain that either one of our brothers or Carlisle is with her. If she doesn't feel safe she won't talk to you, it doesn't matter who you are."

"Thank you, I'll remember that," Caliegh nodded once and cursed when the folder slipped off her lap.

Crime scene photos spilled across the floor. Women dressed in the same dark green satin sheath dress, hair hanging loose in gentle waves, their makeup styled for evening formal, were wrapped in cellophane that was tied around their waist with red ribbon. Their hair was the same, not just the same color, but exactly the same in every photograph, deep ruby red. Alice helped her collect the photos, staring at the pictures of dead women who looked as though they were sleeping.

"They're all so young," Alice said her voice soft as she stared at the photos.

"That one you're holding in your hand," she nodded to the photo in Alice's left hand. "Traci Miller, she was two weeks shy of turning seventeen when she was taken from her home in the middle of the night."

"Two weeks?" Alice said her voice guarded.

"Does that mean something to you?" Caliegh asked her.

"Have you talked with Chief Swan at all? You really need to talk with him before you talk with Angela," she said as she handed over the photos and stood.

"Alice, wait," Caliegh set the folder aside as she stood. "Angela was attacked, you said so yourself, but you meant recently."

"It wasn't two weeks before her birthday, but it was close to it," Alice looked down before looking over at the closed door of Angela's room across the hall. "I really should get back to her, she really doesn't like being alone."

"Please," Caliegh reached out to Alice. "I'm not the enemy, I only want to help."

"I know you do, but your partner doesn't, he's too obsessed with this case."

"Wait, how would you know something like that?" Caliegh asked, her eyes wide. "You haven't even met him."

"Because I'm like you," Alice said hesitantly, regretting her decision to speak the words as soon as they were out of her mouth. "Except, I'm not a medium like you are; I don't see the dead, just the future. I have to go."

"A medium?" Caliegh whispered to herself as she sat down heavily in the wooden and rubber padded chair in the hallway. "Caliegh, you've been up for over thirty-six hours now," she told herself with a shake of her head. "When you start imagining pieces of conversations it's time to get some sleep."

Gathering her half cup of coffee, she gulped it down with a grimace. It was almost worse than the coffee her partner made, almost. The thought of how much being out in nature irritated her partner amused her to no end. He was the typical city boy from Chicago and she was the mountain girl from Montana.

Gathering the photos and stuffing them back into the folder, she walked down the hall. Stopping at the nurse's desk, she left her card with the woman on duty and asked that she be contacted if Angela woke before she was taken home. A few moments later, she was tucked into a cab and on her way to the Pine Tree lodge.


	19. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Emmett looked up from the true crime novel he'd been reading, placing the bookmark in between the pages and setting the book aside as Nurse Marks stepped into the room. It was nearing the end of Carlisle's shift and he knew that they would be taking Angela home within only a few hours, but refused to leave her side for even a moment. Camille smiled at him as she stepped up to Angela's bedside with the few items needed to draw a sampling of her blood. Sitting down on the bed next to her hip, she looked back at Emmett who sat in the chair beside her.

"How has she been sleeping?" Camille asked as she uncovered Angela's left arm.

"Fitfully," Emmett answered with a sigh as he watched her open an alcohol swab and rub it across the inside of Angela's elbow. "Why is it taking her so long to wake up?" he asked reaching out to stroke the girl's cheek when she whimpered in her sleep.

"The drugs he gave her," she said, her eyes scanning over the title of the book he'd been reading before meeting his eyes, "they have a different effect on each person. For some, they wake only a few hours after they've been given the drug, for others it can take as long as twenty-four hours. At this point, it's just a waiting game. Looks like you're doing a bit of heavy reading," she commented, nodding at the book he'd set aside.

"He got her," Emmett said, the tone in his voice telling her that he was blaming himself for that. "I want to be able to protect her better, thought if I could get inside this guy's head…" he let his voice trail off as he looked down at Angela.

"I can understand that," Nurse Marks nodded. "My husband does that, sort of," she said with a soft chuckle as she reached for the medical rubber tubing.

"He reads?" Emmett said, realizing that he'd only been half listening to her.

"No," Camille laughed. "Criminal profiling. He's good at what he does; I just wish he wasn't away so often."

"FBI?" he asked, as he looked up at her. "Where is he now?" the casual conversation was beginning to soothe his overwrought nerves.

"Army Ranger," she answered softly, her voice a mix of pride and loneliness. "He's somewhere in Afghanistan. He was supposed to be home two months ago, but two days before he was supposed to fly home they extended his tour another six months." Looking back at Emmett, the kindly young nurse sighed softly and reached out her hand to touch his arm. "It's not your fault, you know," she told him and nodded down at Angela. "As my husband always says: 'protect those who need protecting and, when you can't be there, teach them how to protect themselves'."

Emmett offered her a wan smile, but was unable to silence the thought that he should have known something was wrong with that teacher. It was his job to protect them all, to protect her, and he had failed her. She was fragile, that fact never clearer to him than in that singular moment when she had fallen from the car. The sight of her scratches and bruises, made when she had thrown herself from the car and rolled in the road, still upset him. That she wasn't waking up upset him further. He reached out to touch her, surprised by her sudden movement and Camille's cry of alarm when Angela struck out in her sleep and scratched the woman's neck.

**:::::**

He was on her, she could feel his hands gripping her waist and arm, but she couldn't move. She couldn't see anything, couldn't get her eyes to open. She was terrified, more frightened than she could ever remember being. She tried to cry out, but she couldn't get her voice to work. She had to get away; she had to make her arms work. No sound came out when she tried to scream, she couldn't even get her mouth to open. Her mind worked, but her body would not.

Her heart was beating furiously, her terror making the insane rhythm painful in her chest. Her breath caught in her throat more than once and the more she tried to focus on her breathing, the more her lungs hurt with the effort it took just to draw in a single breath. She knew that she was hyperventilating; each breath was drawn in faster, shallower than the last, but no matter how hard she tried to calm herself she couldn't. She had to fight, she couldn't give in, she couldn't let him take her.

She tried to move, struggled against the feeling of her mind being separated from her body. She felt her fingers move and then her hand, but the more she tried to move the more she felt herself being restrained. She was being held down, someone was holding her down. She knew she wasn't safe because the hands holding her were warm; safety was a cold touch, smooth as marble. She had to get away, she had to fight back. Concentrating as hard as she could, holding her breath as she focused all of her thoughts on just one task, Angela lifted her arm with effort and lashed out. She felt her hand connect with skin, curled her fingers and scraped her nails against whoever was holding her down as she fought to roll away.

She felt herself falling only to be stopped by cool hands on her arms and only a fraction of a second later she was lifted and held against a cool marble chest. She could hear a voice speaking to her, but couldn't understand the words. The voice was persistent, whichever one of her family members that was holding her was trying to encourage her to do something, but she didn't know what. She could feel her heartbeat and breathing slow as the feeling of being against the cool chest soothed her. Little by little the fog clouding her mind cleared and she began to understand the words spoken as Emmett's voice became clearer to her.

"It's alright, half pint, I'm here," Emmett soothed her. "Shh. Hush, baby girl, you're safe."

Emmett looked down upon Angela, holding her cradled in his arms and lap. Her eyes never opened, and though he knew that she had started to wake, his presence gave her the comfort to fall back to sleep once more. He spoke softly over her head, asking the nurse if she was alright as he cuddled Angela closer when she trembled. He watched Nurse Marks nod and saw her pull her hand away from her neck.

"They don't look too bad," he told her in reference to the scratch marks on her neck.

"No, I think Billy's gotten me worse," she said with a soft laugh and saw the concern on his face. "Three year old son, he's still in the tantrum phase."

Emmett grinned. "Little guy's just got too much energy," he chuckled.

"Something like that," she agreed with a laugh. "Is Angela alright? I didn't expect her to wake up fighting like that."

"Neither did I," Emmett said as he looked down on the girl in his arms. "It looks like she's asleep again. I can hold her while you take the blood you need," he offered. "It'll keep her calm."

"That should work," she said as she stepped over with the tourniquet and syringe. "Can I ask you something?" she said after a long moment of silence and waited for his nod before continuing. "You're well within your right to tell me that it's none of my business," she said as she wrapped the rubber hose around Angela's arm.

"What's your question?" he asked gently and shushed Angela when she whimpered as the needle penetrated her arm.

"Angela used to come here a lot just to sleep, she's been doing so for years now, but I haven't seen her at all in the past few months. You and your family took her in, didn't you?" she asked, her eyes focused on the tube slowly filling with the girl's blood.

"Yeah," Emmett said after a moment.

"Her parents," Camille took the filled tube and labeled it as she dropped the used syringe into the sharps disposal container. "They abused her, didn't they?" she asked slowly, her voice sad as she met Emmett's hazel gaze.

He nodded quietly and saw the shine in her eyes as tears threatened. She reached out her hand and gently touched Angela's cheek, the gesture motherly and affectionate. Gathering up the items she had brought in, she looked back down at Angela once more before turning her attention on Emmett.

"If they try to give you all any trouble, let me know. Whatever you need to help take care of her, testimony, anything," she offered, her aqua-marine eyes locked with his burnt butterscotch gaze, "I'm happy to do it. There was never any outward signs of anything, but we all had our suspicions. Keep her safe, Emmett."

"I will," he promised, touched by her offer. "Thank you."

She nodded once before standing and leaving the room quietly. He never moved to put her back in the bed, never reached out for his book; he was content simply to hold her. It was the only thing he had wanted to do since they had discovered she'd been taken. Holding her in his arms, feeling her warmth, the soft puffs of her breath and the steady thrumming of her heart soothed him with the knowledge that she was safe. When he had watched her sleeping in the bed, part of his mind still saw her rolling in the street. Holding her dispelled the unsettling images; it gave him the undeniable proof that she was safe once more.

"I was wondering when that would happen," Esme said softly as she entered the hospital room, smiling at Emmett as he sat cradling Angela in his arms. "Carlisle's just about ready to go; he's just waiting for the last round of Angela's blood work to come through."

Emmett remained quiet as he selfishly held Angela closer. It was the terrifying knowledge that they had almost lost her that she had been in the hands of her stalker that had him teetering on the edge of insanity. He wanted to let loose, hunt down the human who had dared touch his sister, who had dared to take those pictures of her. But at the same time, he felt incapable of being anywhere else than where he was, holding her in his arms and reassuring himself that she was safe. He could feel the minute trembling begin again as his emotions began rioting near the surface.

"Emmett," Esme shook her head sadly as she stepped up to him and kissed his bowed head. "Sweetheart, it wasn't your fault," she told him and cupped his cheek when he looked up at her. "Here, lay her down," she said as she smoothed out the hand stitched quilt. "You can hold her again in just a moment, but it was raining after you all got here and it's a lot cooler outside. We need to make certain she stays warm," Esme told him.

She waited patiently as Emmett stood slowly and laid her down gently in the middle of the bed. He watched as Esme folded the blanket around the sleeping teenage girl, swaddling her like an infant before nodding at him and standing back. He lifted her up, returned to his seat in the chair and held her blanket wrapped form in his arms. She was his family's newest sister, but unlike Bella who was Edward's mate, Angela was for all intents and purposes everyone's 'baby girl'. She needed the love and affection they all offered her so freely and they had each somehow come to need her in a way that was unimaginable. She had changed them all in such a small way that was more profound than anything any of them had ever felt before.

Angela mumbled in her sleep, calling out for him and he held her closer, speaking to her softly as he promised her that he was there. He cradled her against his chest, resting his cheek on her hair as he folded his body around her protectively. Looking up as the door opened, Esme gave a soft smile and nodded for Jasper and Alice to enter the room. She wasn't certain how Emmett would fair during their hunting trip that would take place in less than ten hours. Angela's abduction and escape had inspired the desperate desire to hunt down the human man stalking her which in turn had left them all battling their thirst for blood.

"Eleazar and Carmen will be waiting for us when we take her home," Alice said and looked at Emmett when she caught his hesitant stare. "They'll look after her, Emmett," she promised her adoptive brother. "They'll protect her while we're gone."

"I feel the same way you do," Jasper told his brother as he looked down at Angela. "I don't want to leave her anymore than you do, but we're all at our limits here. If we don't go hunting now, we all run the risk of hurting someone."

"I suppose, I have to let you carry her inside to them," Emmett said to Carlisle as he entered the room.

"It is tradition," Carlisle offered with a lopsided smile as he looked at Angela. "Trust me, Em," Carlisle said as he stepped closer and touched Angela's sleep warmed face. "There's not a single one of us that doesn't feel the same desire you do to simply stay here and hold her. If that were an option, I would be trying to take it as well, but as it is I feel the same desire to hunt that the rest of you do."

Wrapped in a quilt and cradled in her big brother's arms, Angela looked every bit as fragile as she was. Nodding once as he stepped back, Carlisle told his family that it was time to go and watched as Emmett stood slowly. He knew that his son wouldn't release Angela until he absolutely had to and he could sympathize with him. He understood the possessive need to hold her, protect her and know that she was safe beyond any shadow of a doubt. He had felt that same need to protect her, first when she had finally given voice to how she had been treated by her parents and several times since. As much as Angela was their sister, she was his little girl.

It was the one vulnerability of his kind, Carlisle thought as he followed his family down the hall and out to his car. Once a vampire became attached to someone, welcomed them into their family, they never stopped caring for that person and vampires could very easily become attached. He only wondered how Eleazar and Carmen would feel once he and his family came back from hunting. Would they both grow as attached to Angela as the rest of his family had?

**:::::**

Rosalie was waiting for them on the front porch when Carlisle pulled his car up to the house. Edward would be joining them in a few hours once Charlie got home from the station, but before any of them left, introductions needed to be made. Carlisle stepped out of his car slowly and Rosalie watched him close his door quietly before opening the back driver's side door. She couldn't hide the amused grin that bent her lips up at the side as she watched him lift Angela out of the car. The girl's body was completely hidden within the folds of a large quilt; the only part of her showing was her head. As Carlisle stepped up to the front door with her cradled in his arms, Rosalie began to realize just how hard it was going to be on all of them to leave her while they hunted.

"They're inside," she told him quietly, turning around and holding the door open for Carlisle as he entered the house.

Carlisle nodded to Rosalie, stepping inside the door and waiting for Esme to join him. They walked together, side by side as he carried Angela into the front room. Esme smiled at the sight of the book held in Eleazar's hand, wondering if he had brought it for distraction as she hadn't told him how Angela loved being read to. Stepping closer to them, she watched as they both stood, coming to meet them in the center of the room.

Carlisle came to a slow stop, standing still as he warred with his own desire not to let the girl in his arms go as he knew he must. They were not simply hunting just to feed, but also to protect her and he knew that in order to do that he must let someone else guard her. It was hard to leave her in someone else's care, even someone he trusted as much as the couple standing before him. Nodding once to Eleazar and then to his mate Carmen, he looked down at the girl held cradled in his arms.

"Eleazar, Carmen," Carlisle looked up at them each in turn. "Allow me to introduce you to my newest daughter, Angela."

It was with great difficulty that Carlisle stepped forward, handing the sleeping girl in his arms to his friend and watching as she was cradled against another man's chest. He had to remind himself that they were good friends, family even, as the desire to rip Angela from his embrace grew stronger. He took in a slow deep breath as he studied her sleeping face and was thankful when Esme spoke for him.

"Hold her," Esme told Eleazar as she brushed the backs of her fingers down Angela's cheek. "She needs to feel safe right now and she finds the greatest comfort in being held, though she will never ask for it."

Carlisle found his voice and spoke once more. "She was drugged," he told his friends. "There is no telling when she will wake up completely or how much she will remember of her attack. If she grows restless in her sleep or frightened, read to her," he instructed gently. "She loves anything to do with history," he told his friend and arched a brow at the looks of amusement he was gaining from his friends. "What?" he finally asked after a moment.

"You'd think she was a newborn infant and not a teenager, the way you two seem so nervous to leave her," Carmen commented with a soft smile.

"We will protect her, my friend," Eleazar said, his soft Spanish accent making the words he spoke sound regal. "Perhaps when you get back, you can tell us the story of how she came to be with you?" he asked and watched Carlisle nod silently. "I look forward to hearing it."

"If she wakes up," Emmett said as he stepped away from where his siblings stood and up to his adoptive parents' side, "she may be afraid as she won't know who you are. Tell her…" he paused and huffed a short amused breath. "Tell her that her teddy bears had to go hunting, she'll know what it means."

"Carlisle," Alice spoke up from behind them. "If we don't go now, you'll never let her go. The sooner we leave, the sooner we'll get back. She's safe with them."

Nodding once at the wisdom spoken from his visionary daughter, Carlisle stepped close to Eleazar and bent down, kissing Angela's forehead. He felt very nervous leaving her; it would be the first time that she wasn't with one of his direct family members while they were hunting. Eleazar was struck silent by the depth of the love and protection that the entire family felt for the human girl in his arms, but he was also in awe of the power he knew she would hold. She was precious, infinitely so and he watched as each member of the Cullen family stepped up to touch her face or kiss her forehead before they left.

"They are very protective of her," Carmen said moments after the family had left them alone with Angela.

"Yes," her husband breathed out as he stared down at the girl in his arms. "As well it should be."

"Eleazar?" she questioned his awed and disbelieving tone. "What is it?"

"I can't believe it," he said as he stepped over to the couch and sat down, cradling Angela in his lap as he continued to stare at her sleeping face.

"What is it? What will she become?" she asked, knowing her husband's ability for sensing the talents of humans before they were changed often held him captivated.

"I can't tell you," he said.

Carmen's brow furrowed as she studied her husband. There wasn't a single talent that could hide anything from him; his ability didn't work that way. She watched him hold the girl in his arms closer, her lips parting in astonishment when she realized that he was protecting her, shielding the girl as much as he could. What was it about this one human girl that drew the protective instincts out so strongly in those around her?

"You don't know?" she questioned, knowing that he most certainly did know.

"It's not that," he told his wife as he finally looked up from the girl in his arms. "I can't tell you, my love. I can't tell anyone, not until the day she is changed. She must be kept protected at all costs."

"Why?" Carmen asked kneeling before her husband as she studied the girl in his arms.

"Because she is what Aro has been searching for all these centuries. She is what I thought only to be legend. She must be protected. If Aro were to get his hands on her, he would destroy her."

"He would kill her?" Carmen breathed out, her face contorted in shock and worry.

"No, not kill," he told her gently. "Whatever light and purity and gentleness she holds that drew all of them in, he would destroy that to turn her into what he would want her to be. She must be kept safe. She must not be allowed to fall into his hands."

Angela whimpered, stirring restlessly against him as she mumbled in her sleep. Soothing her as he whispered to her, Eleazar nodded to his book and asked Carmen to hand it to him. She smiled at the well worn paperback that he had read time and again, no matter his perfect memory. Opening the cover of 'The Crystal Cave' by Mary Stewart, she watched him turn to the first chapter and listened to his smooth voice as he read to Angela from the pages of the Arthurian fiction.

He read through chapter one and was halfway through chapter two when Angela stirred again, her eyes fluttering open. It seemed at first that she didn't see anything and they both wondered if perhaps the girl was not truly awake, but after a few moments her brow furrowed as she stared up at Eleazar. Her voice was soft, her mumbles slurred with sleep as she spoke Emmett's name and they realized that she must not be able to see his face clearly, as Eleazar's hair was as dark as the one whose name she had spoken.

"No, Little One," Eleazar said softly, his lightly accented voice drawing a frown from the girl in his arms. "Emmett and your family went out to hunt. They left you in our care."

"Who?" she asked softly, turning her face into his chest as she yawned deeply.

Eleazar smiled down on the drowsy girl in his arms enraptured by her gentle human mannerisms. His brow quirked when she asked softly for a human moment and it was Carmen who smiled in understanding. Reaching out for Angela, she unwrapped the blanket from around her and helped the girl to her feet. Angela was too exhausted to understand that they were not her family, only responding to the safety she felt at their cool touch and gentle handling of her. Leaning heavily against Carmen as the woman helped her up the stairs, Angela looked down at the blue scrubs she was dressed in.

"Where are my clothes?" Angela asked softly, confused as she couldn't remember having put them on.

"I'll explain to you in a moment, Sweetheart," Carmen told her as she opened the bathroom door and ushered the girl inside. "I'll be waiting out here for you," she told her and watched Angela nod tiredly as she closed the bathroom door.

Angela was exhausted, her mind clouded by the remnants of the drugs in her system. Her movements were slow and clumsy as she tended to her needs before calling out for Esme, her voice soft and slurred by fatigue. The bathroom door opened slowly, the human girl never realizing that the woman who entered was not the same woman she'd been asking for. She voiced her desire to bathe, stating that she felt unclean and expressed her tired confusion that she couldn't get the faucet in the large tub to turn on.

Carmen stepped closer, accepting Angela's weight against her when the human girl leaned tiredly against her and wrapped her arms around her waist. Petting her hair gently in long, slow strokes, Carmen kissed her forehead and stepped back. Guiding Angela over to the closed toilet seat, she helped her to sit down and told her that she would be back in just a moment. She knew that she couldn't leave her to bathe alone, not in the state she was in and followed Angela's scent to a room down the hall. Searching through the dresser, she gathered undergarments and sleep clothes for her before returning to the bathroom.

Carmen pressed her lips together in a sad empathetic smile as she looked at the girl that had been entrusted to her and her husband's care. Angela was practically asleep again, but she didn't want her to wake up with the same feeling of being uncomfortable or unclean. Setting the clothes on the marble counter top, she stepped over to the bathtub and turned on the water, adjusting the temperature until it was warm enough without being too hot before dropping the plug into the drain.

"Come on, Little One," she said softly, helping Angela to her feet as she slowly undressed her. "Oh, querida," Carmen whispered sadly as she removed the scrubs, revealing the numerous bruises and small abrasions littering the girl's skin. "What happened to you?"

Leaning her back only to find her asleep once again, Carmen guided her to sit on the closed toilet once more as she moved to turn off the water filling the tub. Returning to Angela, she lifted the girl easily into her arms and lowered her gently into the warm water. She stirred a few times, mumbling Esme's name or calling out for her father and Carmen wondered once again how it was that Angela had come to be with the Cullens. Had something happened to the girl's father, she wondered as she listened to Angela mumble tiredly for her 'Papa'.

As pliant as an infant, Carmen leaned Angela back against one arm while she bathed her with the other. The girl was out of it, her drug induced sleep leaving her exhausted and incoherent. Tipping her back and cradling her head in her hand, Carmen washed her hair slowly. She had had a child once, back when she was human and Angela reminded her of the little girl. Elena had been beautiful, kind and loving, only to die when she was six years old from scarlet fever. She had almost always felt the pain of loss when thinking of Elena, but when she looked down at Angela, the memories came to her unbidden with the soothing warmth of a love so deep it could only bring her peace.

That one dark spot in her heart, the pain of losing a child that she thought would never go away, was suddenly gone. How had it happened? How was it possible that Angela had set her free, turned a painful memory of her human life into something that filled her with warmth and light? Was this her power, she wondered. Was Angela's gift to heal the hearts of others? But it couldn't be, or at least that couldn't be all it was. Eleazar had said that Aro had been searching for one with Angela's talents and Aro was not after the bonds of love, she knew that he hungered for power. What was the mysterious power this girl held?

Releasing the rubber-plastic plug from the bottom of the tub, she hung the silver chain over the faucet, letting the water drain as she lifted Angela from the bath. Looking up as a knock sounded at the closed door and Edward's voice came from the other side, she beckoned him in with her thoughts, knowing that she would need help to dry and dress the girl. She watched as he stepped in slowly, smiling as he kept his eyes on hers or cast them to the side to avoid looking at his sister's body as he helped hold Angela while Carmen dried her with a plush towel.

"What happened to her?" Carmen asked as she adjusted the girl's sleep clothes and watched as Edward lifted her into the cradle of his arms.

"How much of her story do you know?" he asked her and chuckled silently at her thoughts. "Nothing happened to her father. 'Papa' is what she calls Carlisle when she's too tired to censor herself… She is being stalked by a human; a man we have only come to recently discover is a serial killer. He captured her, drugged her, abducted her," he said slowly as he stared down at the girl in his arms. "Somehow, she fought back. Through all the drugs in her system, she was able to throw herself from his car. I was with Bella until her father came home. He is the Chief of Police here, Charlie Swan. If he calls while we're gone, just tell him that you are Esme's sister, it will be an easier explanation than anything else."

Carmen followed Edward as he stepped into Angela's room and tucked her beneath the thick covers of her bed. He sat down beside her slowly. Smoothing the damp hair from her face, he bowed low over her and kissed her forehead. His voice was low and soothing as he promised the sleeping girl that he would be back as soon as he could. Carmen's brow quirked in confusion as she watched him look around the room before he smiled and stepped toward the bookcase. Lifting a small stuffed bear from the table by the bookcase, he brought the reddish-brown bear back to the bed and tucked it under the girl's left arm.

"Did that…bear have your name on it?" Carmen asked as she looked down at the comical looking stuffed animal that was decorated with fangs and a cape.

"Yes," he chuckled. "A birthday present from Alice and Rosalie. Vampire bears, they even speak," he said as he reached out and pinched the right paw.

Carmen giggled softly at the comment that came from the stuffed animal, shaking her head as she looked down at the girl in the bed. Angela whimpered in her sleep and Edward was at her side immediately, sitting next to her and petting her hair until she quieted down. Speaking Eleazar's name softly, knowing that the man would hear him clearly, he instructed him to bring his book upstairs. Leaning down and kissing Angela's forehead once more, he stood and stepped aside.

"Lie down next to her," Edward instructed the man. "Wrap your arm around her and hold her while you read to her. That's what Carlisle does to help her sleep." He gave a lopsided grin as he snorted in amusement. "That's pretty much what we all do," he said as he watched Eleazar follow his gentle commands.

Angela moaned softly, shifting as she curled against Eleazar's chest, the stuffed bear still tucked in her arm. He watched the expression on Eleazar's face and listened to the man's thoughts as Angela, in her own quiet and gentle way, ensnared herself another protector. In the way that she asked for nothing she was given everything. Turning to Carmen, he spoke softly as her husband read to Angela and told her that Esme would often lie down behind Angela so that the girl felt the comfort of having them both near. There was no thought of refusing the action as Carmen toed off her shoes and laid down on the bed behind the girl held in her husband's arms.

"Take care of our baby girl," Edward said softly before leaving to hunt.

**:::::**

"How is it possible that you are real?" Eleazar whispered to the sleeping human in his arms. "You are only supposed to be a legend. None with your power have been seen in the better part of a millennium," he told her softly and listened to her whimper as she curled closer against him. "This can't be comfortable for you," he said and kissed her hair. "It must feel like curling up to a stone."

"Papa," she mumbled, her voice slurred with sleep, her eyes never opening.

"No, Sweetheart, I'm not your Papa. I guess, in our way of things, the closest I would be to you is a family friend or perhaps an uncle; though none have referred to me with that title in a very very long time. You have your family twisted in knots, did you know?" he asked her, his voice low and soothing as she slept. "None of them wanted to leave you. Not even for a moment."

Carmen smiled upon her husband from where she stood in the open doorway and listened to him speak to the slumbering human girl. He hadn't moved from his place next to her since lying down at Edward's instruction. Twenty hours and half a book later, she was certain that at least one of the Cullens would be home soon. She wondered how many times Esme had stood in this very spot and listened as Carlisle read to Angela. The girl was a magnet, drawing everyone to her without knowledge or thought. If this was the power the human girl held while sleeping, she was curious to see what she was like when she was awake. Turning away from the open doorway and stepping toward the top landing when she heard the door open and close, she smiled at the sight of Carlisle and Esme entering the house.

"How is she?" Esme asked as she ascended the stairs.

"Bathed and put to bed," Carmen chuckled at the woman she was glad to call her friend. "Your newest daughter is stealing my husband," she told her and listened as both her friends chuckled.

"She does that," Esme smiled, her face fairly glowing with motherly affection. "Though I can't say that any of us truly mind it."

"Has she woken at all?" Carlisle asked as he stepped up to the top landing and followed the women down the hall to Angela's bedroom.

"Not really," Carmen answered as she looked in on her husband, the man silent as he stared down at Angela. "She was semi-conscious for a little while, she thought I was you," she told Esme. "She wanted a bath. She said she felt unclean, I assume she meant from the attack."

Esme nodded, staying silent as her heart ached for the suffering Angela was being forced to endure. She only hoped that her stalker was caught soon and brought to justice. Carlisle had told her what the FBI agent had told him and Emmett. This man, whoever he was, had torn apart twenty-three other families for his sick pleasure, stalking and killing his victims. If the human authorities couldn't handle him, she was certain that there was a connection her family or the Denali clan had somewhere that would be able to take care of him – permanently. Though she didn't condone the thought of harming a human, in this instance she was more than happy to make an exception.

"I don't think he's ready to give her up," Carmen whispered with a smile to which her husband looked at her with a raised brow.

"I can hear you, you know," he told her and listened to her chuckle.

Carlisle chuckled as he stepped inside the room and looked down at Angela. He understood how his friend felt. Angela stirred gently in Eleazar's arms, her hand that was fisted in his shirt flexing in a slow repetitive motion. Her brows twitched with whatever dream she was having and it looked to Carlisle as though she was searching for something in her sleep. The slow warm breeze blowing in from outside her window carried with it Emmett's scent as he appeared a moment later standing just inside the glass. Looking to Angela's bed, he chuckled as he looked at Eleazar and stepped away from the window as Rosalie jumped in through the open glass behind him.

"Stealing more hearts, I see," Rosalie mused with a smile. "Is she adopting us or are we all adopting her?"

"I'm not sure," Emmett laughed as he looked at his wife. "I could feel her from almost two miles away," he said as he stepped up to the bed and reached out his hand to stroke Angela's hair. "I'm here, half pint. I'm home."

"What do you mean 'you could feel her'?" Carmen asked as she looked down at the sleeping girl tucked against her husband's side before meeting Emmett's gold gaze.

"She can call for us," Emmett said, smiling as he turned his attention back to the slowly waking girl. "At first it was just when she was scared, Jasper would hear her."

"It was her migraines," Jasper said as he stepped in through the bedroom door, Alice at his side. "When she was frightened or upset her migraine would pulse faster and I would hear a shrill cry like an alarm going off. I thought it was just her migraines that were the cause of it and then one day a few weeks ago she was watching the sunset and I felt this gentle little tug," he looked down at Angela and smiled as he watched her eyes flutter open slowly.

Angela yawned as she woke, nuzzling her cheek against Eleazar's chest as she turned to hide her yawn in his shirt. His eyes turned down to her; turning his head just enough to watch her as she slowly woke in his arms. He was careful as he sat up slowly, holding her with one arm as he guided the drowsy girl into a seated position. She was content to simply lean against him as he cradled her against his chest. Turning her head up slowly, she blinked up at Eleazar, her brows furrowing in confusion at the new person holding her.

"Do you remember me, Sweetheart?" he asked softly as he tucked her hair behind her ear.

His voice was familiar to her and as she blinked slowly, the lines of the book he had read to her flowed slowly through her mind. She struggled to find his name in her memory, but the only thing her mind brought forth to call him was 'uncle'. She was still tired, her muscles still weak as she rested against him and searched her mind for a name. Though she no longer felt the incoherent heaviness in her mind that the drugs had caused, she was still tired and her exhaustion made her thoughts slow. The name that came to her didn't make much sense, but as her vampire family had been human in a time long ago, she thought perhaps it wasn't so strange for him.

"Uncle Merlin?" she asked, her voice soft and drowsy as she rubbed her fingers against her temple.

Eleazar chuckled softly and hugged her close to his chest. She had heard bits of the book he read to her and his words when he had spoken to her earlier it seemed, confusing them together into a name. Cupping her cheek in his hand, he kissed her forehead and stroked her hair. She was so precious in this drowsy half asleep state and Eleazar found himself caught in her thrall. He saw Emmett step closer out of the corner of his eye and looked up at the younger man in confusion. When he nodded down to Angela, Eleazar returned his gaze to her and smiled.

"My name's Eleazar, Sweetheart," he told her and watched her frown in confusion. "I was reading to you while you slept a book about Merlin and King Arthur. I was talking to you a little bit ago, you were talking in your sleep and I told you that the closest familial relation I had to you would most likely be considered an uncle. You just confused the two is all," he told her, answering the confusion he had seen in her expression. "Did you want Emmett?" he asked her and watched as she nodded tiredly. "Here he is," Eleazar told her as he lifted her and handed her to him.

"Hey, half pint," Emmett greeted her softly as he held her in the cradle of his arms. "Did you sleep well?"

"Mmhmm," she hummed, curling against him as she rested her head against his shoulder.

"Still tired, huh?" he asked and began walking around the room slowly, rocking her in his arms without conscious thought. "You just go to sleep then, ok?" he said and kissed her forehead.

Angela was asleep again within moments, her hand pressed flat against his chest as she lay in the cradle of his arms. Carmen and Eleazar watched him with equal expressions of wonder and endearment. He was so gentle with her, his voice soothing and soft belying his fierce role as his coven's protector. Or perhaps, Eleazar thought, the care with which he treated Angela was what made him such a strong guardian. Turning his attention away from the sleeping girl, he looked up at Carlisle and asked for the tale of how Angela came to be with his family.

"I was the first one who started watching her," Emmett said as he stared down at Angela. "We were assigned to work on a school project together and the more time I spent with her, the more I noticed how lonely she was." He looked up at Carlisle and saw the gentle smile on his father's face, the man's nod telling him to continue his chapter of the tale. "She was always so quiet and gentle that it made me wonder why she was so lonely. I didn't know that she had migraines when we first started working together and when I would see the signs of pain from her that she constantly tries to hide, I thought maybe she was being abused."

"Emmett came to me with his concerns, talked about the signs that he had seen from her and the worry he felt," Carlisle said.

"Was she?" Carmen asked looking at each face of the Cullen family in turn.

"Yes," Esme answered after a moment. "But we didn't discover that bit of truth until later on. We discovered her abandonment and the news of her stalker first."

"Although, we did discover her maltreatment earlier, before she came to stay with us," Carlisle said.

He spoke of the illness she had suffered, the sickness induced by her parents. He told of her migraines and the mistreatment she had suffered at the hands of her parents anytime that she spoke of her pain or allowed any physical sign of it. Eleazar and Carmen were both horrified at the revelation that this gentle human girl had been beaten and locked in a closet. Emmett growled low, his expression darkening at the news as his parents had not informed any of them of how Angela had been treated with regards to her migraines beforehand.

"Emmett?" Angela slurred his name as she looked up at him through the fringe of her lashes and touched her hand to his neck when she felt the deep vibration of his angry growl.

Eleazar watched in amazement as Emmett's rage died away almost the instant Angela touched her hand to him. He shook his head as he watched Emmett turn his head down to look at the girl cradled in his arms before he lifted her higher to rub his cheek against her hair. Her eyes closed slowly and she returned to the peacefulness of her dreamless sleep. Emmett looked up from the girl in his arms to find Eleazar's attention fixed on him and tipped his head in silent question.

Eleazar shook his head and turned his attention back to Carlisle. If she had this much power as she was now, then it only confirmed the incredible amount of power that she would have once she was changed. He was careful to keep his thoughts of her talents hidden as he didn't know where Edward was. It was too much of a risk to let anyone know what she would become before she was changed, there was no telling who may have contact with the Volturi and Angela, she had to be protected. He listened as Alice told of bringing Angela home for a girl's weekend and the vision she had had of the girl running with their family as one of them.

They listened as Carlisle spoke of the abuse that was revealed over time. Edward's voice joined into the story from behind them, the telepathic vampire standing inside the open window. He spoke of the memories that he had seen in her mind, the way that she had been treated by her parents and how much it had confused her to receive the love and affection from each member of his family. He told of how her parents had made her feel, the gentle, loving girl made to view herself as defective and unworthy due to the treatment at the hands of her human parents.

Jasper entered the conversation as well, his voice quiet as he told of the pain she suffered from her migraines, how intense they were and how they also served as a homing beacon and dual distress signal. He spoke of how little by little her spirit had come alive, her heart healing when Carlisle had officially taken her in, telling her the story of their family and telling her that she had a place with them. He spoke of how she had changed each one of them adding in a piece to each of their hearts that none of them knew they were missing.

So caught up in the tale were they, that no one saw Emmett hand Angela to Rosalie, laying the girl in his wife's arms as he slipped from the room unnoticed. He returned a moment later only to set a large wooden box on her bed next to Eleazar where the man was still sitting. Stepping back, he returned to Rosalie and took Angela into his arms once more; holding her as he looked at the Spanish vampire's confused expression.

"The kind of person Angela is," he said to Eleazar before glancing at Carmen. "After we revealed ourselves to her, I told her stories of my human youth to help her sleep." He nodded to the box sitting on the bed. "She gave me that on her birthday, told me that she had wanted a way to give my human family back to me. She went through all that work and wasn't even certain that I would like it," he said and nodded when Eleazar moved to open the box. "She is the kindest, most gentle soul I have ever come across."

"She never asks for anything," Rosalie said, all eyes turning to her as she was the very last one to speak. "You never know that she's having any effect on you until suddenly all the darkness you once held in your heart is gone. You both know that I have never been at peace with this life, almost always in some manner angry with it. A few weeks ago I came to realize that the anger I used to hold onto is gone. I'm no longer at war with what I am and that is because of her," she said nodding to Angela. "She has never asked what it is like to be one of us or anything concerning our nature, it is just simply _her_. She heals you without ever trying to, without ever asking anything for herself."

"I know that you are concerned for her safety," Edward said as he turned his eyes on Eleazar. "I know that you're blocking me from reading what she will become and I understand your reasons for it. We will be certain to call you when she is changed or just before," he said as he read Carlisle's thoughts. "After spending this time watching over her, I see that you both understand how precious she is to all of us."

"Yes," Carmen said with a reverent nod. "I have never been around anyone like her before. She draws you in."

"We were always close before," Alice said as she turned her bright golden eyes on Angela, "but she strengthened the bonds between us in a way I never knew was possible. Her migraines keep me from seeing her clearly, but had I known the effect she would have on our family, I would've have brought her home long before I did."

"I am curious," Carmen said, turning her attention on Edward.

"Bella will be coming over tomorrow," Edward said with a chuckle. "As Angela's stalker is still on the loose, neither her father nor I like for her to be without protection. You will be able to meet her in a few hours if you would like to stay," he offered. Edward chuckled and glanced at Carlisle before speaking his father's thoughts. "You're also welcome to stay for longer than that, to visit with Angela once the drugs have completely made their way out of her system."

"I believe it is the effect of the drugs her attacker gave her mixing with the medicine she takes for her migraines that is keeping her in this exhausted state. She is very intelligent and compassionate," Carlisle said and smiled as Emmett stepped toward him, accepting the sleeping girl in his arms as she brokenly mumbled for him. "She sees the world in such an innocent way, a miracle considering the treatment she has suffered at the hands of her parents."

"And have her human parents made any argument to your family taking her in?" Carmen asked and was surprised by Alice's soft growl unable to remember the last time she had heard the always happy girl angered.

"They threw her out," Alice said stiffly. "If we hadn't already taken her in, then she would've been homeless on her seventeenth birthday. If they even try to come near her…"

"Alice," Esme interjected, "we're all upset at their treatment of her, but we must not let it darken us."

"She's ours now," Jasper told his wife, hugging his arms around her waist as he stood behind her. "We'll never let her be lonely or hurt again."

Edward chuckled softly, stepping up to his father and brushing the backs of his fingers down Angela's sleep warmed cheek. She was just awake enough to call out to him with her thoughts; concerned by the upset she had heard in Alice's quiet tone.

"She's alright, little one," he said, speaking to Angela and not surprised in the least to feel the attention of everyone in the room turn on him. "No one's angry," he soothed her gently and looked over at Alice when she projected her thoughts to him. "She could hear your upset," he told her, his voice too low for Angela to hear.

"She doesn't remember yet," Edward said after a long moment, looking up at Carlisle. "The last thing she remembers is going to school. She doesn't understand why she's so tired and weak."

"The memories may come back after a few days or not at all," Carlisle said sadly as he held her closer. "It's the GHB; it can affect a person's memory after the fact."

"This man, her stalker," Eleazar said as he placed the books back into the box and stood from the bed. "What does he do?"

They listened as Carlisle explained all that had been discovered about the man stalking Angela. His penchant for taking on new identities and changing his appearance at a moment's notice made him difficult, if not almost impossible, for the human authorities to keep track of. Carlisle relayed the information given by the FBI agent of how this man had posed in the guise of several different public officials including court judges and even law enforcement. He told of how this man had already taken the lives of twenty-three women over the past twelve years and how he had been posing as a school teacher to keep close to Angela.

Eleazar and Carmen both felt venom pool in their mouths as Carlisle spoke of the notes that he had left for her and the pictures that he had taken of her. They felt the same desire to hunt this human down, to eliminate the threat he made against Angela, as all of the Cullens did. She moaned softly in Carlisle's arms, turning her face into his shoulder as she whimpered and sought safety. Shushing her gently, Carlisle turned his attention on Edward and watched as his son slowly cleared her bed. Stepping on the heels of his shoes, Carlisle toed out of them and stepped over to her bed in socked feet. Lying down with her on the bed, he kept Angela tucked against his side as he pulled the blankets up around her shoulders.

It was a few moments before she quieted down and returned to a peaceful slumber. When Carlisle looked up at Edward he could see the tightness in his son's jaw, the hardness in his gold eyes. Directing his thoughts at his son, he asked him what it was that upset him.

"She can't consciously remember what happened, but her attack and abduction are plaguing her dreams," Edward said, watching as Carlisle petted her hair gently. "In her dreams she's still trapped in the car, she can't get away."

Carlisle looked up from the bed, knowing what had calmed her the last time that she had been attacked and what had served to calm her after finding the photos. Kissing Angela's forehead, he called Emmett and Jasper closer as he carefully moved from the bed. Watching as his sons removed their shoes and laid down on either side of her, he was amazed once again at how quickly she calmed when she was enfolded in their arms, his sons wrapped around her protectively.

Carmen shook her head in bemusement, smiling as she looked at the way the Cullen men were folded around Angela. If any of the Volturi ever tried to get their hands on her, it wouldn't just be a battle with the Cullens, it would be a full on war. She knew also, that no matter what happened, she and her husband would stand beside the Cullens and protect Angela from any danger, vampire or otherwise. This gentle, sweet girl could raise an army without ever asking a single person to fight. It was her kind nature that drew everyone to her, inspiring those of her kind to protect her with no effort at all on her part. She would be curious to see just what power it was that Angela held once she was changed. What would this girl become?


	20. Chapter 18

AN: The dates that I have used for Carmen and Eleazar's turning are not cannon as there is no specific year for them.

Chapter 18

Angela awoke with a start, her breath catching in her throat, her eyes snapping open as her hand tightened around the thickness of the blankets she was tucked beneath. The remnants of the dream were too close to the surface, too real and she couldn't fight the fear the images made her feel. She sat up slowly, looking around her bedroom. She was alone in the room and everything was in its rightful place, save the Edward teddy bear that was tucked under her arm, but something still felt off. Lifting her hand to brush the hair from her face, she stilled at the sight of the deep scratches on the heel of her palm.

Her eyes lost focus as the images from her dream came to her unbidden in vivid clarity. She could remember falling in the classroom, the heaviness that kept her body immobile and her voice unheard. She could feel warm hands on her, gripping her tightly as she closed her eyes and let the dream come back to her unrestrained. She couldn't open her eyes, she remembered that, and no matter how scared she had been, she couldn't cry out. The sensation of falling only to land on hard ground before she was seized again and dragged away assailed her, making her tremble.

The barest images of a blurred truck flowed through her mind, the waxy smell of makeup and the sinus clogging mixture of vinegar and peppers clouded her mind. The scents were only a memory, but still they were too strong in her mind, making her cough and gasp for air. Her hand moved to her throat as her eyes remained closed, and she felt tears sting her eyes as she heard the hollow sound in her memory of a door being closed and the rumble of an engine. She could feel herself moving, feel the vibrations of a car surrounding her and though she knew she was safe inside her own bedroom, she was still terrified as she let the memory come back to her.

It had taken her so long just to open her eyes and even longer to get her hand to move the smallest bit from where it lay beside her to the door handle that had only been inches away. She remembered how hard it was to grip the latch enough to open the door and even harder to push the heavy metal open. The fear as she had let herself fall from the car returned; the pain as she connected with the rough road and rolled in the gravel and asphalt. It had really happened, she realized as she opened her eyes. He had had her, for a few frightening moments; her stalker had her in his grasp. She looked up as a knock sounded at the door and thinking it was Edward standing outside, invited the person in with her thoughts.

The knock sounded again a moment later and the door opened just enough for Bella to stick her head inside. Angela nodded for her friend to come in, the concern on the girl's face unsettling. Bella came to the bed and sat down slowly, her head tipping to the side as she studied her friend.

"You're finally awake, we were all getting a bit worried," Bella said as she played with the cloth of the comforter. "It's almost one in the afternoon…are you ok?"

"It really happened, didn't it?" Angela asked as she lifted her hand and wiped the drying tears from her face. "He really had me?"

"Yeah," Bella's voice was almost silent, the whispered sound filled with horror and regret. "You got away though; I don't know how you fought through the drugs. From what Carlisle said, you were pretty much paralyzed, almost unconscious even."

Angela shook her head, looking down at the blankets covering her lap, before turning frightened eyes up at Bella and begging her for some kind of an answer.

"What did I do?" she pleaded her friend for an answer, a reason that would make sense to her. "Why is he after me?"

"I don't know," Bella whispered back, feeling tears threaten as she wrapped her arms around Angela.

Angela pulled away after a moment, hugging the teddy bear in her arms tighter as she stared down at its reddish-brown colored fur. She was terribly afraid, but more than that she felt shame for having brought this trouble on everyone around her. They were all in danger, having to constantly look around them because of her. She looked up when Bella touched her shoulder, saw the kindness and worry in her friend's dark eyes and shook her head miserably.

"Whatever you're thinking," Bella started, seeing the fear and shame in Angela's eyes, "it's not true. I never told you about James and the threat he made against me. He was a vampire, he wasn't like our family here," she said glancing back at the door in reference to the Cullens gathered downstairs. "He drank human blood, so did the other two with him. He wanted me, he wanted to kill me. I hated that I was bringing so much danger on them and I thought…" she looked down at her hands as she released a heavy breath. "He called me out, he wanted me alone and I thought that if I went, if I faced him alone than they would all be safe. But Alice, Alice saw me; she saw what I had done and where I had gone. She made me realize something, once they love you, they will protect you no matter what. I know it's all still new to you, isn't it?" Bella asked and watched Angela blush and nod before ducking her head. "Could I have done something? Anything to have helped you?"

Angela shook her head. "I never wanted anyone to know. I always thought…I always thought it was my fault that they did what they did. I thought there was something wrong with me…sometimes I still do," she whispered the last part.

Her voice was too low for Bella to hear her ending words, but she was able to guess what Angela had said. Telling her friend that she should get dressed and come downstairs, Bella stood from the bed and stepped toward the door. She looked back when Angela called out to her and watched the look of confusion on her friend's face.

"Bella," Angela said after a moment. "Who's Uncle Merlin?"

Frowning in equal confusion, Bella shook her head and admitted her ignorance. She didn't know of anyone called that and wasn't aware that Angela had any extended family. After a moment, Angela simply shrugged and said that it must've simply been a dream; though as she watched her friend leave the room, she couldn't cast the name from her mind, nor the face that went with it. Who was Uncle Merlin and why was she so certain that she knew him?

Angela shook the thought from her head as she slowly moved from beneath the covers. She needed to feel that connection, the physical reminder that she wasn't alone and lifted her hand up to take hold of the pendant Carlisle and Esme had given her, their family crest, only to find the delicately carved Jade stone missing. Angela felt her breath catch in her throat as her heart stopped for one beat and then two. Seconds later her heart was beating so fast that the rhythm was painful as she fought to draw in a single breath against the cloying power of her upset. She knew she was hyperventilating, panting too fast for her burning lungs to have any chance at filling with the much needed air.

Her teeth chattered as she trembled and tore the blankets and sheets from her bed one at a time. She had to find that necklace, she needed that necklace. It was hers, it marked her as family, it brought her comfort when she was alone. It wasn't anywhere on her bed, nor in her pillows. She moved to her purse that was lying on the table near the bookcase, but it wasn't in that either. Her movements were frantic, her panic giving her speed and strength as she upended her backpack and searched through the items there as well. Where was it? Why couldn't she find it? She needed it!

She didn't hear her name called, didn't hear her bedroom door open, but jumped when she felt cool arms close in around her and a smooth sweet alto voice call out to her. Esme held Angela tightly, soothing her upset as she tried to find out what was wrong, why the girl had suddenly torn her room apart. Wrapping herself around the girl in her arms as best she could, Esme rocked Angela back and forth as she tucked the girl's head beneath her chin and spoke softly to her. She looked up at Edward and Jasper, both of her sons brought forth by Angela's distress and asked softly for an explanation.

"She can't find her necklace," Edward spoke too softly for Angela to hear as he looked at Esme. "She thinks she lost it."

Esme's eyes closed in sadness as she mourned for Angela. This poor girl, her newest daughter, had already been through so much just at the hands of her parents, but now this stalker was turning her life upside down. Stroking Angela's warm soft hair as she spoke soothing bits of nonsense to her, Esme held her tight until she calmed; her breathing and heartbeat returning to a more normal rhythm. Leaning her back to see her tearstained face, she cupped her cheeks and kissed her forehead.

"You didn't lose the necklace, Sweetheart," she told Angela as she smoothed the tears from the girl's face. "He took it from you. We'll find it or we'll get you a new one, but not having it doesn't mean that you're not part of this family. You're my daughter and their sister," she told Angela and brought her close once more as she hugged her. "Come on, let's get you dressed and the boys can put your room back together," Esme said as she stood slowly with Angela, helping the girl to her feet. "Go on, go take care of yourself," she said gently directing the girl to the bathroom down the hall. "And Angela, put in your contacts, your glasses were broken when you fell from the car."

Angela nodded quietly as she slipped from the room and Esme shook her head. She turned to Edward and Jasper, watched as her sons had Angela's bed put back together and neatly made within seconds. Directing her thoughts to Edward as she placed the strewn items carefully back in Angela's school bag, she asked her son how the girl was doing. Edward was quiet as he sifted through what he had read from Angela's thoughts as well as what Jasper had read from her before answering Esme's question.

"She's scared," Edward said, his voice low. "This attack has only compounded upon what her parents did to her. She feels that she's at fault for what's happened and that we're all in danger because of her. I'm afraid that if this goes on too much longer she might try and do what Bella did, face him alone to draw the attention away from us."

"We won't let her do that," Esme said softly, looking up when Angela stepped back into the spotless room. "Come here, Sweetie," she said and held out her hand to the girl. "How about I help you get ready this morning?" she offered, pulling Angela in for a hug. "I know it's usually Rosalie and Alice who help you, but I thought maybe we could have a little mother-daughter time. How does that sound?"

Angela nodded quietly. It wasn't that she couldn't dress or get ready for the day on her own, rather it was that she liked the feeling it gave her to have Rosalie and Alice style her hair and do her makeup. When the girls helped her get ready for the day, she truly felt like their sister, the way they treated her and spoke to her. It had nothing to do with being waited on and everything to do with being part of the family. It wasn't an everyday thing either, rather two or three mornings a week, just a time to spend being one of the girls. Looking up at the sound of the door closing, she turned her attention to Esme.

"Why don't you get dressed and I'll help you with your hair. Did you want to wear makeup today?"

"Are we going anywhere?" Angela asked, her voice soft.

"Well, now that you're awake and coherent, we do have to take you down to speak with Chief Swan and the FBI agents, they'll need to take your statement," Esme told her and sighed sadly when she saw the look of alarm on Angela's face. "The man stalking you has done this several times before, Angela. Except you got away, his other victims didn't. They're going to want to show you some pictures of the other identities that he's assumed. They found a journal of his in his house along with your journal. This man has been after you for nearly a year, so it's more than likely that he's taken on at least one if not more identities to get close to you."

"What does he want with me? What did I do?" she begged for an answer and Esme rested her hands on her shoulders.

"This isn't your fault," Esme told her, her voice gentle yet firm as she cupped the girl's cheek in her hand and looked into her eyes. "I want you to remember that." Kissing Angela's forehead, she directed her to the walk in closet. "Go get dressed."

She stood silent, watching as Angela moved into the closet and listened to the rustle of fabric as she changed her clothes. Hadn't enough happened to her? Wasn't there something they could do to end her torment? At least James had been one of their kind which meant that his threat could be eliminated by them, but this man stalking Angela, he was human. As much as she hated to admit it, she had to come to terms with the fact that the human authorities would have to deal with him.

Casting her dark thoughts aside, she gave Angela a soft smile as the girl stepped out of the closet dressed in boot-cut jeans and bell sleeved shirt. Her lips twitched with amusement; little by little Alice had gone through Angela's clothes until she had completely replaced the girl's wardrobe. The style of clothing was still Angela's preference, but the clothes themselves were prettier, more feminine while keeping the soft grace that was uniquely Angela.

"I feel weird without it," Angela admitted, her hand fisted loosely above her breasts where her pendant usually rested. "I know I've only had it for a week, but I got used to it."

"And we'll get you another one," Esme promised as she led her to the bed and sat down behind her. "Do you have any particular style you'd like?" she asked as she began to gently brush Angela's hair, working her way from the ends up to the roots as she combed through the knots made while the girl had slept.

"No real preference," Angela said as she closed her eyes, enjoying the feeling of having her hair done. "I just like it out of my face."

"Hmm," Esme hummed pleasantly. "I think I know just the style."

Gathering pins and clips to help hold the hair while she styled it, Esme brushed Angela's dark locks until they shined. She carefully made three small braids, each only the width of her smallest finger, on either side of Angela's head. Starting first at her temples, the last just behind each ear and one in between, Esme laid the braids loosely over Angela's hair and joined them together at the back into one larger braid. Taking up two hairclips, each just a simple metal clip decorated with a delicate sapphire butterfly, she clipped them in the small distance between the single braid where the braids on the sides came together. Taking up the brush, she lifted the braid and slowly pulled the bristles through Angela's loose hair, making the thick locks lay flat before lowering the braid once more.

The hair design was elegant, gentle and a touch medieval, but suited Angela's personality perfectly. Asking her once more if she wanted to wear makeup, she smiled when Angela nodded. She applied the colors carefully, evening out her near flawless skin tone and applying the blush and eye shadows in delicate earth tones. The barely-there makeup made Angela look younger, more innocent and as Esme studied her she felt her heart constrict with the need to protect her. Angela was a gentle girl, delicate and kind. She was strong in her own right, but Esme wished that Angela had never needed to grow the strength she had in order to survive her parents' abuse and neglect or her stalker's obsession. She wished so much that Angela had only ever known love and kindness.

"Esme," Angela's voice was soft, pulling the woman from her thoughts and she bit her lightly painted lip when Esme hummed for her to continue. "I can't get this name out of my mind. I think it's from a dream, but the person feels so real."

"Who, Sweetheart?" Esme asked as she tucked the makeup brushes back into the case.

"Uncle Merlin," Angela looked up at Esme's soft chuckle. "Is he a dream or…?"

"His name is actually Eleazar, he and his wife Carmen took care of you while we left to hunt, but I doubt he'd mind it one bit if you called him Uncle Merlin."

**:::::**

Edward chuckled silently, Bella tucked under his arm as he listened to the conversation taking place upstairs. Angela hadn't seemed to maintain much of any coherent memories from the past two days, but that wasn't surprising considering the drug induced sleep she'd been subjected to. Answering the curious thoughts from all those around him, Edward told Eleazar that he may find himself with a new nickname as Angela seemed to have remembered him, but only as 'Uncle Merlin'. The Spanish vampire smiled, Carmen chuckling softly as she looked up at her husband and Edward read the fondness they had both developed for Angela in their thoughts.

"How is she?" Carlisle asked his son and saw the matching looks of concern shared between Bella and Edward.

"Scared," Edward answered. "Her thoughts are in a similar vein as they were after the phone call she received from her father after her attack," he said and saw Carlisle nod sadly. "She's tough, she'll be ok," he offered confidently.

"Phone call?" Carmen asked softly and looked between Edward and Carlisle.

Eleazar listened to Carlisle as he told of the phone call Angela had received from her father after her attack and how much the man had upset her. His attention, though, was focused entirely on Bella and he almost regretted the half thought that formed in his mind before he could hide it from Edward. Somehow, Carlisle had found two very powerful girls – young women, to join his coven. Bella would be a near indestructible shield and Angela…Angela was Excalibur. The sword and the shield. He saw Edward turn his eyes sharply upon him, caught the soft sound of the man's indrawn breath and carefully hid his thoughts behind the veil of his vast knowledge of carpentry and woodworking.

He knew Edward was curious to know about Angela, they all were, but she had to be protected. If she were to fall into the wrong hands, if she were to have been found by someone other than the loving and compassionate family that the Cullens made… His attention was drawn away from his thoughts when he heard a steady heartbeat drawing closer and smiled when Angela walked into the kitchen with Esme at her side. Her dark eyes were vibrant with curiosity even as they were shaded with caution and a touch of fear.

"Querida, you are awake," Carmen greeted with a warm smile as she stepped forward and embraced Angela.

She hadn't been entirely certain how Angela would react to her or if she would remember her, but she smiled when the girl wrapped her arms around her tightly. Stepping back and kissing her forehead, Carmen smiled at her and took her hands, leading her further into the kitchen. It was too late for breakfast and as thin as she knew Angela to be, she thought perhaps the girl could use something a bit more filling.

"Do you like international cuisine?" she asked Angela as she stepped back and released the girl's hands.

"International?" Angela asked, tipping her head as she tried to determine the soft, barely-there accent the woman's voice held.

"Spanish," Carmen clarified as Angela followed her to the island counter that held a gas range. "Spain, it is where I came from. I thought perhaps I could make you a traditional dish, you as well, Bella," she said looking up at the other human girl.

"You're from Spain?" Angela asked, her eyes lit with excitement as she moved to help Carmen with the preparations for whatever dish she would be making. "I've only seen pictures, what was it like?"

Carmen chuckled as she handed Angela a bell pepper and instructed her to cut it into thin strips as she worked with an onion. She discussed the culture of the world she had grown up in when she was human, the landscape of the areas. She found herself talking over the wildlife and the mountains, rivers and streams. Angela took everything in, consuming the information with rapt attention and asking for more.

"So what question are you trying not to ask?" Carmen asked Angela with an amused grin.

"That obvious, huh?" Angela asked with a blush. "No offense, but you look a little older than Esme, I was just curious…"

"How old I was when I was changed?" Carmen finished with a chuckle. "Thirty-two," she answered her. "I was changed at the age of thirty-two in the year seventeen-eighty-three. The one who changed me, I never saw them again. I don't think they knew they had left me alive enough for the change to happen, but I met my love shortly after that. Eleazar was almost forty when he was changed back in seventeen-fifty."

Angela's voice took on the excitement sparkling in her eyes as she began reciting a short list of important events from in and around the years mentioned. Eleazar chuckled softly as he looked at her, the girl was as gentle awake as she had been while she had rested against him last night and the day before. She was inquisitive, intelligent, vibrant and her excitement for all things historical seemed almost addictive. He shook his head as he looked at Carlisle. Seeing the blond man's lips twitch with amused pride, he understood just how easy it had been for the Cullens to become so attached to Angela as readily as they had.

"She's going to turn us into history professors," he teased Carlisle and laughed when he caught sight of Angela's blush.

"I just like history," Angela defended as her blush darkened to the amusement of those around her. "Besides, unlike the clinical telling of the books that I've read, you all actually lived it. When Emmett and Jasper tell me their stories, or you read your journals to me," she glanced at Carlisle, "it's like going back in time."

Carlisle breathed in deeply as his smile widened and stepped forward to lean on the marble countertop as he looked at Angela. She was so very precious to him, a young girl not yet a vampire. She was truly his daughter and he couldn't have asked for a better one to have.

"I tell you what," he said as he watched her add the strips of green and red bell peppers to the sauté pan Carmen was working with. "We have to go talk with Charlie and the FBI agents today, but we should be done in a few hours. We can drive up to Seattle after that, stay in a hotel and tour the Underground there tonight. And tomorrow," he paused as he looked at her and let his face fall into a serious, downtrodden expression as he chuckled in his thoughts. "Tomorrow we should go back to the museum; they have an exhibit on loan of the 'Wreck of Three Hundred'."

It took Angela a moment to realize what he had said as the tone of his voice had matched the somber expression on his face, but once she thought over his words, her eyes widened impossibly large. Her mouth fell open even as she stayed silent before her excited words rang out in the air and Carlisle laughed as he enjoyed her enthusiasm. He felt the sudden flood of warmth and excitement as Jasper, too filled with Angela's emotions, shared her happiness with all those present. Edward chuckled as he read her thoughts and spoke to Carlisle, his voice too low for humans to hear as he relayed her thoughts to him.

"We could even make it a family outing, take everyone with us, including Carmen and," Carlisle chuckled as he winked at Angela, "Uncle Merlin."

Angela's cheeks heated in a near violent blush as she crossed her arms and glared at Edward, though the laughter she was trying to hide negated any seriousness or anger she may have been trying to project. Eleazar laughed outright at the name he had been called and stepped up to kiss her forehead when she averted her gaze. She was precious, this fragile human girl, and he was as enthralled by her as the rest of the vampires in this room. He was infinitely thankful that it was the Cullens who had taken her in and not someone else. Looking at his wife, he saw the pleasure in Carmen's face as she moved about the stove. He had known about Elena, they had no secrets from each other and as he watched her, he realized that the nearly hidden darkness that was a result of losing a child was gone. She was no longer being haunted by the memory of her dead daughter, but instead seemed to have been healed of the pain. Angela had done in such a short time what no one else had been able to do in centuries and for that he would give her whatever she wanted.

Edward hugged Bella close as he listened to the thoughts of Carmen and Eleazar. It was an undeniable truth; no one had any idea that they were missing anything until suddenly Angela was there. Whatever darkness or pain that was in your heart, she healed it without ever having to know about it. It was her presence, her aura; she simply gave of herself and never asked for anything in return. She had healed Rosalie of her anger, taken away Jasper's doubt and worry over his cravings for human blood, she tempered Emmett's guarded caution over outsiders and though his coven's guardian was still protective and aloof to most, he was no longer as distant. Carlisle had never known that he mourned the loss of being a father until Angela had given him the chance to be one for her. And Esme…she was kind and loving but would often grow just a touch sad in the company of infants. It was Angela who had healed the pain of her infant son's haunting memory and it was Angela who had given her back the chance to be a mother.

One fragile, gentle human had somehow stepped in and completed them all in a way they never knew was possible. He watched as Esme moved to retrieve dishes from the cupboards, helping Carmen plate up the food and set the table. He dipped his head down, kissing Bella's hair and then her lips when she turned her face up to his. Nodding to the table, he released her from his embrace and watched as she moved to sit with Angela at the table. He smiled as he watched Angela look at the food before she bit her lip and hugged Carmen tightly, thanking her for the meal. Rosalie was right; he thought as he studied his newest sister, Angela gave everything and asked for nothing. It was that quiet gentleness that drew everyone in and brought forth the need to be near her and protect her.

**:::::**

Angela squeezed Carlisle's hand tightly, half hiding behind him as he walked with her into the Forks Police Station. She looked back over her shoulder, searching for Esme and reaching out with her free hand when the woman stepped closer. She needed them both with her. She knew that this was a police station and technically she was safe, but having to deal head on with the attack she had suffered as they discussed her stalker was terrifying. They were ushered into a room at the back where Charlie and the FBI agents could talk with them uninterrupted and though the privacy of the room was meant to be comforting, it only served to heighten her anxiety.

Carlisle rubbed his free hand over her arm gently as he sat down in the chair next to her, Esme seated on her left side. She was trembling, her grip on his hand tight as she fought to rein in her growing terror. Turning toward her and leaning over to kiss her temple, he spoke in a low voice, promising her that both he and Esme were there with her. He assured her that she was safe that they wouldn't let anything happen to her, but he knew that it was the inescapable reality of the situation at hand that had her in such a frightened state.

"Before we begin here," Carlisle said as he looked at Charlie, "would you mind at all if Emmett joined us? He seems to soothe her the most."

"Not at all," Charlie said, uncaring of whether or not the two agents seated next to him would object. "He's just out in the hall, right?" he asked and stood from his chair at Carlisle's nod. "I'll go get him."

Esme hid her grin at the sound of the thump beneath the table and knew that Agent Mitchells had kicked her partner under the table. Whatever the man had been about to say, she had stopped it and Esme gave her a silent appreciative glance for her efforts. Angela was scared enough as it was, she didn't need anyone adding to it. Charlie stepped back into the room a short moment later with Emmett trailing behind him, when he apologized for not having another chair handy; Emmett gave a sad lopsided grin. Angela looked back over her shoulder, catching Emmett's gaze and releasing Esme's and Carlisle's hands as she moved her chair back and stood.

He didn't need to hear the words to know what Angela was asking for. Nodding as he stepped toward her, Emmett lifted Angela in his arms and sat down in her vacated chair with her sitting astride on his lap. He didn't care if the agents liked it or not, if she needed him to hold her for her to feel safe than not even a Volturi guard would be able to stop him from doing so. He remained silent as Angela gave her statement and discussed what she remembered of the attack and abduction. He hid his grin as a dull thud sounded from beneath the table and watched Agent Redding wince every time he opened his mouth to speak. It seemed that the woman wasn't about to let her overzealous partner question Angela and he was grateful for her interference.

"Angela," Caleigh looked down at her notes before meeting Angela's eyes. "We found a journal in his home, detailing the time that he'd been watching you. From his notes, he'd been stalking you for about six months longer than you thought."

"He's been watching me for almost a year?" Angela asked and leaned against Emmett when he rubbed his hand over her arm to soothe away her trembles.

"Yes," the woman said quietly as she handed over a thick stack of photos to Angela. "These are pictures of the other known identities he's taken. I want you to look through those and let me know if anyone looks familiar."

Angela bit her lip as she accepted the photos and looked over at Carlisle as she tried to tamp down her fear. He touched his hand to her arm and offered her a small encouraging smile as he nodded to her. Turning her eyes back down to the stack of photos, Angela flipped through them slowly. She was almost to the end when she stilled, her lips parting as she felt herself grow cold. She felt Emmett's arms tighten around her in response to her fear, felt the gentle pressure as he kissed her temple and promised her in low tones that she was safe. She studied the face of the man in the photo as she set the rest of the stack on the table.

"He was a locksmith," she said, her voice trembling slightly. "Last year, just before Halloween, someone put superglue or something in the deadbolt lock on my front door. When I put my key in to unlock the door, I couldn't get it back out and it snapped off in the lock. He was driving by in a van that had the name of his company on it," she narrowed her eyes, her head shaking as she tried to recall the name. "Um, Convenient Keys or something like that. I flagged him down because I couldn't get into my house and he…he had to redo all the locks. He didn't charge me anything; he said he wasn't on the clock so he didn't feel right charging me. I thought he was just being nice."

"You had your locks redone?" Agent Redding asked as he looked up at Angela sharply.

She nodded quietly. "It was before I moved in with the Cullens, at my old house. Why?"

"Caleigh get any other information she has, I need to make a few calls," he said and stood, leaving the room quickly.

"Did I say something?" Angela asked as she handed the photo in her hand to the woman.

"I think you just gave us the piece we've been missing. I don't mean to frighten you, Angela, but you're the only witness we have," Caleigh said and watched Angela frown in confusion.

"But you said he's stalked people before," she said looking at the agent.

"Yes, but he killed the other women, Angela," Caleigh said and watched as Emmett wrapped Angela protectively in his arms. "You're the only one that got away and I'm glad you did."

Angela felt frozen as she leaned heavily against Emmett and turned her face to bury it in his shoulder. He kissed her hair, rubbed her arm as he spoke soothing words of comfort to her. He looked at Carlisle, nodding at the expression on his father's face and stood with Angela in his arms. He followed Esme to the door and stepped outside when she opened it for him. Closing the door and turning back to face Charlie and the FBI woman, Esme returned to her seat at the table and looked at Carlisle.

"We're taking Angela out of town for a few days; she needs to get her mind off what's happening. If you need to reach me, Chief Swan has our cell numbers," Carlisle said and watched as the woman nodded before she gathered her notes and left the room.

"Dr. Cullen," Chief Swan stood and shook the man's hand. "Would you do me a favor?" he asked and waited for Carlisle's nod before continuing. "Take Bells with you if you don't mind. This case is having me work longer hours and I don't like her being alone with this guy on the loose."

"She was going to ask you tonight," Carlisle said with a grin. "Should I tell her, or did you want to?"

"I don't even know if I'll be able to go home tonight. Thank you," he said with a silent nod. "I don't know what I'd do if this guy got his hands on Bells. You don't know how comforting it is to know that Angela and Bella are safe with your family."

"We'll take good care of them, Charlie," Esme said and stepped up to offer him a hug. "Don't worry, ok? Bella will be just fine."

He nodded silently as he watched them leave. The Cullens were good people and nothing would make him think otherwise.

**:::::**

Eleazar watched as Jasper paced restlessly in the living room, not even Alice seemed to be able to calm him down. Whatever he was feeling was wearing on the southern vampire's nerves and he wondered just how long of a range Jasper had.

"It's not emotions at this point," Edward said from behind Eleazar. "Angela's scared and whenever she's scared the alarm goes off. He can feel her migraines, like he said before, her fear makes the pain pulse faster and he hears a shrill noise. He knows where she is and that she's safe, that's why he's still here in this house, but it's driving him nuts that there's nothing he can do. We can all feel it right now, that's why we're all keeping ourselves busy with one thing or another. She's calling for every one of us. Once Angela knows you better, you'll be able to feel her call for you as well. It's an unconscious cry for protection. When she's happy, her call is like a gentle tug, but when she's scared as she is now, it's desperate and tearing like something clawing at you."

The front door opened, Emmett walking inside followed close behind by Angela and they all watched as Jasper turned and headed straight for Angela. The girl walked toward him as well, meeting her vampire brother in a few steps as he wrapped her in his arms. She leaned into him, her arms wrapped tightly around his back as her hands clutched fistfuls of his shirt. He stroked her hair as he held her, his voice low and soft as he soothed her. Jasper didn't care who was in the room with him as he lifted Angela into his arms and carried her over to sit on the couch.

Eleazar looked to his side when Carmen came to stand next to him and wrapped his arm around her shoulders as he turned his attention back to Jasper and Angela. He could see the tense lines of fear on the girl's face just before she hid her face against Jasper's shirt. The blond vampire kissed her head and leaned back as he pulled Angela with him to rest against his chest as Emmett sat on the other side of her on the couch. She turned her head, Eleazar able to see her face again, and he watched her blink slowly as Jasper soothed her.

"I think the last time we left off was just before I joined the Confederate Army, wasn't it?" Jasper asked and Eleazar felt a sad smile twist his lips as he listened.

He listened as Jasper spoke of his human youth and what he had gone through in order to become a confederate soldier. He could see her muscles relaxing as she calmed, the low smooth tones of Jasper's voice soothing her until she was almost asleep. Angela breathed in deeply as she listened to Jasper's words, the vibrations from his voice adding to the almost hypnotic quality of his southern tenor. She felt her eyes close, and though she wasn't asleep, his telling of his time with the Confederate Army was as clear to her as if she were watching it through his eyes. She felt her fear fade away until all she knew was the soothing hypnotic sound of his voice and the images in her mind of a time long ago. She didn't realize that she was speaking until Jasper chuckled and hugged her tight.

"I do still have it somewhere," he told her and kissed her hair. "I think Peter's holding onto it for me."

"Peter?" Angela asked, her voice soft and curious.

"A friend of mine that I met after I was changed, he was in the confederate army as well. I think he's down in Louisiana right now. Charlotte likes the French Quarter and they've finally got it restored again after the damage done by Katrina. They're nomadic, but own a few apartments in different towns around the country. Some nomads like to live in the wilds or caves, but Peter treats Charlotte like a queen, nothing but the very best for her," he told Angela and smoothed his hand down over the braids crossing her hair.

"Do you think he would send it?" Angela asked as she remained leaning against him, her eyes closed as she absorbed all the comfort he offered her.

"Probably," Jasper chuckled and rubbed her back. "I take it you want to see me in my uniform?" he teased her.

"I'm curious," she defended.

She wasn't tired at all, simply relaxed and comfortable as she rested in his arms. Alice's voice sounded from behind them as she stated her desire to see Jasper in his uniform as well. He would look regal, Angela imagined, gallant and gentlemanly. She heard Edward's chuckle at the thought that ran through her mind and basked in the warmth and comfort her family offered her. The lines of the story Eleazar had read to her floated through her mind and she found herself infinitely curious. What if King Arthur was a real person? Was there a vampire somewhere out there who might have known him?

"You should warn the girls," Edward said softly to Eleazar. "Angela's going to drill them over history, especially when she finds out how long they've been alive."

"Vampire history professors," Eleazar chuckled and glanced down at Carmen. "Is it any particular aspect of history?" he asked Edward with a smile.

"All forms, doesn't matter what era, culture or specific subject, she just loves all things history. She has a few archaeology texts in her room."

"One anthropology book as well," Alice said as she looked at Angela.

"Language," Esme said with a smile as she stepped into the house followed by Carlisle. "I've been teaching her a little Italian over the past few weeks and I know that she's taken at least one class of Japanese in the high school."

"Language, history and culture," Carmen chuckled softly as she looked at the human girl that appeared to be asleep in Jasper's arms. "We can teach her Spanish," she said smiling up at her husband.

"The sisters should be able to teach her all forms of Slovak and Germanic languages if she's interested," Eleazar offered.

"The Vampire Academy," Rosalie laughed as she stepped into the room. "Will anyone be able to join or is it a private school?"

Carlisle chuckled at Rosalie's comments and looked at the couch. He knew Angela wasn't asleep; her heartbeat wasn't slow enough for that. He was glad that she was relaxed though, the time spent at the police station had been incredibly taxing on her from the moment they had stepped into the building. Directing his thoughts to Edward he watched his son smile and nod before speaking to Bella softly. She smiled as she tucked herself under his arm and nodded her thanks to Carlisle as she leaned against Edward.

He could still remember the feelings that had coursed through him when he had woken up as a vampire. He had spent such a long time trying to kill himself, trying everything he had known possible. Never had he ever imagined he would have the family he did now. He knew that when he would think of those times before now that he would often feel the same dark emotions he had felt then, but somehow the emotions of that time felt like little more than a distant memory. He could look back on that time and see the memories without feeling the pain or darkness clouding his heart. Had he known back then what he would have now he doubted he would've wasted so much time trying to end his immortal existence.

"I'll get her bag packed," Alice said, her voice below the range of human hearing. "We should leave soon, before he gets her too relaxed."

"Angela," Carlisle called to her as he stepped up and sat on the low coffee table in front of the couch. "Hi, Sweetheart," he greeted with a smile when she opened her eyes. "I thought we might leave here soon, get to Seattle and settle into a hotel before sundown."

"The Underground?" Angela asked as a slow smile spread across her face.

"Of course," he told her and glanced over at Carmen and Eleazar. "You don't mind if they come along do you?"

Carmen gasped softly as she looked over at the couch, her hand lifting to rest over her heart. It felt as though someone were embracing her. The ghost of a feeling left her warm and comforted as she felt inexplicably drawn to Angela.

"What is that?" Carmen whispered and glanced at Edward when he chuckled softly.

"She's calling for you. It's mostly just her desire to hear more about Spain and your knowledge of the country and its history. She's thinking about the conversation you had earlier and her desire to hear more, that's what Jasper meant when he said that it feel like a gentle little tug," Edward told her.

"It's amazing that she can do that," she turned her attention on Angela and raised her voice so that the girl would hear her words. "If you would like, Eleazar and I can ride with you, Carlisle and Esme. I could tell you more about Spain," she offered and watched Angela's eyes dance with excitement.

"You're enjoying every moment of this," Eleazar accused Carmen with a smile when Alice drew Angela's attention away.

"And you're not?" she countered with a knowing grin.

"Well," Eleazar took in a breath and looked over at Angela as he chuckled softly. "I guess we have a niece. After all, she does call me 'Uncle Merlin'.

"And you absolutely hate it, I'm sure," she teased him and listened to him laugh.

"Hush, woman," he teased back and watched Angela stand from the couch, following Esme and Carlisle out of the house. "You did promise her more stories about Spain."

Carmen smiled and stepped away from her husband to follow Angela out the door. Eleazar shook his head as he moved to follow her. One little human girl had somehow gained an entire vampire family. Not even royalty had the kind of protection that she had. Jasper had been a confederate soldier and had trained vampires during the Southern Territory wars, Emmett was huge and easily the physically strongest vampire he had ever known. Edward could read minds, and he had been a guard with the Volturi. He'd challenge anyone human or vampire to show him one person who had more protection than she did. Even Aro didn't have the level of protection that Angela did, no matter the numbers he had surrounding him.

Aro was protected because he commanded it, but Angela, she was protected because of love. Not a single one of his kind who had met her had wanted to do anything other than protect her. She didn't ask for their protection it was given freely. None of the Volturi could come anywhere close to claiming that kind of power. As he stepped over to Carlisle's Mercedes and climbed into the vehicle beside Angela, he wondered what would happen if she met Marcus. He had been in pain for so long, ever since his wife had been killed. The man truly did not live anymore; only feeding when his thirst grew to a violent level and he wondered what would happen if he met Angela. With her innate power to heal emotional pain, what effect would she have on the suffering man both he and Carlisle had once called friend?


	21. Chapter 19

AN: For the purposes of how they are presented in my story and what I will be doing with them, Marcus and Aro will appear here as they did in the movies, mid-thirties to mid-forties. I do have plans for Marcus, but for those of you who are hopefully curious, no, he is not Angela's mate.

Chapter 19

He shook his head slightly at himself, an amused smile twitching his lips as he walked through the underground passages as they toured the city beneath downtown Seattle. He wondered if he would ever tire of watching her, the way her eyes lit up with excitement as she took everything in. He was fairly certain that Carlisle never tired of it and chuckled softly as he watched his friend walked beside the girl. His gaze strayed to his side when he felt Carmen move away from him, her arm falling from where it had rested around his waist as she moved up to walk beside Esme. Angela was alive, vibrant in her curiosity, her face and eyes glowing as she looked over everything, listening to the tour guide and asking questions when the college youth came to breaks in his tour monologue. Eleazar swore that he could almost feel Angela's emotions and looked to his side, slightly ahead of him when he heard Edward chuckle.

"That's because you can feel them," Edward said with amusement. "When Jasper feels flooded with her positive emotions he projects them."

"Half Pint's completely fascinated by everything," Emmett chuckled as he watched the girl walking ahead of them. "Do you think we'll be able to drag her out of here?"

"There are only twenty minutes left of the tour," Rosalie said as she looked at her watch. "What?" she asked turning back to look at Alice when the girl giggled.

"I don't have to look into my visions to know that she's going to research everything she can about this place," Alice laughed and looked up at Jasper from where she walked tucked under his arm.

"She loves history," he grinned before kissing his wife. "I can't wait to see her at the museum tomorrow. I still remember how she felt after her first trip with Carlisle."

"Do you think we could visit the aquarium while we're in town?" Bella asked Edward, smiling up at him and blushing when he pulled her close to his side.

"I'm sure we could arrange that," he assured her as he listened to his father's thoughts. "If Carlisle has his way, we'll be spending the next three days here. As long as we don't get called home by Charlie or the FBI agents, we should be here until Monday," he told her.

"Thursday," Alice corrected her brother, "At least that's what he's planning," she giggled from behind them. "After Angela was abducted, he arranged to take the next three weeks off so that he could spend time with her and make sure she was ok."

"He's afraid that with the stress of the investigation and the attack, her migraines will become more frequent and intense, more like they were when she first came to stay with us," Edward added in.

Esme turned her focus back on Carmen after listening to the conversation her children were having. She smiled and nodded when Carmen described the feel of Angela's emotions as an addiction. It certainly wasn't the first time that Jasper had projected the girl's emotions, but every time he did so, it made them all feel warm and alive. Her hand touched her chest, her fingertips brushing against her collarbone as she felt the warm tug of Angela's call. The girl was elated, intrigued and in her fascination she was calling all of her family to her in her desire to share the experience with them.

"I can't believe she's so powerful without being one of our kind," Carmen said to Esme, her voice low and full of wonder.

"This is a mere fraction of how powerful she will be," Eleazar said as he watched Angela spin around to grasp Carlisle's hand before jogging toward a row of photographs as she dragged him along behind her. "She must be kept safe, no matter the cost. Aro must not know about her."

"You believe he would bring her harm?" Esme asked as she stopped walking and looked at her friend.

"Not harm per say," he answered, looking at the others around him, save for Carlisle and Angela, "rather he would take away her light, her gentleness. He would want her to be more like Jane."

Edward growled low at the thoughts he could read from Eleazar, the few he wasn't hiding. Neither he, nor any member of his family would allow Aro or anyone else take her away from them. She would have the protection that she needed; he doubted that they would ever be able to deny her anything. Looking up when Angela called his name in her thoughts and laughing when she ran toward him, he felt his protective anger disappear the moment she took his hand to lead him back to the wall of framed photos from the turn of the century.

"It's strange," Bella said softly as she watched her friend talk with Edward. "I never realized that she wasn't truly happy before, but when I watch her with all of you, it's a night and day difference."

"I know what you mean," Emmett said as he watched his newest sister and laughed at the excitement in her voice as she talked with Edward. "When we were working together in the beginning on that history project…she was so sad and lonely."

"She's a Cullen now," Rosalie said and smiled at her husband. "She'll never be lonely again."

"She's getting sleepy," Jasper chuckled as he watched Angela, able to feel the tiredness creeping in through her waves of excitement and wonder.

"She's not about to admit it though," Alice said knowingly as they all came to the end of the tour and thanked the young guide as he led them back up to the city streets. "Are you still projecting her?" she asked Jasper, her eyes widening when he shook his head no. "You mean right now, that burning warmth is just her?"

"It's her desire to have us all with her," Jasper said with a lopsided smile. "The happier she is the stronger her call is. The same for when she's scared. Haven't you noticed how angry and unsettled you become when she's frightened?" he said to his wife and watched her nod with a frown. "The more frightened she is, the stronger her call for protection becomes. But when she's happy, it's not a call for protection that you feel it's her desire to have us all with her, for us to share the moment with her."

"She would love that," Alice said as she looked at Eleazar, seeing his plans to tell Angela about his past. "None of us have really taken her into our adopted years yet," Alice said as they walked through the crowded streets. "But whatever you're comfortable with telling her, she loves the life stories."

Eleazar grinned at Alice and nodded silently as they all made their way back to the hotel. Angela was tiring quickly; they could all see it as they made their way to the elevators. It wasn't surprising considering the stress of her earlier conversation at the police station. It was nearing nine o'clock, and though she had only been awake for little over eight hours, Jasper knew that she had spent the majority of that time with a pounding headache. She had never given any sign to her pain, never asked for any medicine and he had kept his focus on her throughout the day to judge whether or not his influence would be needed to assist her with the pain.

"I'm ok," Angela said softly, touching her hand to his arm when they crowded into the small elevator. "You don't need to worry," she told him when she felt him begin to create a barrier around her headache.

"Would you tell me if you weren't?" he asked her as he brushed her hair over her shoulder.

"Could I really hide it from you?" Angela rebutted with a grin.

Breathing out an amused sigh, Jasper pressed a kiss to her forehead and wrapped his free arm around her in a hug as he held Alice to his other side. He knew that she worried about the strain her migraines were causing him; often wishing he would close himself off to the pain. He looked to Edward as the metal doors opened, speaking with his brother through his thoughts as he watched Angela walk out ahead of them surrounded by their adoptive parents and Eleazar and Carmen. The four vampires were unconsciously guarding her, the human girl kept inside the protective box they made as they walked down the silent hotel hallway.

Edward nodded and, keeping his voice below the range of human hearing, asked Carlisle how long it would be before Angela would be able to take her Toradol again. He listened as Carlisle spoke to him through his thoughts, advising his son that he wished to wait at least another twenty four hours before reintroducing the powerful migraine medicine back into her system. Being as they were, they felt the passage of time differently and it was still hard for most of his family to reconcile the fact that it had truly only been forty-eight hours since her attack.

"Angela," Eleazar spoke to her as they stepped inside the vast suite of rooms Alice had reserved for them earlier that day. "I thought, if you would like, I could tell you a bit about Italy. I stayed there for quite awhile after I was changed."

"Italy?" she asked, with a wide-eyed smile.

"Yes," he chuckled. "You look tired," he told her. "Why don't you go get ready for bed and then I'll come in and tell you about my time spent there."

Biting her lip as she nodded, Angela turned and laughed gently when she was led away by Alice. Bella grinned as she watched her friend. Angela loved their stories, having told her once that it was her favorite part of the day. She was happy that Angela was surrounded by the Cullens, taken into a family that cared for and loved her as she deserved, but Bella was still worried. She was able to see the things Angela wasn't saying. Her friend had made the decision to enjoy the time she had left as a human, but Bella knew that she was still afraid that they wouldn't bring her immortally into their family. Had she missed the signs, she wondered. In truth, she hadn't known Angela for much longer than a school year, but she was her closest human friend. Had she been blind to the signs of the abuse and abandonment that her friend suffered?

"She hid it from everyone, Bella," Jasper told her softly as he stood next to her. "There wasn't anything you could have done. It was a stroke of luck that she got Emmett as her partner for history class. She's got all of us now," he told her as he soothed her with his talent. "Don't worry too much, she'll be ok."

"Are you sure you're not a mind reader?" Bella asked Jasper, half teasing him and smiling when he chuckled.

"Sometimes emotions can be more telling than thoughts," he winked at her. "You're not tired in the least, are you?"

"Weirdly awake," Bella answered with a laugh. "I haven't even had any caffeine today and I woke up before seven."

"You're keeping vampire hours," Emmett laughed at her from the couch. "If I know Half Pint, she's going to be too excited for the museum to sleep late tomorrow. Want a story?" he offered with a teasing grin.

"Why not?" Bella said after a moment, shrugging as she grinned.

Chuckling and telling her to go change, Emmett looked up at Rosalie unable to stop smiling. Rolling her eyes as her lips twitched with amusement, Rosalie bent down over him and kissed his upturned lips. Her husband adored being a big brother, taking care of Bella and Angela, protecting them and playing with them. There were still times that she believed Bella should have thought more about living out her human life, but ever since Angela had entered their lives, those thoughts were fewer and farther between. As Angela healed her heart, she was able to see the love between her brother and his human mate more readily.

Stepping back toward the window as Bella returned to the common room, Rosalie watched as her husband tucked the pajama clad girl under his arm. Staring out into the night as she listened to Emmett's soothing baritone, Rosalie turned her eyes away from the glass when she caught sight of Edward's reflection next to her. The expression on his face was curious and she knew that he had a question he wanted to ask her. Nodding once before turning her eyes back to the streets below, she waited for him to speak.

"You've changed, not much, but it's there," Edward told her, his voice only loud enough for her to hear his words. "Your anger is gone."

Rosalie snorted with amusement, the sound barely more than a soft puff of air. She nodded, answering Edward with her thoughts as she cast her mind back over the time that Angela had spent with them. The change had been slow; she hadn't felt her deep seeded anger disappear immediately. The change had been far more subtle, almost too subtle for her to have realized at first. She simply remembered that one day she had found her anger and restlessness to be gone and in its place was a peacefulness that she had never thought she would ever feel. Angela had given her that peace and she was glad for it. But she wondered why it was that Angela seemed to spend time with her the least.

"She's intimidated by you," Edward answered her thoughts. "She's still not sure yet how you think of her, the way she sees herself when she looks at you…she doesn't see her own beauty. One of her most prominent memories is of her mother telling her how unattractive she was. Her mother never let her believe that she could be pretty," he told Rosalie and thought back over the photo album Alice had brought back from the girl's childhood home.

"She's beautiful," Rosalie shook her head, her brows furrowed as she thought about her human sister.

"I know," Edward sighed. "We just have to make her see that. The question is: how?"

"You let us take care of that," Alice said as she stepped up beside Rosalie. "Bella's asleep," she told her brother with a smile. "Emmett's got the golden touch."

"It's the big brother thing," he chuckled from the couch, keeping his voice low so as not to wake the girl tucked under his arm. "I used to tell Katie stories all the time to get her to sleep."

**:::::**

Angela sighed softly in her sleep, curling closer against Eleazar, her hand loosely fisted in his shirt. He looked up from the sleeping girl in his arms to stare at the full moon shining in through the window. He had edited his stories somewhat, telling her of the history that he had lived through in Italy, but also telling her of his friend named Marcus. He was vague in his details, leaving out anything to do with Volterra itself and telling her only about the man's character and not what he did or that he was even a vampire. He had told her simply that he was a man he had met that was from Greece, a man who had lost his wife to tragedy and as such, lost his will to live.

He had seen powers similar to her ability to call a person before and wondered how strong it was in her human form. What would she be able to do? What could she see? He knew that he couldn't introduce her to Marcus directly, even taking her to Volterra after she was changed was too great a risk as Aro used Chelsea's ability to heed his every whim. He couldn't ask Marcus to come to him either, as doing so would bring all the Volturi down from their golden mountain. But he took a chance and wondered if perhaps Angela would be able to see him. She was only beginning to discover the ability she had and he knew that she held no knowledge of her innate talent to heal a person's heart.

He felt dampness seep through his shirt and looked down, concerned when he saw that tears were gently falling from her closed eyes. She didn't seem to be frightened; he couldn't smell any trace of the emotion in her scent and wondered what was causing her to cry. What was she dreaming, he wondered, what was she seeing. He thought about waking her and looked up when he saw Carlisle step closer to the bed. The blond man had been drawn forth by the scent of salt water and looked down at his human daughter that lay nestled in his friend's arms. He had listened to the story his friend had told her and knew that she was an infinitely gentle girl with a deeply caring heart.

"She's not upset," Carlisle spoke softly, answering the concern in his friend's face. "Her hand will twitch when she's upset. You'll be able to tell if she's having a nightmare."

"She's just about as tall as we are," Eleazar told Carlisle. "How is it possible that she seems so tiny?"

"It's just the way she is," Esme said as she looked at them from her place by the window. "She doesn't ask for anything except to be loved."

"At some point I do need to make a trip to New York to see the doctor studying patients with migraines like Angela's. We have conversed on the phone and I have sent him copies of Angela's medical films, but I fear that I am not learning everything there is to know about her condition. She still has at least another year before I can change her, it would be too suspicious if she were to disappear before graduating high school," Carlisle said as he sat down at the small round table in the room. "I do not like the idea of traveling away from her though, especially not while her stalker remains free."

"Pulling her out of school isn't an option?" Carmen asked from where she sat by Angela's side on the bed.

"No," Carlisle sighed as he looked at his sleeping human daughter. "I don't know when I'll be able to meet with the man doing the study, or how long it would take to get the needed information. Pulling her out of school would raise too many questions among the human authorities."

"She would be welcome to stay with us," Carmen offered and looked down at her husband to see his answering nod. "If you needed us to, we could stay in Forks with her."

Esme looked at Carlisle before turning her eyes back on Angela. As of the last day of school Jasper, Emmett and Rosalie were once again high school graduates. Alice and Edward still had another year, but no one knew what the future would hold. Would Angela's migraines become worse? Would they do any lasting damage to her human life while they waited for the day when she would be free of school and able to leave Forks without anyone questioning her absence? The knowledge that the migraines were killing her bothered Esme greatly and she wondered, not for the first time, if Angela would make it to graduation. Although Carlisle said that Angela had another two years left, she wondered if that amount of time was only a guess. Would her death be caused by a cumulative effect of the damage her migraines were doing or would it be one very intense, very severe migraine that took her life? It was those questions and more that worried her the most.

Angela moved in her sleep, her hand releasing its hold on Eleazar's shirt to rub lazily against her face. Esme smiled as she watched the girl's gentle movements, her sleep making them slow and somewhat clumsy. Looking up when Carlisle wrapped his arm around her shoulders, she gazed into his gold eyes and smiled, though worry darkened her ochre depths. He knew how she felt. Bending down and kissing her lips chastely, Carlisle stroked his hand down her soft caramel locks and looked into his wife's face. He felt the same worry that she did, it was why he needed to go see this doctor in person, but he wouldn't risk leaving Angela unprotected.

Carmen watched her friends out of the corner of her eyes as she looked down at her husband lying still as he held Angela sleeping against him. She knew that her friends enjoyed being the parental unit of their coven, the way it was formed giving them the chance to have an eternal family. But she also knew that with Angela, her friends truly were parents, the girl needing them in a way that their other adopted children didn't. Reaching out her hand to brush her fingers against the girl's warm cheek as she tucked Angela's hair behind her ear, she wondered what she was dreaming about. Her tears had dried moments ago and now she lay with a peaceful if not curious smile on her young face.

**:::::**

Angela wasn't certain if she was awake or asleep, the sights and sounds around her felt so real. At some point in his telling of his story, she had closed her eyes, Eleazar's smooth voice calming and hypnotic. It had to be a vampire thing, she mused as she stared around the open landscape. She had never known anyone other than her vampire family who could lull her into such a peaceful state so easily with their voice. Hearing the rush of water as waves crashed unseen against the shore, she stepped slowly across the ground that was a mix of sandy rock and plush grasses. Had Eleazar painted this image in her mind, she wondered, or had her own imagination crafted this beautiful mountainside scenery.

Closing her eyes and breathing in deeply, Angela lifted her face to the warmth of the sun shining down from the late afternoon sky. Opening her brown eyes and looking up into the clouds above, she smiled at the sight of the cerulean sky that was interspersed with ribbons of oranges and reds. It was a beautiful area that she was standing in, the smells from the flowering trees and grasses warm and welcoming. She could still hear the ocean off in the distance, the waves crashing and receding and stepped slowly through the tickling grasses as she followed the sound.

Looking down in confusion, she found that she wasn't wearing the pajamas she had changed into, but was instead barefoot and dressed in a white dress. The gown hung from her shoulders and fell down to just above her ankles. The cloth was light, airy and danced gently in the soft breeze. It was a strange thing to see herself dressed in, the style reminding her of ancient Grecian statues. Pulling at her hair, she was pleased to see that it was still hers, long and black infused with natural dark brown highlights. She was still herself, it seemed, just dressed differently.

Looking to her right as she turned to follow the sound of the ocean waves around a rather large rock, she stilled, her lips parting when she caught sight of a man standing off in the distance. He was older than she was, if she had to guess she would say at least forty years old. His hair was dark, hanging loose down to his shoulders. He looked to be as tall as she was, but he was standing at least thirty feet away from her looking down over a cliff edge. He was dressed somewhat oddly, she thought, his clothing sophisticated and loose fitting even as it looked to be from another time.

Biting her lip, Angela cautiously stepped closer. She didn't know who he was or why it was that he appeared in her dream, but the pain and sadness that were carved into the lines of his face drew her closer to him. She could almost feel the heartache he was suffering, her eyes filling with tears as she watched him. He looked so lonely, she thought as she watched him step closer to the edge. She could feel her tears falling down her cheeks, but never moved to dry them. It hurt her to watch him, but she couldn't turn away, she hated to see anyone suffering. Her hand moved up to cover her mouth as she felt her tears quicken, it felt as though he was dying from his heartache and she wished only to bring him some level of comfort.

"No!" Angela shouted, darting forward when it looked as though he meant to throw himself from the cliff.

She was by his side before she knew it, her hand gripping his arm as she looked up into his face. Even as his sadness overwhelmed him, she could see that he was surprised by her presence. His attention left her though as he returned to stare out off the cliff at the sharp rocks below. There was barely a foot left between where he stood and the edge of the cliff and as he moved to step forward, Angela did the only thing she could think of to stop him from hurting himself.

"Please don't," she begged through her tears as she darted in front of him and hugged her arms around his waist. "Please," she begged again, resting her cheek against his cool chest.

His movements were slow, lethargic as he raised his arms and returned her embrace almost as though he had forgotten how to. He could feel her tears through the thin material of his shirt. More than eight centuries he had spent alone inside this portion of his mind, hidden even from Aro's talent and he didn't understand how someone else could be here with him. She was warm, his thoughts registered as he turned his eyes down on her. Her heart was beating, he realized. The girl in his arms, the girl who had somehow joined him inside the very most hidden part of his mind was human.

Was she a symptom of his illness, he wondered. Was she a manifestation of his grief? All he wanted was an end to his pain, an end to his suffering. The rocks below were sharp enough that he had shattered himself time after time when he had let himself fall from the cliff countless times before. If only this part of his mind would take physical form than his suffering would have ended centuries ago. He wanted to step away, to throw himself down onto the rocks almost half a mile below once more, but she wouldn't release her hold on him. He was motionless in his grief, unable to put up any kind of fight and hoped that she would let him go so that he may at least die in his thoughts.

"Please," she said again, leaning away just enough to frame his cool marble face in her warm hands. "Please don't," Angela begged once more and watched as he turned dead eyes down to her.

His eyes were empty, his soul suffering so much that it was as though his spirit had been hollowed out, taken from him by the grief he endured. The color was odd, a red that wasn't quite red. She begged him with her eyes, unwilling to turn her gaze away from him lest he decide that the desire to die was too great to be ignored. She didn't know how long they stood there, wrapped in each other's arms as their eyes remained locked together. The sky never changed, it never darkened into night or lightened into day, but instead remained the same as it hovered timeless above them. After a while though, his eyes did change.

"Who are you?" he asked her, the barest hint of curiosity in his otherwise hollow tone.

"No one really," Angela said, feeling herself to be unimportant in the face of his grief.

"Tell me your name," he requested as he stroked her hair without conscious thought.

"Angela."

He lifted his hand to her face, gently cupped her cheek in his palm. His movements were slow and infinitely careful as he smoothed his thumb over her cheek, taking care not to harm the fragile creature in his arms.

"Why do you cry?" he asked, his voice gaining the barest hint of awareness.

"Because you cannot," Angela answered as she looked up into his eyes. "Please don't jump," she begged him again.

"What would you have me do instead, Angela?"

His words were always spoken slowly; as though over time he had forgotten how to speak and had to remember how to form the words. Her attention was only on him, nothing else and as she watched his eyes and listened intently to his voice, it felt to her that his heart was still there inside him. It felt to her that his grief had hidden his spirit away in a deep sleep and she wished only to awaken his heart, to heal his pain and take away his suffering.

"Would you talk with me?" she requested softly as she studied his face. "Would you tell me why you grieve so deeply? Please?" she requested when he turned his eyes away from her.

"You do not even know my name," he told her as his arms fell from around her and he stepped away, instantly missing the warmth of her human body.

"You could tell me your name," she offered and felt her heart skip a beat as he stepped closer to the edge.

"You wish to know my name?" he asked, turning his attention back to her. "You wish to know a damned soul like mine?"

Angela gasped her head shaking as she negated his statement and stepped toward him, more tears falling from her eyes. Damned? He thought he was damned? She held her hand out to him, waiting forever it seemed until he put his hand in hers.

"You're not damned," she said, her whispered words fierce. "You're not damned," she told him again as she tugged gently on his hand and urged him to step closer to her, away from the cliff's edge. "Tell me your name," she said, repeating his request from before.

He remained silent as he stepped slowly toward her. It was a trick of their kind, the ability to move so fast they were unseen or so slowly that one couldn't register the movement. He didn't understand how she was here in his mind, or how she was real. Had he finally gone mad? Had his grief turned him insane? If all his suffering had to offer him was the production of this delicate human girl, than why should he resist, he wondered. Decision made, he stepped toward her slowly and let her lead him away from the cliff's edge. He blinked slowly as he stepped away with her, Angela never releasing his hand as she led him over to sit with her on a fallen tree.

He would have to leave this place soon, he knew that he had already been here too long and Aro would be growing impatient. But before he left, the least he could do was grant her the knowledge of his name. Sitting down beside her, he lifted his hand to her face and smoothed away her tears. He had learned long ago that nothing he did here in this hidden part of his mind would be known to Aro, having learned how to form these barriers within his own mind. He was glad for that as something told him that this gentle girl in front of him must be protected.

"Marcus," he said after a long moment of silence. "My name is Marcus."

**:::::**

Angela awoke with a gasp, the sound of her indrawn breath heard only to the vampire holding her as she blinked in the darkness. She felt strangely exhausted as though her dream had been more than a dream and she let her eyes fall closed again, returning to a dreamless sleep within seconds of having woken. Eleazar looked down on her, petting her hair as he turned his head to kiss her brow and spoke in low soothing tones to her. He swore that she had spoken Marcus's name in her sleep, but as the others had left the room, there was no one to ask to be certain.

His eyes fell to the side, looking at the glowing red numbers of the digital clock resting on the table between the two queen-sized beds. It was just after one in the morning. He knew that she was excited for the coming visit to the museum and wondered how long she would be able to sleep. He brought the blankets around her up over her shoulders, tucking them around her to keep her warm as she slept against him. He hoped that she would sleep until at least eight; his experience with her while the Cullens had hunted telling him that she was quick to wake if left to sleep alone.

He didn't mind holding her one bit, the immobility allowing him the time meditate on his thoughts. He wasn't still often, almost always reading or moving about, but holding Angela while she slept allowed him the stillness he often craved but rarely gave into. How was it possible that in such a short time he had become so attached to her? He knew that it was most likely part of her power, but she didn't command it, she never commanded the attention. It was her gentleness, her unassuming nature that drew him closer. He was quite certain that she would end up turning his world on its ear once she was changed and made a part of it.

Looking up as the door opened, he smiled at Esme as she walked into the room. The matriarch of the Cullen clan was a good friend and a welcomed advisor, but more than that, Eleazar realized, she was a dedicated mother. Stepping up to the bed, she looked down at Angela and brushed her hand against the girl's sleep warmed cheek.

"Did you want a relief?" she asked softly.

"No," Eleazar answered as he turned his head to smile at the sleeping girl in his arms. "I find it rather soothing," he admitted and caught her amused grin.

"Carlisle's said the same thing," Esme chuckled, her voice below the range of human hearing.

"I don't know how she's comfortable like this," he said with wonder. "Our bodies must feel like stone to her."

"She sleeps better when she's held by Carlisle or one of her brothers than when she's left to sleep alone," Esme told him.

"How long do you think she'll want to stay at the museum?" he asked curiously, his brows twitching in amused question when she laughed.

"When Carlisle took her to the museum the last time, he said that they stayed from open till close. She had no desire to leave and her attention and interest were enough that she never broke for lunch," she told him with a smile. "She'd sleep there if given a chance," she cautioned him.

"She'll ask you questions," Carlisle cautioned from the open doorway as he stepped slowly into the room. "She's fascinated by the artifacts and information but also desires the knowledge that we hold from living through the times."

"Perhaps I should introduce her to Miguel once she has been changed," Eleazar mused as he looked down at Angela. "Miguel is what he has chosen to be called for the past eight hundred years, but he was changed before the rise of the Mayans."

"If you do that," Carlisle chuckled, "he may have to add himself to our coven. She would never tire of talking with him."

"History, culture and language," Eleazar said as he recounted their conversation from the early afternoon. "The things our kind could teach her would never be learned from books in a classroom."

"Certainly not," Carlisle said and sighed. "Would it be too much to ask that you let me hold my daughter for the remainder of the night?" he asked only for his friend to chuckle at him.

"Of course not, my friend," Eleazar said as he moved slowly. "Come, trade places with me."

"Papa," Angela mumbled in her sleep, sighing contentedly as she settled against Carlisle's chest.

"Papa's here, Angela," he spoke to her softly and kissed her forehead. "Papa's here."


	22. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Bella woke slowly with a yawn, turning her face into the pillow resting against Edward's side as she pulled the air into her lungs. She could never remember having slept so well or so deeply for that matter. Emmett's voice had been soothing, hypnotic and the last thing she could remember before falling asleep was him describing the way he felt when he had held his sister, Katie, for the first time only moments after she had been born. Looking up at Edward, she blushed, smiling drowsily when she found him to be watching her.

"Sleep well?" Edward asked, his arms around her as she sat up slowly.

"Better than I can ever remember," she confessed with wonder. "I don't even remember falling asleep."

Edward chuckled. "It's a vampire thing," he told her with a wink. "None of us ever used it for storytelling until Angela. Mostly our kind uses that particular universal talent as a way to get what we want, though we usually refer to it as charm."

"It's better than a sleeping aid," Bella said as she stood from the bed and moved to her bag sitting on the round wooden table inside their room.

"You've taken sleeping aids?" Edward asked, her tone of voice having told him that she was speaking from experience.

"When I was younger, from eight until almost eleven," she said as she pulled out a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. "I used to sleepwalk, no one ever knew why. I guess, eventually, I just grew out of it."

Edward looked toward the door and chuckled softly. Telling Bella that they were going to have a full day ahead of them, he left her to dress.

**:::::**

Carlisle turned his head to the side, smiling down at the girl lying nestled in his arms as her hand tightened around his shirt. His lips pulled up at the side in an adoring crooked smile as he felt the changes taking place. She was waking slowly, her heartbeat gaining just a bit of speed as her breathing changed from the slow deep rhythm of sleep to lighter shallower breaths before she yawned gently against him. Her eyes remained closed as she whimpered softly, a small sound telling of her lazy rise to consciousness. She stirred once more, her curled fingers releasing the fabric of his shirt as her loosely fisted hand moved to rub against her closed eyes before she turned her head and blinked up at him.

He cupped her head, stroking her hair before kissing her forehead and greeting her with a softly spoken 'good morning'. She was such a delicate and gentle girl, his human daughter and as he watched her turn her face back into his shirt as she hid another yawn, he wished for nothing more than to give her everything she could ever want. There was so much that had been denied to her, so much he wished to give to her, and he was glad that she was a part of his family now. She sat up slowly, his arm around her as he sat up behind her and he smiled in amusement when she cuddled against him. His brows furrowed when her eyes snapped opened wide and she shot off the bed darting for the window and looking down into the streets below.

"A Japanese music festival," he heard her whisper with wonder and delight.

It was the sound of the Taiko drums that had drawn her attention, he realized as he stood from the bed. Stepping up behind her, he smiled at her reflection in the clear glass and touched his hand to her shoulder before dropping a kiss to her hair.

"It's a little after seven," Carlisle told Angela as he watched her reflection in the window. "The museum doesn't open until ten, we have time to walk through the festival if you'd like. There should even be food carts so that you can eat while enjoying everything around you."

He knew from the tone and silence of her voice that she wasn't aware she had spoken, but smiled all the same when she whispered her thanks and called him Papa. Telling her that he would leave to allow her to dress, he walked to the door and turned back to look at her once more before leaving the room and pulling the door shut behind him. Angela bit her lip as she stared out of the window for a moment longer. There were moments when it was still so hard to believe that she had the family she had found with the Cullens.

The love she felt from and for them was all consuming, indescribable and filled her to overflowing more times than she could count. Angela didn't realize that she was crying until the first tear splashed onto her hand and she sniffled as she brought her hands up to her face to wipe away the tears. The emotions coursing through her were overwhelming and confusing; the burning warmth of the love she felt combined with the fear that they would somehow disappear on her. All she wanted at that moment was Esme; the feel of her hugs somehow always took her confusion away. With Esme she didn't feel insecure or inadequate, instead, Esme's gentle mothering made her feel beautiful and as though she belonged.

"Oh, honey," she turned at the sound of Esme's voice behind her and buried her face in the woman's shoulder. "Shh," Esme cooed as she petted Angela's hair. "What's wrong, Sweetheart?"

"I got scared," Angela mumbled into her shoulder, not knowing how else to explain her emotional turmoil.

"Scared of what, Sweetheart?" Esme asked. Angela remained quiet though, her silence giving Esme her answer. "We won't disappear on you," she promised Angela as she hugged her close. "Do you know how proud Carlisle and I are to have you as our daughter?"

Her soft declaration only served to increase Angela's tears and she held her tighter, rubbing her back and petting her hair as she soothed her. Angela couldn't remember her parents ever having been proud of her or happy with her before and the love she felt from Esme was almost too much to bear. Looking up when the door opened quietly, Esme offered Carlisle a somewhat sad smile as he shut the door and stepped toward them. He had heard their words, their conversation unhidden to his vampire ears. Resting his hand on Angela's shoulder, he kissed her hair. He added his voice to Esme's, telling the girl how proud they both were of her and how much they loved her. He wrapped both of them in his arms as he and Esme stood embracing Angela between them.

He knew that there were times that Angela was still hurt by the ghosts of her parents' abuse and neglect, oftentimes unable to understand why his family loved her when her own parents didn't. Tilting his head to rest his cheek against Angela's hair, he rubbed her back. She was such a gentle girl, never asking for anything for herself and there were times when he was certain that if he and Esme didn't volunteer to make her meals, she would never ask for food either. All he wanted to do was love her, give her everything that she could ever want and show her how beautiful she was. Angela had been hurt and rejected so many times by her parents that she didn't know how truly amazing she was.

"She's our little girl," Esme told him quietly, her voice too low for Angela to hear as she studied the expression on his face. "We will take care of her and love her and show her just how beautiful she is," Esme promised him. "She will always be with us. We won't let anyone hurt her."

"I don't know if I would be able to control myself, were I ever to meet her parents in person," he confessed his fear to his wife. "They have hurt her so many times that all I want to do is rip them apart."

"I feel the same way you do," Esme told him and turned her attention back on Angela when the girl stirred between them. "Are you alright, Sweetheart?" she asked, tucking Angela's hair behind her ear.

Angela nodded and blushed, her eyes cast to the floor as she apologized for her outburst. Carlisle cupped her face in his hands, his voice drawing her eyes up to his as he wiped away her drying tears with the pads of his thumbs. He kissed her forehead, telling her that she had nothing to apologize for and told her once more how proud he and Esme were of her. Wrapping his arms around her, he hugged her close and left her in Esme's care to get ready for the day.

Carlisle pulled the door closed silently behind him as he stepped into the common room between the four rooms of the large suite and braced his hands on the back of an armchair as he fought against his pain and anger. He hated what her parents had done to her, hated that they made her constantly doubt her own worth. Because of the treatment she had received by her parents, she was constantly afraid that he and Esme would ask her to leave or that she would do something wrong. It hurt him to know how much she was suffering and even more so to know that there wasn't a whole lot he could do about it. Looking up at the touch on his hand, he found Carmen to be standing next to him.

"What is that old saying, my friend?" she asked as she looked at him, having overheard his conversation, "Ah yes, 'It is always darkest before the dawn'."

Carlisle chuckled as he nodded at her. "You are wise, my friend."

**:::::**

Jasper wasn't sure what would happen if he projected Angela's emotions in such a crowded area, having only done so before within the privacy of their own home, but her elation was such that he was starting to feel hyper. If he didn't share her emotions soon, he was fairly certain that he may start bouncing, or giggling, he thought much to the amusement of Edward. Bantering at Edward through his thoughts, he closed his eyes and focused on each member of his family in turn before releasing Angela's excitement to them. Alice twirled out of his arms to walk in front of him, clapping her hands as she bounced on the balls of her feet and smiled brightly at him. He chuckled at his wife; she always did love it when he would share Angela's happiness.

"Twenty questions," they heard Emmett announce to Angela as they walked through the downtown international music festival.

"Go," Angela laughed as she took the food from the vendor and left the booth, following after her adopted brother.

"Favorite song?" he asked as he chuckled at the powdered sugar dusting her cheek.

"Hotel California," Angela answered without thought.

"Nice, a classic soul there," Jasper chuckled as he watched her pop another mini doughnut into her mouth.

"Favorite color?" Bella chimed in, stealing a doughnut from Angela's paper sack.

"Mm, nope," Angela denied the question. "Changes with my mood, I have no set favorite," she explained.

"Favorite book?" Carlisle asked with a grin.

"That one's a little obvious, Papa," Angela said, not noticing she hadn't used his name.

Carlisle chuckled and looked at Esme, smiling wide with pride and amusement as they walked toward the next collection of performers. Eleazar and Carmen were smiling as they watched the familial interactions, feeling as though they had been granted the privilege of taking part in these intimate moments.

"The place you would like to visit someday," Rosalie asked as she reached out and brushed a bit of powdered sugar from Angela's cheek.

"Are we talking country, historical site, or business?" Angela asked as she crumpled the empty bag and tossed it into a trash receptacle as they walked.

"Let's count it as three questions, then," Rosalie chuckled. "Name them all."

"Country would be Ireland," Angela answered as she looked ahead at a group of Spanish dancers dressed in white tops and wide flowing red skirts. "From what I've read and the pictures I've seen, it's supposed to have the most castle ruins that you can walk through. Historical site would be Gettysburg," she continued and smiled at the small band of musicians playing traditional Irish pub songs. "Business would be the British Museum."

"How'd I know a museum would be in there," Rosalie chuckled at Emmett as she watched Angela frown and look through the crowd ahead of them.

"Everything ok, half pint?" Emmett asked, catching her frown.

"I thought I saw someone," she said, her face taking on an almost sad expression. "We used to talk all the time when I would go to the college library, but I haven't seen him in months, not since a few weeks before prom."

"What's his name?" Jasper asked as he watched Angela continue to look through the crowd.

"Michael," she answered distractedly. "We talked about history, he knew a lot about the American Revolution," she said as she shrugged and gave up her search. "He reminded me a lot of you, actually," she told Jasper. "He was skittish though," she said as they continued their trek through the music festival. "He always seemed as though he was afraid of me. I'm not scary, am I?" she asked Edward when she caught him staring at her.

"Think of him again, picture his face in your mind," he commanded her gently without answering her question. "Angela," his voice held a note of caution as he looked at her. "If you see him again, I want one of us with you."

"Why?" she asked as she stopped walking and turned her full attention on him.

"Just promise me ok," he said as he reached out and tucked her hair behind her ear.

"Ok," she nodded after a moment, her complete faith in her adopted family unquestioning.

"Go on," he nodded with an encouraging smile, "the Taiko drums are up ahead."

"What was that about?" Emmett asked Edward as he looked back at his brother.

"This Michael she's been meeting at the library, he's probably seventeen or eighteen, I would say. I don't sense any danger from him in her memories of him," Edward commented as he looked at Carlisle before turning his eyes on Emmett and then on Jasper. "She is fascinated by his eyes though," he said as he watched her fairly glow with delight when the drummers began a new song. "She thinks they look like rubies."

**:::::**

She wanted to touch it, the aged wood. She could smell the brine of saltwater that had soaked into the wood centuries ago when the ships had crashed near Padre Island. The anchor from one of the ships was on display as well, the rusted iron massive in proportion to herself. The length of rope attached to the anchor was almost double the width of her arm and all Angela wanted to know at that moment was what it was like to watch the ship being built. It fascinated her, the engineering that went into early sea vessels, especially considering how long they lasted.

Looking around them as they stood inside the museum, Angela waited for the couple near them to move onto the exhibit in the next room before turning her attention on Eleazar. Keeping her voice low, in case any other humans were around, she asked him if he had ever traveled on a ship like the one on display and he laughed as he stepped closer to wrap his arm around her shoulders. He walked with her, telling her of his memories and experiences on seafaring vessels from the days before he was 'adopted' and the few times he had taken ships after.

She absorbed everything he told her, her hunger for knowledge and history knowing no bounds as she asked him endless questions and listened intently to his answers. Carmen smiled as she shook her head and watched her husband walking with Angela. She was vibrant, intelligent, captivating and completely fascinated by all aspects of history. She couldn't get enough of the information around her and always asked for more.

"She was the same way with me," Carlisle chuckled as he stepped up beside Carmen, watching Eleazar and Angela. "Sometimes I think that if she could have a conversation with a dinosaur, she would," he said with a grin and listened as Carmen laughed.

"She's tired," Jasper said and glanced down at his watch. "And as happy as she is, she has a migraine. Not a bad one, but the pain is still there."

"She'll never admit to either," Edward said as he watched Angela try to hide her yawn.

"Problem easily solved," Emmett said as he stepped away from Rosalie and up to Angela's side. "Alright, half pint, up you go," he said and helped her onto his back, carrying her through the museum as he had done the day at the amusement park.

"You all love spoiling her, don't you?" Bella asked with a grin as she turned her face up to Edward.

"What's not to love?" he chuckled at her. "I'd spoil you, if you'd let me."

"I don't need to be spoiled," she told him and he chuckled.

"You're so stubborn," Edward told her, much to his parents' amusement.

"It's almost five o'clock," Carmen said as she looked at the clock on the wall. "I can't believe she's spent the past seven hours here without wanting a break."

"In an hour and a half when the museum closes," Carlisle said as he listened to Angela speak with Eleazar, "you will see her pout and become disappointed when we are forced to leave. She loves being here; I don't think she could ever tire of it."

"She won't make it till six-thirty," Edward said watching her as Emmett carried her on his back. "The countdown is beginning," he said with a chuckle as he glanced at Jasper.

"The countdown?" Esme asked as she looked between her sons.

"Five," Edward counted with a soft chuckle.

"Four," Jasper said a moment later.

"Three," Alice giggled.

"Two," Rosalie added in with a smile.

"One," Emmett spoke only loud enough for his vampire family to hear. "She's out like a light."

Angela's eyes were closed, her face turned into the side of Emmett's neck as she slept with her cheek on his shoulder. Her left arm hung down over his shoulder, her right hand fisted around his shirt on the back of his shoulder. The brilliant warmth of her emotions and the gentle tug of her happy call were still strong in her sleep, her lips curved into a small smile as she slept. Eleazar reached up, tucking her hair behind her ear and smoothing his hand down over the length of her hair as she slept.

Emmett stood still, waiting for the rest of his family to join him and Eleazar as they stood next to glass encased mannequin dressed in the clothing that would've been worn back in the mid fifteen hundreds. Her soft puffs of warm breath against his neck were soothing; the thrumming of her heartbeat through his back offered him a sense of peace that was unique to her alone. He once again found himself silently thankful for their history teacher's decision to partner them together all those months ago. He couldn't ask for anything better than the two new human sisters that he had, even as he secretly thought of Angela as his favorite. She reminded him so much of his sister Katie and it was Angela's gentleness and the knowledge of the treatment she suffered from her human parents that reminded him of why he fought so hard to be the best protector possible for his family.

**:::::**

Angela found herself once again to be standing in the sandy-grassy terrain of the Grecian landscape where she had met Marcus. She wasn't certain if what happened here was a dream or something more, but she hoped to see him again. She was surprised by how tired she felt in her dream, confused as she thought that a dream would leave her feeling anything but tired. Stepping around the large boulder, she smiled when she saw Marcus, the man sitting on the fallen tree instead of standing near the edge of the cliff. She called his name as she lifted the white skirt in her hand and jogged toward him. She could still feel his grief, still see the pain in his eyes and in lieu of saying anything more to him, she stepped up quietly between his legs and wrapped her arms around his shoulders.

She didn't give her actions any thought as she held him to her and stroked his hair. She could feel herself growing more tired by the moment, but refused to do anything except offer him whatever comfort she could. It was unfair the amount of pain he was in and all she wanted to do was take it away. She felt his head turn up and looked down, blushing as she hid her yawn behind her hand and apologized afterwards. He was quiet as he gently unwound her arms from around him and scooped her up in his arms to sit on his lap. He tucked her into his chest, cradling her in his arms as he sat on the fallen tree and stared down at her, his expressionless eyes never gaining any emotion other than pain and deep loneliness.

"Go to sleep, little one," Marcus said, his words slow. "Go to sleep," he said again as he let his cheek rest against her hair.

He still wasn't certain if she was a product of his grief or not. It felt as though it had been days since he had seen her here, yet at the same time it felt as though he had never left her side. He cradled her in his lap as he sat listening to the cresting ocean tide below. He knew that she was asleep in his arms from the sound of her heartbeat and the slow deep rhythm of her breaths. It didn't seem possible that she could be real, but he could feel her in his arms as though he were truly holding her. He lifted his head, looking down when he felt a tug on his shirt and found that she had fisted her hand in the material covering his chest.

She was sleeping so trustingly in his arms, her face youthful and innocent in her slumber. He took the moments while she slept to study her unguarded. She really was quite young, most definitely under twenty years of age, he assessed. Her skin was flawless and glowed with emotion telling him of her happiness. If she was real, he thought, she must think this place to only be a dream. It was doubtful that she realized what she was doing, communicating with a vampire on what amounted to an astral plane. Though this place only existed in his mind, behind barriers that were more impenetrable than the American's Fort Knox, he also knew that for someone else to join him here it would take great power.

Not knowing why, he kissed her forehead, an intimate gesture that he hadn't practiced since Didyme had been alive well over eight hundred years ago. Tucking her hair behind her ear, he let his fingers brush across the downy softness of her cheek and felt the same protectiveness well up inside him as he had the first time she had visited him. Who was this gentle, fragile creature named Angela? How had she come to him here in this place? These were questions that he was careful only to think of when here, knowing that he couldn't let Aro know of her, or this mental retreat he had built for himself. The questions would go unanswered though, that much he knew.

She shifted, snuggling closer to him as she slept in his arms. In over eight hundred years, the only emotions he had felt were pain, grief, and soul tearing loneliness, but somehow as he sat holding Angela he began to feel something else. He wasn't quite certain what the emotion was; it had been so long since he had felt anything other than his grief that any emotion other than despair was foreign to him. It was barely there, just a tiny hint of something that felt almost warm.

"Marcus," she mumbled his name in her sleep and he shushed her as he petted her hair. "Will you tell me a story?" she asked and he was certain that she wasn't awake when she spoke the request.

"What would you like to know?" he asked her, his words slow as he became familiar once again with talking to someone.

"Where were you born?" she asked, her words muffled as she nuzzled her face into his chest. "Where did you grow up?"

He debated with himself for a moment. It was the one absolute law of his kind to never let the humans know of their existence, but here in this place, such laws meant nothing to him. He doubted that this place registered as anything more than a dream to her when she was awake. Stroking her hair back from her sleeping face, he looked down on the girl resting in his arms and nodded once to himself, his decision made.

"I was born in the year thirteen-fifty B.C. in a little coastal town in southern Greece," he told her, his voice soft as he spoke to her. "The town had no name and by the year eleven-eighty-five BC it no longer existed, but it was beautiful."

He told her of his earliest childhood memories as she slept in his arms. He described the sunsets over the ocean waters that he never missed a chance to watch. He turned his head, resting his cheek against her forehead as he spoke to her, telling her of what the town looked like and how small it truly was.

"My father died before I ever had a chance to know him, the children of soldiers were often left without fathers in my time," he told her, his voice taking on a soothing cadence as he grew accustomed to telling her the stories of his human youth. "My mother was a gentle woman, kind and loving, much like you."

His arms tightened around her, her soft sigh speaking of her contentment as she rested in his arms and listened to his voice. He described his mother to her, the woman with blonde hair who stood as tall as most of the men. He spoke to her of the way he learned how to read by his mother's instruction, her patience and compassion knowing no limits. He told her of the lullabies he had learned from listening to his mother sing him to sleep at night, his voice too out of use to sing to the girl sleeping in his arms.

"You need peaceful sleep, little one," he told her with a sigh in his somber tone. "And I must return to where I am needed, I have been here too long." He stroked his hand over her hair slowly, reveling in the warmth of her human body. "How do I take you back to your own mind? How do you return?"

"The door," she mumbled in her sleep. "Behind the rock."

He kissed her forehead once more as he stood slowly, cradling her in his arms as he walked through the sandy grasses and followed the trail she spoke of. He found the door, the red wood standing out in contrast to the landscape it was in. He reached out to touch the door, only for it to disappear from sight and reappear a moment later farther away from him. He couldn't touch it, he realized, only she could cross the barrier between time and space, stepping from her mind into his. Speaking to her gently, he encouraged her to wake just enough that he was able to walk to where the door stood and stand her on her feet. Telling her to return, he watched as she touched the door and disappeared from sight. It was nothing more than a symbol, an exit she needed only to touch.

Marcus felt the warmth leave him, the infinitesimal feeling disappearing with the girl as he was left cold once more. He knew it was selfish to want her back, to want to hold her here, but he couldn't deny the desire for her company. Closing his eyes against the waves of aching grief and crushing loneliness, he allowed himself to leave this sanctuary of his mind and once again return to the waking world.

**:::::**

Angela sighed, turning over in her bed, her eyes blinking open only to find herself alone. She blinked in the darkness, her eyes falling closed, but even as exhausted as she was, she couldn't return to sleep. Slipping from beneath the covers of the hotel bed, she shuffled to the bathroom before stepping out into the common room. She could barely see through the hazy fringe of her dark lashes as she made her way to where Carlisle was sitting on the couch. She felt his arms close in around her as he lifted her off her feet and settled her in his lap. Tucking her head into the crook of his shoulder, Angela turned her face into the shirt covering his chest and yawned gently before finally falling asleep.

Carlisle looked down on the girl in his arms, leaning back against the couch as he turned her to lay next him. She had been so exhausted, never waking once as they had carried her out of the museum and tucked her into the car. He had carried her up to their suite, tucking her into bed almost four hours ago and thought she would sleep the remainder of the night. His lips turned up at one side in a crooked grin as he looked up into Esme's face lit with amusement and adoration. Their other children, save Edward, had gone out for the night to walk around the town, Eleazar and Carmen joining them as well. Looking up at his wife, Carlisle smiled before turning his attention back down on the girl lying nestled in his arms.

"She loves her 'Papa'," Esme said softly as she covered them both with a blanket.

"We are truly blessed, my love," he told his wife as he stared down at the girl in his arms.

Esme hummed her agreement as she nodded and watched Angela turn slightly to press closer to Carlisle in her sleep. The girl's excitement had lasted all day, at times growing stronger, but never once fading away. The elastic pull of her tug had been felt by everyone including Carmen and Eleazar, the elation she felt only intensified by the welcome knowledge that her family had surrounded her throughout the day. He had been concerned by the revelation that Angela had been meeting another vampire before she had met them, but at Edward's assurance that he couldn't feel any danger from the boy in her memories and Angela's promise to have one of her family members with her the next time she tried to meet with him, he let his concern give way to curiosity.

Every day he found a new reason to be proud that Angela was part of his family. She was such a gentle girl, her intelligence and curiosity keeping her endlessly fascinated by the world around her. Her passion for history was as brilliant and captivating as fire, her elation at the museum had been hypnotic, Jasper's projection of her emotions throughout the day a welcomed feeling. He felt his arms tighten around her of their own accord, feeling guilty that in a way he was almost happy her parents had thrown her away because in doing so they had given her to him and his family. It was a selfish feeling, these moments being his most favorite of the day, as he held her while she slept. She felt so tiny against him, her human body exceedingly fragile in comparison to his own and he would protect her from anything he could.

Esme sat watching Carlisle as he held Angela in his arms. This gentle human girl had changed them all so much; her quiet compassion and unassuming nature asking for nothing as she accepted whatever they were willing to grant her. The only thing Angela had ever wanted was to be accepted and loved and what she had been denied by her parents was happily and freely given by Esme and her family. Esme gasped softly, her lips parting when she heard the word Angela mumbled in her sleep and knew that if she had the ability to she would be awash with tears. The mumble was repeated and Esme laughed softly through the burning emotions swirling within her as she reached out and smoothed Angela's hair back from her face.

"Mama's here, Angela," she told her, meeting her husband's loving gaze.

"I've been thinking," Carlisle told Esme, his warm soothing voice below the range of human hearing. "When the time comes, we should both infuse her with our venom. It would be a way to give her what she has always wanted."

Her smile was trembling as she nodded her agreement and looked down once more on the girl in his arms. Angela had no idea the effect that she had on anyone. She held no knowledge of the burning love and fierce protectiveness she inspired in others. The only thing Angela ever asked was for those around her to be happy and in doing so she was able to heal their hearts of any darkness or sadness without ever realizing that she was doing so. This one gentle human girl had somehow given them the world. Bending close, Esme kissed her forehead and looked up as the door to the suite opened, watching as Jasper and Alice stepped inside.

Her adopted son was rubbing his chest as he smiled at them, able to feel the depth of their parental love for Angela. In the first several years after he had been changed, he had grown to almost hate his talent as it only brought him pain when Maria commanded that he kill the vampires she had made after their first year had ended and thus taken with it their newborn strength. But in these moments, when he felt the searing warmth of the love his family members felt for each other, especially Angela, or the elation that Angela felt as he had today, he couldn't help but be grateful for it. Looking up at Alice when his wife touched his shoulder, Jasper smiled and pulled her down to sit in his lap as they both looked at the girl sleeping in Carlisle's arms.

Whoever Michael was, whatever he meant to Angela, he wanted to be with her the next time she met with him. All he wanted for his newest sister was the love she so richly deserved and if the vampire she had been meeting in the past brought her that, than he would do whatever he could to make certain that she was safe. Alice turned to him, kissing his cheek as she smiled at him, her eyes holding the certainty of the knowledge granted to her through her visions. It wasn't often that a clear vision of Angela came to her, but when it did she was infinitely grateful for it.

"You should take her down to the University tomorrow," Angela told Jasper, her golden eyes speaking to him without words, telling him the reason why. "They have a pretty big library at the campus here in Seattle."

Jasper searched his wife's eyes as he came to understand what she wasn't saying. Cupping her face in his hands he kissed her lips sweetly, slowly before pulling back and nodding. It wasn't a suggestion she had given him, rather it was the knowledge of her vision. It seemed that he may get a chance to meet Angela's Michael tomorrow and he looked forward to the introduction. Looking across the room as the door on the left opened, he met Edward's eyes and nodded. It seemed his brother would be joining him. They were both curious, but more so felt the need to protect Angela. Edward smiled at Alice's errant thought, chuckling silently to himself. He couldn't wait to see his newest sister as one of them either.

Carlisle moved slowly, taking care not to wake Angela as he shifted them both and stood with her cradled in his arms. The couch wasn't very wide and if he knew her as well as he thought he did, she would be awake early to explore more of the city tomorrow. Today, he corrected himself in his thoughts as he glanced at the bedside clock when he carried her into her bedroom. It was already past one am and as he laid her down gently on the bed; he couldn't hide the small grin that bent his lips when she whimpered for him in her sleep. Tucking the blankets up around her shoulders, he laid down next to her on the bed, smiling as she turned and curled against him in her sleep.

She was so very precious to him, his newest daughter and he couldn't remember a time when he felt more content or peaceful than he did now when he was holding her while she slept. Angela had been through so much already in her short life. More than once he found himself amazed by her gentleness and innocence in the face of her parents' abuse and neglect. After all they had put her through, she was still so trusting, her heart held open to the world around her. Kissing her forehead, he let his cheek rest against her hair as he looked at nothing. The worry over the threat posed to her by her stalker returned and he wished that soon the foul man would be caught and brought to stand trial for his crimes. His arms tightened around Angela of their own volition and he nuzzled his cheek against her hair.

"I will protect you with my life, my daughter," he told her, his voice low. "You will be kept safe always and will want for nothing. I love you, Angela Weber Cullen."

"I love you, too, Papa," she mumbled, her words slow and slurred with sleep as she spoke without waking.

Carlisle breathed in sharply, feeling his eyes prick even though he knew that no tears would ever fall. She warmed his heart, infusing him with a brilliant glow he had never known before. He looked up at the feel of someone else in the room and smiled at Jasper's adoration as his adopted son stared at Angela for a moment before meeting his eyes.

"It's called fatherhood," Jasper said with a soft grin. "What you're feeling, I've felt it when walking near new fathers before. It's that mix of burning love and fierce protectiveness that comes from holding their child in their arms. You adopted all of us, but Angela, I think maybe she adopted you."

"She needed us," Esme said as she stepped into the room and moved to lie down on Angela's side opposite her husband.

Jasper's lips twitched with amusement as he turned and stepped out of the room, leaving Angela to sleep in the comforting hold of her vampire parents. He couldn't help wondering what would happen when Angela went on a date for the first time in their care, especially if it was before she was changed into a vampire. What would Carlisle do if his little girl got her heart broken? He looked up at the sound of Edward's chuckle and watched his brother nod. The door to the common room of the suite opened, granting entrance to Emmett, Rosalie, Carmen and Eleazar. Whoever would have thought that one human girl would inspire the fierce protectiveness of an entire vampire family? She truly was a gift to them all.


	23. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

She shook her head, pacing back and forth in front of her husband, her anger palpable. Her rage was something he had been on the receiving end of only rarely in their life together. He was almost certain that she wished to strike him and the way with which she denied him even the barest hint of a touch upon her skin was frustrating. The door to their private chambers opened, the woman he summoned barely stepping foot inside the marble room before his wife stopped cold in her tracks, her eyes flashing fire at the unwelcomed intruder.

"Get out!" she spat, her hand raised as she pointed at the door. "Get out of this room right now or so help me, I will destroy you myself!" the woman snarled. "Leave," she commanded again, her voice lower, her anger rising when she felt the first stirrings of influence from the woman standing half inside the open door. "I swear on all that's holy if you try and use that god dammed talent on me, I will show you exactly how vicious I can be. Now get out!"

"You really should calm down," Aro said patiently as he stared at his wife, unable to remember the last time he had seen her quite this angry.

The door to their chambers closed behind him, Chelsea leaving them in peace, as he studied his wife. The smile that twisted her lips was anything but happy and mixed with more than a little disgust. Her steps were slow and measured as she walked toward her husband, the violence in her eyes startling. She was careful not to touch his skin, careful only to grip the material of his precision tailored Armani suit. He reached out to touch her face, to gain a much needed insight into what she was thinking when he found himself flying across the room instead, his body slamming into the stone and marble wall.

"Suplicia!" he shouted in surprise as he leapt to his feet, unable to believe that his normally gentle wife had actually thrown him across the room. "What in the hell?!"

"If you were not my husband, I would destroy you myself," she snarled darkly, her voice in the low range that only their kind could hear. "After nearly three thousand years, I finally learned the truth," she told him, and growled dangerously when he tried to approach her. "You thought I had given up, but even after all this time, all these centuries together, you still haven't learned that _I will_ _not_ give up on anything."

"The truth about what?" he asked, standing nearly ten feet away from her as he began to realize just how dangerous of a mood she was in.

"Didyme."

Aro stood silent, his lips parted in shock as he stared at his wife. It had been almost fifteen hundred years since he had last known that she was searching for information regarding the death of Marcus' wife. They made love almost every day, the intimate contact strengthening his talent for reading her thoughts, how was she able to hide this from him? No thoughts had ever been hidden from him before, how had she found a way around his talent?

"Don't look so surprised," she laughed humorlessly. "I am your wife, Aro. There is no one on this planet that knows your talent better than I do."

"When did you learn how to block me?" he asked slowly, his voice disbelieving and a touch hurt.

"Twenty years after we were wed," she told him slowly, anger still darkening her words. "How could you be so selfish?" she asked him. "You lock us away; imprison us within this marble tower because it was your own selfish actions that proved how devastating the loss of one's mate can be. He is dead, Aro!" she yelled at him, unable to believe how he had kept the truth from her for so long. "Marcus may be able to talk, he may even walk around and allow you to see his talent when it's needed, but he is dead, Aro and that is on you! I have never before been ashamed to be your wife," she said in a quieter tone, "but I am now. You shame me, Aro."

"Suplicia," he stepped toward her only for her to take an answering step in retreat.

"She was my best friend. I loved her as much as he did. Leave. Leave these chambers right now. I will decide when you are allowed back," she said and growled when he opened his mouth to argue. "Don't," she commanded him. "Don't come toward me, don't try to argue with me, and don't you dare try to use Corin or Chelsea to influence me. Because I promise you this: If you do try to influence me with either one of them to bend to your will, I will destroy them both and then I will come after you. Mate or not, if you try to bend me to your will again as you have done with Marcus, I don't care what I have to do, I will destroy you. Now leave, I will decide when to let you rejoin me here, but until then you are not welcome within these chambers."

"You are my wife," he told her, the hurt he felt giving way to anger.

"That means nothing to me right now," she told him and pointed toward the door. "I am not one of your loyal subjects. You have to earn your right to be back here. You may make the law out there, but in here, I am queen and you will bow to me on this. Now, leave," she told him, her voice soft and emotionless though he could hear the note of pain in her words.

Suplicia watched him leave their chambers quietly, the door closing behind him with a telling slam. She looked up, tilting her head back as she looked at the ceiling and ground her teeth together even as an anguished expression twisted her face. She could feel her eyes stinging and covered her face with her hands as she gave way to the dry aching sobs. She turned, running to the giant bed only to throw herself face down upon the silken and satin coverings as she buried her face in the goose down pillow and cried tearlessly. When Didyme was alive Marcus had been vibrant, engaged, endlessly intrigued by the changing world around them and happy, so very happy. All he had wanted was to leave, to have a life with his wife somewhere where they could both just be.

But Aro, uncaring that Didyme was his blood kin, his sister by birth; had killed her to keep Marcus with the Volturi and in doing so, he had destroyed them both. She had seen Marcus, had been with him when he had returned to his chambers to tell Didyme that they could leave. She had seen what he had seen, the head of his wife laying upon their pillow, the blankets pulled up as though she were waiting for him to make love to her. But with one glance, one look to the side, she had seen Didyme's decapitated body in the chair by the window, or at least what was left of it.

She could still remember the sound of his scream, so full of anger and despair. That first year he had been uncontrolled, searching for her killer as he held onto his anger. At the one year mark, one year to the day after they had found Didyme, Marcus' grief had taken him over mercilessly. For almost a month he had remained immobile, catatonic and unreachable by anyone. She had stayed by his side for most of that month, holding him, caring for him and doing her best to console her friend, but nothing worked. When he did finally wake from his grief stricken coma there was nothing left of the man she had once known. His excitement for life, his passion for art and culture had been lost. The conversations they had once had never occurred again. He was nothing but the walking dead, he could speak, but even that seemed difficult for him.

Turning over as she stared at nothing, Suplicia scrubbed her hands over her face and wondered who that man was. He wasn't her husband, he couldn't be. The man who had courted her, the man who had loved her and wed her and brought her into this eternal existence, he had been kind and loving, he couldn't be that...monster. Only a monster could have killed his own sister, his friend's wife. Only a monster could have done what he had done to someone as kind and gentle as Marcus had been. A knock sounded at her chamber doors and Suplicia sat up in her bed, waiting for the person behind the stone door to announce themselves.

"Do you mind a little company?" Felix asked, his baritone voice kind.

"Felix," she breathed his name, shaking her head as more sobs came forth.

He stepped into the room slowly, closing the door behind him as he made his way to her bed. They had been friends for so long that more often than not he thought of her, not as Aro's wife, but as his sister. Sitting down beside her on the plush bed, he enfolded Suplicia in his arms and smoothed his hand over her long pale hair as she cried into his chest. He had always known that Aro had been the one to kill Marcus' mate and had done his best to keep the news from Suplicia, knowing just how much she cared about both her friends. She had been closer to Didyme than she ever had been to Athenodora and he knew exactly how much pain her friend's death had caused her.

"Has he always been such a monster?" Suplicia asked her friend as she turned her face up to him, her milky crimson eyes begging him for an answer. "Was I blind to it before?"

"He never once gave thought to the consequences," he told her as he tucked her hair behind her ear. "He didn't care enough to; at that time of his life he was only concerned with making the Volturi as powerful as possible."

"Has that really changed?" she asked Felix. "He still hungers for power, I know he does."

"I'd like to think that he's changed," he told her. "But I honestly don't know. The only person, who knows Aro better than himself, is you."

"I don't think I know him at all," she said as she looked down at her hands.

"Give it time," he told her. "Your emotions are strong right now; you're feeling her loss as though it just happened again. It's the curse of our kind. Our memories can never fade away and in doing so, I wonder if our grief can ever truly be healed."

**:::::**

Jasper laughed as he watched Angela look around in delight at the festival that was still taking place. Even as she looked around at everything and talked happily with the musicians, artists, or vendors manning the surrounding booths, she never let go of his hand. He knew that as excited as she was for a day with just her brothers, she had grown terrified of losing sight of them. Ever since she had fully woken after her abduction and escape, she was exceedingly cautious to never lose sight of them. He worried about what would happen if they stepped out of her sight for a moment or were temporarily separated by the crowd of humans around them.

"I worry about that, too," Edward said as he watched Angela, his voice too low for her to hear.

"Her emotions," Jasper said. "She is happy and endlessly curious, but ever since she woke there has been this undercurrent of fear. She does what she can to ignore it, but it's always there."

"I know," Edward said as he watched the girl step up to a booth where a woman was selling drums made of wood, bone and natural leathers. "Every now and then a flash of the attack she suffered at Broomer's hand or her abduction will go through her mind. They only last for a few seconds, but the effect is enough to set me on edge."

"Her migraine flares," Jasper said as he realized now where the sudden pulses were stemming from. "I thought it was just her lack of the Toradol."

"No," Edward sighed and chuckled as he listened to Angela discuss the woman's native country with her. "No, the pain that I read from you coincides with each memory flash that I see from her. She's trying to ignore it, fighting to bury the memories of her attacks."

"She can't run from what happened," Jasper said as he felt both his and Edward's desire to protect Angela strengthen in response to the threat made to her.

"No," the woman's accented voice broke through their quiet conversation, drawing the attention of the Cullen brothers back to Angela and the vendor. "These items are made back in my home country. The money that is made from selling them I send back to help the people of my village. The children make the bracelets and toys out of bottle caps and other things that are left around, the drums are made by the men, and these," she touched a small stuffed animal made from thick knitted threads and stuffed with plant fibers and dried flowers, "these are made by the women."

"You said that your village is in Africa?" Angela asked as she touched the small animal and the hand drum it was propped up against.

"Sierra Leone," the woman nodded. "I do what I can to help, but I sometimes fear that it is not enough. Until the warring stops, I don't know that the villages of our country will ever truly have a chance to get better."

"I know it's not much," Angela said as she handed over a few single bills that she had in her pocket and accepted the small stuffed bear with a sad smile. "Will you be here for a while?"

"Only tomorrow, it is the last day of this festival," she said with a nod.

"Would it be alright if I brought some school supplies for you to send? Notebooks and pencils?" Angela offered as she looked up from the small bear that was barely bigger than her hands. "I know it's not much, but…"

"No, no," the woman shook her head as she touched Angela's wrist, her dark chocolate hand a stark contrast against Angela's pale skin. "That would be wonderful, thank you. My name is Kia," she said as she realized they had never actually introduced themselves.

"Angela," she said and turned her eyes back on the two standing behind her. "And these are my brothers Jasper and Edward."

Edward read the woman's thoughts, understood the native African dialect that she spoke in her mind and realized that this woman knew that he and Jasper were different. She didn't know what they were, but she knew that they weren't exactly human. She kept her eyes on Edward as she spoke aloud, her words those of her native tongue and not of English. His smile was small, a grateful nod tilting his head as he returned her words in the same language and thanked her for what she'd said. He watched Jasper lead Angela to the next booth and once she had her back turned, Edward handed Kia a single one hundred dollar bill. Promising her that they would return tomorrow with the school supplies, Edward nodded in parting to her and stepped away to join his siblings.

"Angela," Jasper turned to her with a chuckle as he felt her happiness. "I thought we might visit the UW Suzzallo Library today," he said and smiled when her eyes widened with delight. "Have you been to that one before?"

"No," she shook her head. "I just go to college library on the outskirts of Forks. That's where I used to meet Michael. I'd see him almost every time I went there, but we only started talking within the last few weeks before he disappeared on me."

"How long had you seen him there?" he asked as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and walked with her tucked against his side.

"Almost six months. He always seemed so lonely and afraid," Angela told him with a sigh as she played with the bear in her hands. "I thought maybe he was a transfer student, thought his fear might be homesickness. There was never anyone with him and he always sat so far in the back…one day I just said 'hi'." She laughed softly. "I turned away for just a second after saying that to him and he was gone. Then about a week later I saw him again. We talked for about five minutes before he disappeared on me again. And then every day for the next five days we talked about history, anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours." She leaned her head against his shoulder and sighed sadly as he led her over to Edward's car. "And then he was just gone."

"Who knows," Jasper said as he hugged her close with the arm wrapped around her. "Maybe you'll see him today."

"I just hope he isn't still afraid of me," she chuckled.

"He probably is, you are terrifying," he deadpanned as he opened the car door for her.

"Jasper!" Angela shouted, pushing against him as she laughed.

**:::::**

He hated this, he hated it so much. Sitting on the ground with his knees pulled up to his chest he buried his hands deep in his shoulder length dark caramel colored hair. His face was hidden in the tops of his knees as he sat rocking back and forth slightly, the movement unnoticeable to human eyes. His back was against an ancient oak, the tree so giant that two more people could sit next to him and not be noticed from the other side. He grimaced at the taste of the human's blood in his mouth, looking over at the aged homeless man who lay still on the park bench, his body drained of blood. He hated having to feed, hated the sick feeling it gave him to hold onto a person and take their life away just so that he could continue his.

In almost two hundred and forty years, he had developed enough control over that time to only feed when absolutely necessary. He made certain that the people he fed on were those that, as much as it pained him to think, would not be missed. Homeless people, strung out drug addicts, vagrants who never seemed to leave the parks, he always made certain that those he fed on were close to death as well. He didn't want to take their lives, no matter who they were, but at least he took some measure of comfort in knowing that those that were sick and dying would no longer have to suffer.

He didn't want to be this monster, he never wanted to be this monster, but he didn't have a choice. Looking up at the sky, he was surprised to find one of his kind standing near him, his face a mask of confusion and concern as he stared down on him. He had to get away, she had sent another one after him, it wasn't safe. He shot to his feet, moved to run only to be stopped as another one, a woman, blocked his path. His eyes widened, his fear rising to near uncontrolled levels and he turned to the left to flee only to find that his path was blocked on all four sides.

"We're not going to hurt you," the blonde one said, his voice rich and cultured as he looked upon the teenaged vampire. "My name is Carlisle."

There were four of them! He had never had to deal with so many at once before and they just kept stepping closer. Carlisle's brow furrowed as he studied the young man between them. The boy was clearly terrified of them and he didn't understand why. Every move that he, Esme, Carmen and Eleazar had made was careful and controlled. They hadn't wanted to frighten him or engage him in a fight and the more Carlisle watched the boy, the more he realized that he wouldn't try to fight them, he was only trying to run. He had never seen one of his kind so frightened before and it worried him.

"Would you tell us your name?" Carlisle asked slowly as he stared at the boy.

He was taking in unneeded breaths, the air moving quickly in and out of his lungs as he fought to remain calm enough to run. If he froze, if he gave way to his rising panic and grew still then they would be able to destroy him. He heard Carlisle's words, unaware that he was making soft whimpers of fear as he looked back and forth at each of them in turn trying to find a way out of the circle they made. The man wanted his name? The fear he felt was making him feel ill, and though he knew that he couldn't throw up the blood he'd consumed, he felt as though he just might.

"Michael," he said, his frightened voice barely loud enough for Carlisle to hear. "Michael Patrick O'Malley," he gave his full name as his voice gained a bit of volume.

His voice was between a tenor and baritone, cultured and held the barest hint of an accent, the sound of it somewhere between a lilting Irish and an American southern. He stood as tall as Emmett, his body lean as Edward's. His hair fell to his shoulders, the waves reminding Carlisle of Jasper's hair, though his color was closer to Esme's. He was young, possibly younger than the seventeen years Edward had estimated, but he couldn't be sure.

"Michael," Carlisle drew his attention back to him, the boy's dark crimson eyes still wide and frightened. "How old are you? How old were you when you were turned?"

"Sixteen, Sir," Michael said, his voice soft and trembling. "It was two days after I turned sixteen."

"How long ago was that?" Carlisle continued his gentle inquiry. "What year were you changed?"

"Seventeen-seventy-five," he said, fighting to stand still, fighting to remain calm as he realized that he had no escape. "Why are your eyes that color?" he asked in confusion.

"My eyes, _our_ eyes are gold, because we do not feed on humans," Carlisle told him gently. "We only feed on animals."

Michael suddenly laughed; the sound humorless and mixed with an odd hint of grief. He shook his head, his pale face contorted in misery as he looked at the ground.

"That's impossible," Michael argued. "The one who made me, before she threw me out, she told me that animal blood is toxic to our kind."

Carlisle stood motionless as he stared at Michael. His eyes closed in sadness only to open and look at his wife over the boy's shoulder. He could see in her expression that she, too, was upset. They had come upon him in a small park near the university library, had seen the boy pull back from the homeless man's body only to fold in on himself and rock back and forth as he sat beneath a tree. He was clearly upset by the need to feed on human blood and Carlisle had stepped up wanting to ask why the boy didn't simply feed on animals instead. When Michael had seen him though, the last thing Carlisle had expected was for their presence to bring on a panic attack.

"When did this happen, Michael?" Carlisle asked, being certain to keep his voice as soothing as possible. "When did she throw you out? What happened?"

"Six months after she made me what I am," he said, as he began to calm slightly. "I refused to eat, refused to feed on anyone. Then one night she brought a child, a tiny little child," his voice mourning as whispered," into our house and threw him at me. I had drained him before I knew what I had done. When I tried to force the blood back out, to throw it up, she threw me out. She told me that I had better get used to feeding on humans and swore to me that animal blood was toxic. If I fed on an animal…"

"What did she tell you would happen?" Carlisle asked when Michael remained silent.

He didn't understand why he was feeling calmer, why his fear was abating. Looking around him as he again tried to find a way out, a clear path to run, he saw Angela standing off to the side wrapped in the arms of two male vampires. One was blonde and the other bronze, both appeared to be roughly his same age when they had been turned and both had gold eyes. Angela's face, the gentle human girl who frightened him because of how much her blood sang to him, was watching him with worry and sadness in her eyes. She looked as though she wanted to run to him, but he was terrified of what would happen if she got too close to him.

"Michael?" Carlisle brought the boy's attention back to him. "What did she tell you would happen if you fed on animal blood?"

"She said that it would incite uncontrolled rage, that I would destroy everything around me. She said that if I fed on one animal, I would slaughter an entire village in my need for human blood. I don't want to hurt anyone," he said as he tried once again to look for a way to run. "Please, either kill me or let me go."

"Kill you?" Carlisle's voice was horrified, his face contorted in concern and disbelief. "We are not here to bring any harm to you, Michael."

"Aren't you?" he asked. "Didn't _she_ send you?"

"No one has sent us, young one," Eleazar said, his voice drawing the boy's attention as it ignited a new wave of panic in him. "We are not here to kill you. Why would you think we were?"

"For as long as I can remember, she has sent those that she has created after me to kill me. When she threw me out she called me defective and she does not abide imperfection," he said as he felt a new wave of calm infuse into his being.

"Michael," it was Angela's sweet voice that drew his attention this time, though she remained in the twin embrace of the two vampires. "Papa won't hurt you," she said as she shook her head, her eyes focused on her friend. "He won't, he can't," she promised him. "It's not who he is. Please? It's ok," she told him wanting to both hug him and cry for him.

"It's not safe right now," Edward spoke softly in her ear and kissed her hair as he looked at Michael. "He's just fed, but not enough; the pull of your blood is too strong for him right now. I'm sorry, baby girl, but I can't let you get any closer."

Using their momentary distraction to his advantage, Michael fled in the gap between Eleazar and Carlisle, running as fast he dared only to be stopped by another man. They were the same height, but this man was huge, muscled and reminded him of a bear. The woman next to him was blonde, the most beautiful he had ever seen, but she still frightened him. He had never met any of his kind that wanted to do anything other than kill him. Speed was the one thing that he had always held as an advantage though and he shot to the left before anyone else could stop him. He was gone in an instant and Angela turned her eyes up to Edward, pleading in her thoughts for him to help Michael.

"We will, Sweetheart," Edward promised her, kissing her forehead as he turned his attention on Carlisle. "Victoria turned him," he said, keeping his voice too low for Angela to hear. "She's been sending newborns after him ever since she threw him out, in a way; he's been abused as much as Angela has."

Carlisle stepped toward them, taking Angela into his arms when Jasper and Edward released her from their hold. Kissing her forehead, he petted her hair and promised her that he would do whatever he could to help her friend. Transitioning from human blood to animal was difficult and too much of a risk for Carlisle to add Michael to his coven, but perhaps another coven could take him in. Turning his attention on Eleazar when his friend stepped up to him, he watched the Spanish man nod before he stepped away and withdrew his phone from his pocket.

"It will be alright, Angela," Carlisle promised her as he pulled away and tucked her hair behind her ears. "I promise you that."

**:::::**

"I've never seen one of our kind so frightened before," Jasper said as he looked between Carlisle and Esme. "He wasn't just scared, he was completely terrified."

"As soon as he saw you, all he could think about was getting away. The only experiences he's had with our kind have been violent. Victoria has been sending newborns out to kill him since she threw him out. He was never taught how to defend himself against our kind. He's terrified of us and even more terrified of himself. Feeding on humans leaves him feeling sick," Edward told his family and looked up at the closed door of their suite.

"She's alright, they both are," Alice told her brother as she followed his line of sight. "Bella took Angela down to the coffee shop in the lobby. They'll be back soon."

"We still don't know where her stalker is," Edward argued as he shook his head in worry and frustration.

"We can't keep her locked up twenty-four seven," Alice told him as she looked at the concerned faces around the room. "All that would serve to do is terrify her more. The building is secured, you can't get in without a keycard or a reservation, and the doorman checks for both. I made certain this hotel was secure when I made the reservations."

"No one knows what he looks like or what he can look like," Emmett said from where he stood by the wall. "He could be anyone."

"We'll keep her protected," Carlisle affirmed as he looked at his adopted children and his friends from the Denali coven. "It's been long enough since her attack that I can start giving her the Toradol again in the morning," he told Jasper. "How have her migraines been?"

"Moderate at best," Jasper answered with a sigh. "I know she doesn't like that I have to feel her pain in order to help her, but they've been growing recently. She's also been exhausted more often lately."

"I know," Carlisle confirmed with a frown. "She's been waking in the middle of the night, I'm not certain if it's from her migraines or not."

"It's hard for me to see her thoughts when she's sleeping," Edward said. "She seems to have slept far more deeply these past few nights since we checked in, but wakes more often. I'm not sure if it's because we're in a new place or not," he said and looked over at Rosalie. "You think it would help?"

"I don't know," she said with a shrug of her brows. "It was more of an errant thought than anything. She hasn't asked for one."

"She never asks for anything," Emmett said as he looked between his adopted siblings. "What is it you thought might help?" he asked his wife.

"A journal," Rosalie said, "she used to keep one, but you said it was found in her stalker's house. Obviously they're going to have to keep it as evidence and there's no telling if she'll want that particular one back after everything is over. If we got her a new one, maybe it would help her to write about what happened. She doesn't seem willing to talk about it."

"It's a good idea," Carlisle nodded and looked at Esme.

"I'm taking her shopping later this afternoon for the school supplies she wanted to pick up for the woman at the festival. I can pick one up for her when we go," Esme said and answered Carlisle's smile with one of her own.

"Angela?" Rosalie's concern drew everyone's attention to the door. "What's wrong?" she asked as the girl stepped into the suite with Bella following behind her.

"There was a gym downstairs, to the left of the lobby," Bella said quietly as she looked at Edward. "She was curious."

Carlisle saw the tightness in Edward's face, the telling way his son wasn't saying anything answering his unspoken question. Standing from the small sofa, he walked around it and stepped up to Angela. Tucking her hair behind her ear, he looked into her eyes and waited for her to voice the question he could see in her eyes. Her expression worried him, the fear mixed with confusion, and he wondered how he would respond to her question.

"There was a scale," Angela said, her voice distracted as she tried to find an answer to her own question. "I know my clothes have been a bit tighter and I was curious…it said I'm one hundred-twenty-five pounds," she said as she turned her eyes up to him. "That's ten pounds more than I've ever been…Why haven't I been sick?"

Carlisle sighed as he wrapped her in his arms and held her close to his chest. He caught Emmett's gaze over her shoulder and saw the tight anger he was trying to hide. Eleazar and Carmen hadn't been there, but for the rest of them, the memory of the illness induced by her parents was burned into each of their minds. Tipping his head down, he kissed her hair and leaned back just enough to cup her face in his hands.

"The answer, I fear, will only bring you pain," he told Angela as he studied her eyes.

"I don't want to know," she said softly, "but I feel like I need to know."

Nodding as he took in a deep breath, Carlisle led her over to the two arm chairs set by the window and sat down with her. Bella stepped into Edward's open arms, watching her friend with worry as Carlisle spoke with her in low tones. She hated all of the pain that Angela was forced to endure. She didn't understand how anyone could be so cruel to their own child, especially someone like Angela. Feeling Edward smooth his hand down over her hair, she looked up at him and followed when he led her to the couch and sat down with her.

"She's scared and she's hurt," he told Bella softly as he held her tucked against his side, "but she'll be ok."

"What's wrong with them that they would do that to her?" Bella pleaded him quietly for an answer.

"I don't know," he told her, his voice low. "I wish I had an answer that would bring her some sense of comfort, but I don't. There is no explanation or reason for what they've done to her over the years."

"They drugged me?" Angela whimpered, her voice low enough that only a vampire could hear her words. "Why?"

"I don't know, baby girl," Carlisle said as he looked down at his hand that she was gripping tightly.

"Why do they hate me so much?" she pleaded him for an answer. "What's wrong with me?"

"Nothing," he promised her, his soft voice fierce. "There is nothing wrong with you at all; I promise you that, Angela. You are a beautiful, compassionate, intelligent young woman that I am proud to call my daughter."

Angela looked down at their joined hands, her face contorted in grief. She didn't understand why her parents would do something like that. Why drug her to make her believe that her body couldn't handle the weight? Why condemn her for migraines that she couldn't control and lock her in a closet for speaking about or showing her pain? The memory of her mother's words from almost a year ago came back to her with startling clarity and Angela felt her stomach twist violently as she covered her mouth and ran for the bathroom.

'_If we hadn't been trapped in a no fly zone in a village that had no knowledge of abortion or birth control, then you and I wouldn't be having this conversation because I would've saved myself the shame and disappointment you have brought me. I knew I should've just drowned you in the river.'_

Her mother's words wouldn't stop looping through her mind, the woman's casual tone of voice full of disgust and malcontent. She stayed on her knees in front of the toilet, barely registering Esme's soft hands and kind words as the woman held her hair and rubbed her back. Esme looked up at her husband sadly, grief over Angela's pain clear in her eyes. He knelt down on the girl's side opposite his wife, gently dabbing at her face with toilet tissue before handing her a small paper cup filled with water and instructing her to rinse her mouth. Tossing the crumpled cup into the waste bin and closing the toilet before flushing it, Carlisle scooped Angela into his arms and cradled her against his chest as he took her back to the hotel bed.

"I'll go with you to get the things Angela wanted," Edward offered Esme as she stepped out of the bathroom. "As powerful as her memories of her parents are right now, I'm afraid of what will happen if I stay close to her for much longer. I can't remember having felt so angry before."

"You'll tell me what it is that upset her?" Esme asked as she walked out of the suite with him, knowing that it was more than just the revelation Carlisle had made.

"Yes," Edward said holding Bella's hand in his as he pulled the door closed behind him.

Carlisle waited as Alice helped Angela change into more comfortable clothes before he ushered her into bed and lay down beside her. Wrapping her in his embrace as she curled against his chest, he kissed her hair. She pillowed her head in the crook of his shoulder, her cheek lying on his chest and he turned his head enough to kiss her hair. Why did it seem that every time they took one step forward in helping her to heal, her parents or stalker did something to make them fall two steps back? Hadn't she been through enough?

Searching his mind for a story to tell her or a memory that would bring her peace, he found himself only able to remember the lyrics to an old song. Kissing her hair once more as he held her close, Carlisle encouraged her to close her eyes and began to softly sing 'Goodnight, my Angel' to her. She was asleep within moments, the soothing quality of his lyrical voice combined with the Billy Joel song granting her enough peace to find the comfort of sleep. Pulling the blankets up higher around her shoulders, he let his cheek rest against her hair as he held her.

"You are loved, little one," he promised her quietly. "You are my daughter now. You have a family here with us and we will never send you away or hurt you."

**:::::**

She wanted to see him, needed to see him, but the force of her upset was almost too much to bear. She didn't know that she was crying until she realized that she couldn't see through the tears blurring her vision and fell to her knees in the sandy grasses. Everything hurt so much, more than was fair. She didn't understand any of it and that only made her pain worse. She covered her face with her hands as the first aching sob broke free; it felt as though she were shattering into pieces, so strong was her upset.

Marcus looked up from where he stood by the edge of the cliff, watching the waves crash against the rocks below. He wasn't sure when it happened, but the sharpened peaks were no longer tipping the boulders below, instead they were smooth as river rocks. The sound came again and he stepped away from the edge, following the noise as he tried to determine what it was. Someone was crying, he realized only for his brow to furrow in concern. Angela was the only other person that ever came here. His steps quickened, the numbness of his soul tearing grief being overshadowed by the concern that twisted his heart.

He rounded the large boulder and his steps stilled so quickly that he didn't recall stopping. She was sitting on the ground, her face buried in her knees and arms wrapped around her legs while she cried as though someone had died. He was by her side in the next instant, his arms closing in around her as he lifted her into his arms and sat down holding her in lap. She turned against him, burying her face in the curve of his throat as her arms wrapped around his neck. Her tears burned against his skin, the scent of the salt stinging his nose. He held her closer, rubbed her back as she clung to him. The force of her tears felt unstoppable and the need he felt to right whatever was wrong was powerful and demanding.

He talked to her, tried to calm her, begged to know what was wrong but nothing worked. Her sorrow was too powerful and all she was able to do was cling to him for dear life as she rode the waves of her pain. He rocked her slowly; unable to remember a time when he had ever seen someone as upset as the girl he held trembling in his arms. In longer than he cared to remember, the only thing he had felt was soul shattering despair, but as he held Angela in his arms, Marcus realized that his despair had been blocked by the worry he felt for her.

Turning his head, he rested his cheek against her hair, holding her in his arms as he stared at the rocky landscape surrounding them. It was an errant thought, but one that took hold of him nonetheless, she deserved better than this. Standing with her in his arms, Marcus looked around the Grecian countryside and focused his mind on what he thought would be better. The sandy grasses beneath his feet faded, morphed as they changed into plush carpeting that was interspersed with thick floor pillows. A dark red velvet couch appeared nearby, the piece of furniture from the Victorian era or before. The cliffs and mountains in the distance remained, but were framed by polished clear glass, the French door window standing open to allow the breeze inside as walls formed around them. Wooden shelves appeared, innumerable volumes of books filling the shelves until they were surrounded by nothing but books and plush comforts.

He walked slowly to the couch and sat down with Angela in his lap, her tears having slowed. Her face was still hidden in the curve of his throat, but she was still, her desperate grip having loosened and he tipped her back gently to find that she had fallen asleep in his arms. He didn't try to wake her or send her back to her own mind; instead Marcus sat upon the velvet sofa, holding her close as he let her sleep in his arms. Let Aro think that he had finally lost himself to his grief; he thought as he looked down into Angela's sleeping face. There was nothing that could pull him away from the girl in his arms. She needed him, she was the first person since Didyme who truly needed him and he would not forsake her.

Marcus looked up, his eyes scanning the room as he searched for the person who couldn't possibly be there with them. Her voice was sweet, gentle and loving as it filled the room in whispers that were only loud enough for him to hear. She told him that she loved him, promised him that she always would. Her bodiless voice implored him to take care of the girl in his arms, to protect her in whatever way he could. Angela was important, she told him, Angela would change things. Before her voice faded away completely, she promised him that Angela was not a manifestation of his grief, but a real live girl who needed him as much as he needed her.

"Didyme," Marcus whispered, looking down on Angela's sleeping face when his wife's voice faded into nothing. "Didyme, did you send her to me?"


	24. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Don't think, just run, she told herself_._ Angela could feel her heart pounding in a furious rhythm, hard enough that she thought it might burst through the flesh and bone surrounding it. Her breath was coming in pants too fast and short for her to be able to fill her lungs with, but still she ran. The corridor around her was dark and seemed to stretch on forever. Whipping her head around to look behind her, Angela cried out in surprise and pain when she slammed full force into the ungiving double doors in front of her. The breath she drew in was sharp, toned with a high pitched whimper as she gripped the wide push-down bars of the doors handles and shook them fiercely. The chain locking it from the other side rattled and clanked, but never gave an inch.

"No," she whimpered as tears blurred her vision.

The pounding footsteps were closing in on her, gaining on her position and Angela cried out as she turned to her right, darting down another long hallway in her attempt to escape. The floor beneath her feet changed, the light colored laminate giving way to small one-inch square black and white ceramic tiles. The floor was slick beneath her sneakered feet and she cried out when she lost her footing, falling hard onto her side and jarring her hip against the hard floor. Her hands slipped on the wet tile, unable to gain enough purchase to rise to her feet. She cried out at the sound of the footsteps coming closer, her stalker's voice calling out to her.

_Angela, wake up._

Her left ankle was seized in an iron grip as she felt herself being dragged across the floor. She kicked out frantically as she looked behind her, saw her mother's face and the pool the woman was dragging her to. Her mother's cruel words, the reminder that her mother had considered drowning her as an infant, came back to her. Her panic increased to an alarming level, her rapid breathing catching in her throat and causing her lungs to burn with the demanding need for oxygen.

_Angela, you are safe. You are here with us, Sweetheart. You need to wake up._

Safe? How could she be safe? The floor disappeared beneath her as she was pulled forward sharply and dragged roughly into the pool. She opened her mouth to cry out, taking in a deep breath only to have her mouth and lungs fill with water as her mother's hand closed around her throat and held her under the surface. She clawed at her hand, digging deep with her nails until the woman let go. She fought for purchase, scrambled to the surface of the water, only to be pulled under again.

_Baby girl, please wake up. I promise you that you're safe._

She fought harder, scratched frantically at the hands holding her until she was able to break free. She had been pulled down so deep that the water around her was dark, black as night. She couldn't breathe, she had to get to the surface, but the water around her seemed never ending. She felt her hand break the surface, the darkness surrounding her giving way to light as the water disappeared and in its place was the softness of the hotel bed. She was being held from behind as Carlisle sat in front of her and someone else placed a kiss on her temple.

She tried to pull air into her lungs to speak, only to cough instead as her lungs both protested the air and demanded more. She was leaned forward slightly, the person seated behind her rubbing her back as Carlisle coaxed her gently to take deep slow breaths. Her breathing finally calmed, leaving her feeling as weak and helpless as a newborn as she was tipped back to lean against the smooth cool chest behind her. She looked down at the arm wrapped around her waist, saw the familiar wrist cuff and knew it was Jasper she was being held by. Her vision was somewhat blurred as she looked around, left exhausted by the adrenaline rush her nightmare had inspired.

Edward was kneeling next to the bed on her right, Emmett seated on her left, while Carlisle sat directly in front of her. Near the wall, standing behind Emmett, were Carmen, Eleazar and Rosalie. Seated on the bed near Carlisle and by her feet were Esme, Alice and Bella. She was still panting, but her breaths were slower, deeper as her racing heart calmed. She leaned back tiredly against Jasper, letting her head roll until her forehead was resting against the curve of his throat, her soft breaths puffing against his marble skin. Her eyes closed slowly, her nightmare leaving her exhausted as she returned to a dreamless sleep.

"She's out," Edward said quietly as he watched Jasper tip his head to kiss her hair.

"How far away were you?" Carlisle asked Jasper, his son having burst into the hotel room with the rest of his family only a few minutes before he had finally been able to coax Angela awake.

"We were down by Pike's Market, almost five miles from here," Jasper said and shushed the girl in his arms gently when she stirred. "It wasn't just the alarm I heard this time," he said as he met his adoptive father's gaze. "I actually heard her voice inside my head. She was more terrified than I've ever felt from her before."

Edward's gaze turned sharply to Eleazar, the Spanish man realizing that he would have to explain at least a little of her talent to her adopted family. He looked down at Angela, the girl boxed in under the protection of her adoptive brothers and father.

"She will be far more powerful than you can imagine, once she becomes one of us," Eleazar said slowly as he studied what he could see of the human girl's sleeping face. "It is not unheard of for a human's power to manifest itself while they are mortal, for instance Bella's ability to shield herself. But for one with abilities similar to Angela's, her talents right now are tied to her emotions. For talents such as hers to manifest and grow while she is human, they would be brought out by only one of two things: incredible passion, or great trauma. And unfortunately for her, the cause is the latter."

"We should leave her to rest," Carlisle said as he stood from the bed.

He watched Jasper move carefully from behind Angela, his adoptive son laying her gently back to rest on the pillows. The smile that pulled at his lips was tinged with sadness as he reached down to smooth her hair back from her face. Carlisle wasn't surprised in the least when Emmett and Jasper climbed into the bed on either side of the girl, enfolding her in their arms as they had done countless times before. It was almost impossible to protect her from the nightmares that plagued her, but her brothers were determined to do whatever they could. Turning his attention on Edward, he followed the rest of his family out into the common room and waited for his telepathic son to join them.

"I'm not sure when it happened," Edward said slowly, his voice barely controlling the anger he felt burning inside him. "All I was able to hear was her mother's voice, the words spoken to her. She told Angela that she had thought about drowning her in the river after she was born, that's what made her sick earlier. After you explained to her why she would get sick before," he told Carlisle, "the words kept repeating inside her mind. They wouldn't be silenced. On some level, she knows that what they did to her was wrong, but on a greater level she's still believes that she somehow deserved it. She doesn't understand why they abused or abandoned her and that hurts her more than anything else."

_How do we help her?_ Esme asked him through her thoughts, her voice too constricted by emotion to allow her to speak aloud.

"I don't know. Out of all of us here," Edward told his adoptive mother, "you're the only one who has had any similar experiences. You're the one who would know how to help her best."

"You were abused?" Carmen asked her friend in concern.

Esme nodded, "verbally and emotionally by my parents," she confirmed as she looked down at her hands and shook her head; "physically by my husband when I was human, but nothing like what Angela has experienced."

Esme leaned into Carlisle when he sat beside her on the sofa and rubbed the back of her hand. Angela was always careful not to display her fear or pain and it worried them all. They knew that she had been abused for such things in the past by her human parents. Bella looked down at her hands as she stood under Edward's arm. She wanted to help her friend, but she really wasn't sure how. Would a counselor help? Would that even be an option given her new home with the Cullens? And what about her parents? What would they do if they found out that Angela was living with the Cullens? Sure, they had thrown her out, but if they discovered that she was staying with another family – a well respected family headed by the town's most prestigious doctor – would they see it as an insult or a betrayal?

"Bella?" she turned her head up to look at Edward, surprised by the concern in his eyes. "Are you alright?"

She would have tried to smile if thought she could actually achieve the facial expression with any success, but instead Bella bit her lip and averted her eyes before shaking her head. What Angela was going through was almost beyond her comprehension. Would her friend ever be able to escape the ghosts of her parents' abuse? Would her stalker be caught before he hurt someone else or had another go at Angela? Then there was the Volturi to contend with. What if they found out about Angela or her for that matter? Would they attack the Cullens or try to kill Angela and herself because they were human?

Carlisle looked toward the closed door quietly. He would protect Angela; he would love her as his daughter and help her heal from all that she had been through. Standing up from the couch, Carlisle made his way to the window and looked down into the darkened streets below. He watched Bella's reflection in the glass as she stood within the circle of Edward's arms and knew that it wouldn't be long until she was asleep as well. It was still very early in the morning, well before dawn, the girl having been woken by Angela's frightened cries. His human daughters were unspeakably fragile in comparison to the rest of his family and it was a source of constant concern for him.

"Carlisle?" Bella's soft voice drew his attention and he turned around to face her. "How can I help?"

Her dark eyes held pain and sadness as she thought of her friend and Carlisle stepped forward slowly. Angela had needed him as a father in her life, but he was ashamed to admit that he hadn't thought of how this must be affecting Bella. Angela was her best friend and he had no doubt that in some way the girl was blaming herself for not having seen what Angela had tried so hard to hide. Holding his hand out to Bella, he waited patiently for her to place her palm in his before drawing forward to hold in his arms.

"Just be there for her," Carlisle told Bella softly as he tucked her hair behind her ear and smiled somewhat sadly. "It's really all that we can do."

**:::::**

His lip twitched up at the side in an almost unseen snarl. He still couldn't believe that she had gotten away from him. No one had ever gotten away from him before and he wasn't about to leave her. She was his. She belonged to him! His actions were clumsy, his depth perception off thanks to the copious amount of alcohol that he had consumed since entering the seedy bar on the outskirts of Sooke, British Columbia. He slammed the double shot glass down on the bar intent to order another round of the burning whiskey only to curse when the force of his hit shattered the glass in his hand. The sharp edged pieces cut into his palm, blood pooling from beneath the torn flesh, but he was too inebriated to realize that he was only giving the authorities more of a trail to follow.

He demanded another drink only to be rejected by the bartender. The middle-aged woman looked behind him, signaling to someone else and he soon found himself being dragged from the stool. He tried to fight back, lashing out against the strong hands holding him, but the bouncer was too big for someone his size to contend with. The door of the bar was slammed open and he was thrown outside, the bouncer telling him to sleep it off.

"Sleep it off?" he repeated as he looked at the broken neon sign that buzzed in the night. "Sleep it off? Bitch belongs to me. How dare my rose escape after everything I did for her. Needs be taught a lesson," he slurred before passing out in the alley between the buildings.

It was well after midday when he finally woke up, the fog of his hangover clouding his mind. His head ached, his vision was blurred and his stomach felt as though it would empty itself at any moment, but he didn't care. The plan that had been formed out of an alcohol induced rage the night before came back to him with clarity and a cruel smile slowly pulled at his lips. He would teach her a lesson. He would make her see that she shouldn't have run.

"Everything that is to happen is because of your actions, Angela. Know that you have no one to blame but yourself for what is to come," he said, speaking the words as he wrote them down on postcard.

He bypassed his car, choosing to discard the old model sedan as he walked back to the motel a few blocks away. They didn't ask for names or credit cards, they didn't even ask for I.D. as long as you had the cash to pay the rent. They didn't care who you were or why you came there and you could pay for your room by the hour or by the week, it was the perfect place to hide and be unseen. He set the card down on the table by the bed, the dingy wood covered in dust and something else that made it feel almost sticky. Normally he was meticulous about his surroundings being clean and spotless, but this time he didn't care.

Discarding his clothes, he left them in a pile by the door and made his way to the bathroom naked as the day he was born. He spent nearly an hour under the hot spray of the shower, scrubbing at his hair and body. He wanted to be certain that there were no traces of make up or hair dyes left anywhere on his person. He was going out into the world as himself, a person that no one remembered. After all, the easiest place to hide was in plain sight.

Drying off and dressing in one of the few designer suits he owned that were tailored specifically for him and not one of his 'characters', he gathered his towel and the discarded clothes into his arms. Locking the door behind him, he carried the items to a nearby fire barrel and dropped them inside before setting them ablaze. Leave no traces behind. That was the one rule he had lived by for more than a decade. He made his way to the motel office, picking the lock on the gated door without any difficulty and slipping easily inside. The stoned idiot had left the cash box unlocked. He easily emptied it of the near two thousand Canadian dollars and then turned to the black safe on the floor beneath the counter. There was another three thousand dollars in mixed Canadian and American funds. This was too easy.

He stuffed the cash into his pocket, leaving the coins behind. He left the motel office without anyone being the wiser. He took to the streets. Walking toward the rental car lot down the block, he was careful to stay out of sight as he removed the multi-tool from his pocket and undid the screws holding the license plate on the high class rental car and tucked the formed metal into his pocket and under his arm. He moved quietly, unseen to the car lot across the street and hid from the cameras and salesmen as he attached the stolen plate to the black Escalade. It was easy to retrieve the magnetic hide-a-key box from under the left rear wheel and even easier to unlock the car and drive away. No one looked for him, no one even thought about the car driving away once they saw the plate.

He stopped a few blocks away to remove any and all signs that the car had come from a sales lot and made certain that there was nothing that could indicate it was stolen. He drove around for awhile, getting a feel for the town when he heard a familiar name being called and slowed down to just under ten miles per hour. The woman was young, beautiful, her dark hair shining in the sun. He watched her run through the short grass toward the small child with blonde-brown curls.

"Angela! Angela Warner you are having too much fun, miss!" the woman laughed as she ran toward the girl.

"I'm five today, mommy!" the little girl named Angela giggled back as she ran in a circle with her arms spread wide.

His smile was slow, malicious as he watched the child play. She would be the perfect way to send his message. He pressed the button to roll back up the window and spent the rest of day following the small family of mother and daughter. Soon he would know all he needed to know about them. And soon, Angela, his delicate rose, would know the consequences for running away from him.

**:::::**

He looked around him carefully, his breath held as he fought against the thirst burning in the back of his throat. He hadn't even come close to satiating his hunger with the homeless man the day before, but he couldn't risk going out to feed again. There were others of his kind near; he had to stay out of sight. Slipping in through the back entrance of the darkened library, he made his way through the stacks toward the section he favored. He appreciated history, he had lived through a great deal of it, but he hadn't had the time to really take in what was going on. His life had been spent running and perfecting the art of escaping instead of being able to truly study and take in the events occurring around him. The world had changed so much and all he wanted to do was learn about it.

He wanted to know what had happened in the world that he had lived through, just as much as he wanted to know what was happening right now. Over the years, he had snuck into libraries and universities at night instead of staying in the wilds or caves to hide. He knew over ten different languages, but he never had anyone to speak with. He had studied archaeology from its earliest appearance in Stanford and Harvard universities. He had made his way across the country after reading about the climate in the Pacific Northwest and the almost constant cover of clouds and misting rain specific to the Olympic Peninsula.

He would spend the daytime exploring the Olympic Rainforest. At least he had until the past few months. He had been trailing up through the woods one afternoon almost four months ago when he had seen a creature that couldn't possibly be real. A wolf standing, as tall as a draft horse and as dark as night, had stepped out of the cover of trees to stare at him, the sound of his growl rolling like thunder. He had been frozen in place for a moment, but once the wolf had taken the first step toward him, he had run faster than he could ever remember. He hadn't returned to Forks since, or anywhere near it. The Suzzallo library at the University of Washington campus in Seattle had become his new home, the only regret he held was the lost conversations with Angela.

Michael moved over the wood and leather bound newspapers that sat on a table by themselves. He lifted the large volume that held the Seattle Times collection from the year nineteen-ninety-nine. He had always held an odd fascination with the last year of the centuries, always wanting to know what was happening around the world during that time. People, mostly religious, were always convinced that the world was ending. It amused him to no end. If only the humans knew how much the world had stayed the same throughout all of its changes…Michael laughed at himself as he took the book back to a table and flipped on the green shaded banker's lamp that was permanently fixed to the edge of the huge table.

He opened the book, taking great care to be gentle with the aging newspaper as he turned to the first page and read through the stories. He couldn't help the thoughts that were clouding his mind. He missed Angela, he missed talking with her and watching her read. He missed her scent, the way she drew him in almost hypnotically. He loved to be near her, but he was absolutely terrified of her as well. Her blood called to him stronger than anything he had ever known. He wanted her, he wanted to be with her, but he wanted to taste her blood as well. It frightened him, he felt almost out of control near her and as much as he knew it hurt her, he had disappeared from her life in order to keep her safe.

"She sings to you," a voice said to him from the darkness and Michael froze in his seat, looking around the dark library for whoever was hiding in the shadows. "I won't hurt you. Neither will my family. I know you're frightened of us, I know you'd rather just run away, but there is another way to live, Michael."

"Another way?" Michael asked, keeping his voice purposefully below the range of human hearing.

"You know, you don't even have to speak if you don't want to. Angela doesn't talk all that much when I'm around."

"Why not?"

"Because," Edward stepped out of the shadows and looked at the young boy still sitting at the table, "I can read thoughts. Angela tells me that she finds my talent comforting; sometimes I think she's the only one who does. My name is Edward Cullen. Angela…well let's just say she's my little sister. She asked us to help you and we will, not just for her, but because no one should have to live in fear the way you do."

Michael watched with wide eyes as Edward stepped closer slowly. He was giving him time to run, he realized. _He's testing me_, Michael told himself as he took in a deep steadying breath. _Please, let this time be different. _

"May I?" Edward asked, motioning to the chair next to where Michael was seated.

_Ok_, Michael thought, fear constricting his physical voice.

"You don't need to be afraid of us," Edward told him. "Well, maybe Rosalie, she's got a temper. But the rest of us are fairly easy."

"How did you find me?" Michael asked as he fought against the desire to run.

"It wasn't that difficult, not after I read your thoughts when we first met. You're just like Angela; all I had to do was think of where she would go if she wanted somewhere to hide. For her it would be a library," he tipped his head to the side as a lopsided grin twisted his lips, "or a museum. You were never given a chance to know all that this life can hold. Believe me, I'm not promoting our kind in any way, until recently I wasn't even certain I was that happy with it myself."

"What changed?" Michael asked, the conversation bringing him an odd sense of comfort.

"I found Bella," Edward said simply. "Her blood sings to me the same way Angela's does to you. I feel drawn to her every day, irrevocably bound to her, which is how it should be between mates. Angela's a bit different though, she made me see this life differently. Your innate power, your talent," Edward told the boy in front of him, "is for moving faster than anyone else, escaping danger. Angela's innate gift, the one that she wields without thought or knowledge, is her ability to heal your heart. She takes away your darkness and replaces it with light."

"She's human," Michael shook his head not understanding how Edward could talk about Angela having a talent.

"She is," he said with a nod, "for now. You can get to know her, Michael, as she is now as a human. But to do that, you need to trust us, let us help you switch from a diet of human blood that obviously brings you pain, to a more…vegetarian lifestyle. Feeding on animals will not cause you to slaughter anyone; in fact, it allows us to be more human. We form bonds of love and family instead of power and dominance. You're still hungry, I can tell. My sister, Alice, is here with me. We are going hunting tonight and thought you should join us. I won't hurt you, neither will Alice. Let us show you our life."

Michael's eyes snapped to the left as he focused on an area just behind Edward. A small woman stepped out from the darkness, her short stature and delicate physique made her appear fairy-like and fragile, but he knew better than anyone how deceptive appearances could be. He stood up from the table, the manners trained into him from his human youth reappearing. Always stand before a lady, bow to her ever so slightly to show your respect and protect her so that she doesn't have to worry about protecting herself.

Edward chuckled lightly, his lips twitching with amusement. His mother had taught him the very same manners when he was a boy. Some things never changed. He watched Alice step closer, his psychic sister making Michael a bit nervous.

_Don't worry, Edward,_ Alice's thoughts came to him. _He's already decided to go hunting with us. He's curious and he doesn't want to hurt anyone. Something's strange though, I don't think he could see me._

"Michael," Edward's voice called the young man's attention back to him. "How often do you feed and how much?"

"Only when I can't stand it anymore, once, maybe twice every three months," Michael answered, the burning feeling in the back of his throat beginning to choke him. "I don't like being near anyone if I can help it, I try not to breathe, the smell of people makes the burning worse."

"How much do you feed when you do eat?" Edward asked him, his brow furrowed in concern as he read Alice's thoughts.

"As little as I can stand. I only take what I absolutely need," he told him.

"Can you see those doors beyond the stacks?" Edward asked, pointing to the darkened area behind Alice. "You can't, can you?" Edward pursed his lips. "Because of what we are, we cannot die by our own hands. We cannot starve ourselves to death, but if we do not feed often enough our bodies will go into a kind of…hibernation. Certain things will begin to shut down, our sight for instance," he explained to Michael. "Will lose the sharpness of our vampire nature and return to something barely more than human. Our strength," he rushed forward and pinned Michael's arms against his sides. "I'm not doing this to frighten you, I want you to try and get out of my grip…You can't," Edward released a heavy sigh and stepped back as he let go of Michael. "You can't even lift your arms. In your desire to not hurt humans you are only hurting yourself. Come, hunt with us."

_What if it's true?_ Michael thought, not realizing he was projecting his worries at Edward. _What if I slaughter everyone?_

"That won't happen," Edward assured him. "Come, you need to feed."

**:::::**

The smell of the deer was different, but in some ways welcoming. He saw it move, but the animal disappeared into shadows too dark for his eyes to follow. He moved forward to follow it only to stop when he heard the distinct snapping of the animal's neck. Alice appeared next to him, taking his hand as she led him forward to the dead six point buck.

"Go on," Alice said to Michael and nudged him forward. "I promise you, it'll be alright," she told him.

Alice stood back, watching as Michael knelt beside the large deer and bent forward slowly. He closed his eyes and breathed in deeply, a snarl ripping from low in his throat seconds before he buried his teeth in the animals' neck. He pulled in great gulps of the animal's blood, the warm liquid flowing over his tongue thickly as it coated his throat and soothed the ever present burn of his thirst. He kept pulling at the blood, the suction created by his mouth growing stronger as the blood flow slowed. He pulled back once the animal was drained, needing and wanting more.

He stood to look for something else, a rabbit, another deer, perhaps a mountain lion, he didn't care. The black forest began to lighten as the blood allowed his stronger predatory senses to return. A semi horn sounded nearby, the noise pulling a cry from Michael as he covered his ears and fell to his knees. Sights, sounds and smells were coming at him too fast to process as his senses sharpened to a degree they had never been before. He felt hands on him, one set restraining, the other comforting as he adjusted to the enhanced senses that were new to him.

"You've never actually fed to completion before, have you?" Edward asked as he looked down at Michael as he calmed. "You've never known how sharp our senses really are."

_I never wanted to hurt anyone_, Michael answered as he sat up and looked around. _I can see in the darkness_.

His head turned sharply to the side, the skittering noise drawing his attention. He breathed in deeply; surprised that he knew what the scent belonged to. There was another deer close by, a doe from the smell of it. He wanted it, he needed it. Edward looked at Alice, neither sibling having to speak a word to each other as they lifted their hands from Michael and followed after him as he darted further into the woods. They watched him catch the deer with ease, bringing it to the ground as he sunk his teeth into its flesh.

"Better?" Alice asked knowingly as he stood from the drained animal. "How do you feel?"

"Strong," Michael said with wonder. "I can see everything, I can hear everything."

"Do you mind hanging out with us while we hunt?" she asked him with a giggle.

"No, not at all," he said as he looked around at the world he felt he was seeing for the first time. "Is it always this intense?"

"You get used to it," Edward chuckled as Michael ran beside them. "It's all pretty new to you, huh?"

"Yeah," Michael stuttered.

Edward and Alice chuckled as they watched Michael lose himself in the fascination of the forest around them. To have never fed enough to know the true power of his vampire abilities was a testament to the boy's inner strength.

"Watch this," Edward said with an amused chuckle as he stopped to watch Alice take on the adolescent mountain lion.

_She'll get hurt!_ Michael thought as he watched Alice attack the beast from behind.

"Not likely," Edward chuckled without taking his eyes off of Alice. "Our bodies are impenetrable, remember. Nothing can harm us except another of our own kind. But then again, you never fed enough to keep yourself strong."

"She's so tiny," Michael said as he watched Alice take down the mountain lion and break its neck.

"Makes it easier to catch things," Alice said as she skipped up to them and Edward stepped forward to finish off the lion's blood. "Are you alright, Michael?"

He nodded quietly without meeting her gaze. "I can't remember the last time I was near one of my own kind who wasn't trying to kill me. It's…I don't know. I keep thinking I should run, but I don't want to be afraid anymore."

"We won't hurt you," Alice promised him. "I know it may take a while for you to believe that, but we won't hurt you, I promise."

Alice could see Eleazar and Carmen approaching in her vision; she could also see Michael running before they got close enough to see him. Turning to Edward and knowing that her brother had pulled the vision from her mind, she spoke to him through his talent and asked what to do. Edward shook his head as he looked back at Michael, knowing that the boy had caught their scents on the wind. There really wasn't anything they could do. If they forced him to stay against his will it would only heighten his anxiety, if they ran beside him and tried to convince him to stop it would only make him run faster. He had suffered too much violence in his immortal life to be able to trust others of his own kind so easily. It was a near miracle that he had agreed to come hunting with them in the first place.

"They won't hurt you, either," Edward said, only to shake his head.

His cheeks puffed out as he released a deep sigh. Michael was already gone. Edward didn't doubt one bit that Michael could very possibly be faster than he was. Survival had been his only goal throughout the years and being that he didn't know how to defend himself from would-be attackers, running was the only option Michael had. He looked back at Alice; there really wasn't much they could do. Michael had had no guide through this life, only tormentors and attackers and Edward knew it would take time before he was able to bring himself to trust another of his kind enough to stay near them longer than a few hours.

"He ran east," Edward told Eleazar and Carmen as they came to a stop in front of them. "I found him at the university library tonight."

"He'll be there again tomorrow," Alice said with confidence. "You just have to approach him slowly. He's still really afraid of us."

"He has the ability to read minds," Eleazar told them, "though not in the same manner that you do, Edward. His is more the ability to know the quickest and safest path to freedom. Through the minds of those around him he can find how to get out of wherever he is. I doubt he's aware of it. He's spent so long running that he would consider the talent to be instinct instead of something more."

"The sisters are preparing for him to join them – us," Carmen said as she looked between the Cullen siblings. "He will be safe with us, we will help guide him."

"He doesn't know how to defend himself," Edward told them. "Not to any degree. He's also never fed enough, before tonight, to keep himself strong. His body has been in a pseudo-hibernation since he was a newborn. When he fed to completion tonight, it was the very first time he has ever felt the heightened senses. It could make him more afraid of you, or even of himself."

Eleazar nodded once and thanked Edward for his advice before he and Carmen parted to hunt in the forests. Alice watched them leave before looking up at Edward; Angela certainly did seem to attract vampires.

"Yes, she does," Edward chuckled. "Bella's a magnet for trouble and Angela's a magnet for vampires. Between the two of them, we may need an entire army to keep them safe."

Alice giggled at his assessment before declaring a race and darted off in the direction of the hotel. Edward rolled his eyes as he gave chase after her. Even with a head start not one of his siblings had ever beaten him in a race.

**:::::**

Edward had to dodge to the side in order to keep from running over Alice when she stopped cold in front of him. They were roughly a mile from the hotel, but he could see the vision forming in her mind that kept her too distracted to move. She looked up at him in worry, knowing that he had seen the vision almost as soon as she had and shared the worry she felt. He watched Alice bite her lip, a gesture that made her look years younger than what she was.

"Edward," she spoke aloud, even as she knew that she didn't need to.

"I know," he said as he looked at her. "Don't worry too much, ok?" he told Alice as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders, content to walk the remainder of the journey beside her instead of completing their race. "It'll be alright."

"I don't know," she shook her head as she looked at the thinning forest in front of them. "He wants to talk to you alone first, but you both will need to talk with Carlisle and Esme."

Alice kept silent as they walked, the vision cycling through her mind as she tried to reach for more information. She had seen Jasper sitting in the lobby of the hotel, his face full of quiet concern as he watched the hotel doors waiting for Edward and Alice to return. She knew of his desire to speak with Edward, the need he had to compare their talents and see if he could get a clearer insight into what he was reading. But, the more she tried to reach for information, to see specifically what it was he would say, the more her vision grew mute and she was robbed of any ability to hear their words. She knew who they would talk about, but not what would be said.

"Hey," Edward squeezed her shoulders gently, drawing her closer against his side. "It'll be alright, Ali. We won't let anything happen to her."

"It's so hard for me to see her in my visions, I can't help but wonder if we're already too late," Alice voiced her concerns.

"Let Jasper and me worry about that, ok?" Edward said as he nodded to the doorman and displayed his room key. "We'll figure this out," he promised her as they walked inside the hotel. "Why don't you go on upstairs to Angela, you and I both know it's where you want to be."

Alice agreed quietly with a nod and cast her eyes to the side, glancing at Jasper where he sat waiting for Edward. Her love nodded to her once, a silent sign that he would talk with her later and she nodded as she walked to the elevator, even as everything within her told her to stay and listen to their conversation instead. Edward walked over to the overstuffed brown leather couches that lined the left side of the lobby and sat down across from Jasper. His brother's mind was silent for once, something he rarely saw unless he was hiding his thoughts from him.

"What is it?" Edward asked Jasper, keeping his voice below the range of human hearing.

_Angela. The things I'm feeling from her lately…I think something happened._

"Like what?" Edward asked as he bent forward to rest his elbows on his knees, his hands hanging down between his legs.

_I don't know exactly,_ Jasper thought, his lips pursing and brow furrowing as he tried his best to put the emotions he had read from Angela into thought. _When you read what I read from someone else, does it make sense to you, or do you have to read my thoughts to understand?_

"Your thoughts."

Jasper sighed and nodded as he looked down at his hands. _Her emotions are…they've reverted back to how they were when she first moved in with us. The excitement for the museum and aquarium were enough to distract her these past few days, but I think something happened. She's scared and she's hiding. She's determined too and something else…I think…no, I'm certain that she's still blaming herself for all that's happened, both with her parents and her stalker._

"What do you think happened?"

"That's just it," Jasper said, speaking aloud. "I don't know. Have you read anything from her? Have there been any thoughts that don't make sense, or any that make you worry?"

Edward thought back over the past few days since they had checked into the hotel. There was nothing that seemed out of the ordinary. In fact, save for the nightmare she had experienced before sunrise that morning, there weren't even any dark thoughts to speak of. He told Jasper that, adding in his own thoughts that perhaps all of the visits to the historical places and the aquarium had been enough to give her a much needed distraction.

_I don't think that's it,_ Jasper thought as he sighed. _I think she's figured out how to block you. Something isn't right. Before I came down here she was looking at that FBI agent's card and kept glancing at Emmett's book. _

"Which one?" Edward asked, trying to recall the title of the book Emmett had brought with him. "Yeah I know that one," Edward said when the cover flashed through Jasper's mind. "That case was pretty big; they only caught the guy because the last victim was willing to…"

Edward was up and out of his seat, his steps painfully careful to remain at human speed as he ran for the stairs. Jasper followed behind him, wanting to know what conclusion it was that Edward had come to that he had not. He followed him up the first flight of stairs, both of them taking the rest of the stairs at vampire speed once they were out of sight of human eyes. Edward was careful to set his face in an expressionless mask, knowing that if he didn't the equal amounts of anger and worry he felt would show.

_Edward!_

Jasper's shouted thought of his name stopped him from moving any closer to Angela's door, the girl inside the room sleeping. He turned back around to face Jasper, and read the question in his brother's mind. In lieu of answering Jasper directly, he asked Emmett for his book and turned to the page at the back that detailed the actions taken by the human woman who had escaped the clutches of the madman stalking the streets of Chicago. Handing the book to Jasper, his left index finger pointing to the paragraph of where to begin, Edward instructed his brother to read.

_There's more to it than just this,_ Jasper said as he finished the section and tossed the book back to Emmett. _She's afraid of her phone._

"She's what?" Edward looked at Jasper for a moment, his brows furrowed. "Why?"

_I don't know. That's why I wanted to talk to you first._

"Somebody mind telling the rest of the class what's going on?" Emmett asked, annoyance clear in his voice.

"Emmett," Edward turned to his brother. "That book you're reading, how was the stalker finally caught?"

"Melissa Haggerty, the last victim, agreed to pose as bait to lure out her…Oh," Emmett grew quiet for a moment as he looked up at the rest of his family in the room. "You don't really think that half pint would do that? She's terrified of the guy."

"As terrified of him as she is," Edward said as he looked at Carlisle when his father's thoughts drew his attention. "She's been more upset over the thought that she's putting all of us in danger. Is she still awake?"

"She's been floating in and out," Alice answered from within Angela's room, her soft voice heard perfectly by her vampire family. "She can't seem to find any comfort in her sleep."

Edward turned toward the door, opening it without a sound as he stepped inside quietly. The images of her nightmare from earlier that day came back to him in startling clarity as he watched Angela's eyes blink open only to slowly fall closed once more. She wasn't able to settle her mind enough to give into the exhaustion pulling at her brain. Stepping up to the bed, he sat down beside her hip and bent low to kiss her forehead.

"Hey there, little one," he said when she looked up at him tiredly. "Will you let me in?" he requested able to tell now how she was trying to block him with her thoughts of the museum.

_I don't want to hurt anyone,_ she whimpered in her thoughts as she bit her lip. _It's my fault, Edward. _

"What is?" he asked, his hand resting on the pillow next to her face as he cupped his hand around her temple and chaffed the edge of her forehead with the pad of his thumb. He sighed when she remained silent, able to feel the upset that Jasper was reading from her. "Scoot over," he instructed Alice as he kicked off his shoes and stretched out beside Angela on the bed.

Angela moved over just enough to give him more room, curling against his chest when he wrapped her in his arms. He kissed her hair as she fisted her hand in his shirt and pursed his lips when he both smelled the salt of her tears and felt their dampness soak through his shirt.

"Tell me what's wrong, baby girl," he implored her as he rubbed her back and held her close. "Tell me what happened."

_I should've known better. It's my fault he's coming after me._

"I thought we were past this," he said softly, confusion and concern in his voice. "What brought this on again?"

_I'm taking advantage of you all. I'm being selfish and – _

"Hey," he interrupted her thoughts, his voice soft spoken but fierce. "Where the hell did that come from?"

_I keep trying to erase it, but I can't. Each time I try I…_

"Erase what?" he asked her as he rubbed her back and kissed her hair.

_Jessica has my new phone number…_

Edward's brow furrowed, he didn't understand that particular thought until an image of her mother appeared in her mind. He couldn't suppress the low growl fast enough before Angela heard it and he felt her mentally pull away from him. He was quick to soothe her, promising her that it wasn't she he was upset with. Kissing her forehead when she looked up at him, he asked for the device's location. Squeezing his arms around her in a hug, he released her from his hold and stood up to retrieve her phone from where she had hidden it in the bottom of her bag of clothes. Returning to the bed with the device in his hand, he sat next to her and smoothed her hair back from her face.

They could wait until morning, but he knew that she wouldn't sleep tonight if they did. Handing the device to Carlisle, Edward stood and lifted Angela into his arms, blankets and all. He carried her out into the common room, thankful that Bella had already gone to bed a few hours earlier. Sitting down on the sofa with Angela in his lap, Edward tucked her head beneath his chin and met Carlisle's eyes, the thoughts clear in his face. With their enhanced hearing, his family wouldn't even need the call put on speaker to hear the voicemail that was left.

The woman's words were cutting, damning and entirely cruel. She didn't start the call off with a hello or any kind of greeting; instead her message began with the question: 'What the hell do you think you're doing?' She told Angela that she had been forced to ask Jessica Stanley for her phone number when they were unable to reach her through her cell phone. No matter that they had kicked her out of their house; they still expected her to clean it. Edward's lip curled up in a snarl as his arms tightened around Angela in a vain attempt to protect her from the cruelty of her mother's words.

The woman demanded to know what it was that Angela had said in order for her to be staying with the Cullens. She was cold; her words demeaning when she assured Angela that the well respected doctor and his family were far too good for the likes of her. She wouldn't be worthy of them if she tried and she wouldn't be staying with them much longer, not once they found out the kind of person that she was. The call ended with the cruelest of all the words yet spoken, a statement that Carlisle knew would haunt Angela relentlessly.

"This is the honest truth," her mother's voice sounded, the device's volume kept low enough that Angela wouldn't be able to hear it from where she was sitting. "You never have been and never will be anything more than a worthless mistake. If I had been a smarter woman, I would've gotten rid of you years ago."

The device grew silent, the automated system announcing that it was the end of the messages before disconnecting the call. Esme spoke too low for Angela to hear as she looked at Carlisle. She told him that enough was enough and if it was possible, they should take that voicemail to Charlie and see if they could get a restraining order against her parents. He nodded silently, looking at the faces of his other children, before realizing that Carmen and Eleazar had joined them when they had been too distracted by the voicemail to notice. He could see the tension in everyone's posture, the angry lines on their faces.

Carlisle closed his eyes, his concern for Angela outweighing his anger at her mother. Stepping up to kneel in front of Edward, he lifted his hand and tucked Angela's hair behind her ear. She turned her face slowly toward him, her eyes full of shame and fear. He held his hand out to her, palm up only to look up sharply at Edward when his son flinched and bit back a growl. Edward shook his head, the motion telling Carlisle that he would explain later. Looking back down to Angela, he waited patiently for her to put her hand in his before helping her to stand from Edward's lap.

Kissing her forehead, Carlisle wrapped his arms around her and held her close as he rubbed her back. Looking over her shoulder at Esme, he nodded for her to come closer and smiled somewhat sadly when he felt his wife wrap one arm around his waist, the other around Angela's. Leaning back just enough to see the girl's face, Carlisle cupped her cheek in his palm and looked into her dark eyes.

"Angela, I want you to listen to me," he told her, his voice low and gentle. "Esme and I, we are proud of you. We are proud of all that you have done, we are proud of the young woman that you are and we are proud to have you as a part of our family. We love you, Sweetheart, and that will never change. I know it may seem impossible right now, but I want you to ignore what she said," he told her, nodding toward the phone. "You are my little girl and I love you," he promised her before holding her once more against his chest. "Come on, let's get you to bed."

He didn't ask her to walk, didn't make any move to release her. Instead, Carlisle lifted Angela into his arms and carried her inside the hotel bedroom, Esme following behind. They both removed their shoes before sitting on either side of the bed. Carlisle turned, lying Angela down in between them as Edward and Alice covered them with the blankets. There was nothing and no one that could pull either of them from Angela's side. She curled against his chest, his arms wrapped around her as Esme lay pressed against her back. Their bodies may feel as though they were made of marble, but the human girl between them had never known any greater comfort then when she was held like this by her vampire family.

**:::::**

Jasper followed behind Edward as he stepped out onto the balcony, the polished brass railing protesting his punishing iron grip. He could feel himself shaking; the memories Angela hadn't been able to hide when Carlisle had held out his hand cycling through his mind on repeat. He felt dangerously close to being out of control. Whereas her call was begging them for comfort and protection, her memories were urging a more primal part of himself to hunt down and kill her parents in much the same way that he had done to Esme's human husband decades ago.

"Thank you," Edward said softly to Jasper when he felt his brother influence his emotions and take away the rage. "There has only ever been one other time that I have wanted a human's blood so badly," he told Jasper.

"Esme told me that you killed her human husband," Jasper said quietly, the words so soft that it was more of his thoughts Edward heard than his physical voice.

"We have to help her move on and to do that, we have to get her to talk about what she went through at their hands," Edward said without turning around. "But I honestly don't know how much I will be able to control myself as more of her memories are revealed to me. Her thoughts have never been anything but selfless and kind," he said as he finally found the strength to release the railing and turn around to face his brother. "Had I known before she came to stay with us, the abuse and neglect she was suffering, I don't know what I would've done."

_It's that bad? Worse than what we've already discovered?_

Edward could only nod as his voice was too constricted by the emotions once more storming though his being to allow him to speak. When Carlisle had held his hand out to her only a few moments before, he had seen the memory that had flashed through Angela's mind, the memory she couldn't hide even if she had wanted to. He wasn't entirely certain how old she had been; somewhere between ten and twelve was his best guess. Her mother had stood in the background, her mouth moving though he was deaf to the words. Her father stood in front of her, his hand held out as Carlisle's had been. When her brow had furrowed in question, he watched as her father had closed his hand and backhanded her hard enough to knock her to the floor.

Whereas other girls had learned to wear makeup because it was fun and marked them as moving from childhood to adolescence, Angela had learned to wear it to hide the bruises. It was a blessing when her parents had finally started to abandon her, if only so that she was no longer suffering their violence. Eleazar's words came back to him then as he stood on the balcony staring at nothing over his brother's shoulder. 'For talents such as hers to manifest and grow while she is human, they would be brought out by only one of two things: incredible passion, or great trauma.'


	25. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

_Marcus,_

_I don't know if this note will still exist after I leave this place, but I didn't want you to think that I was purposefully not coming here. I miss talking with you, but sometimes I wonder if I haven't just made you up. I'm sorry, that must seem horribly unfair to you, especially if I haven't made you up – which I hope I haven't. I love talking with you and I wish so much that I could take away the pain in your eyes, but that's not the reason I'm leaving you this note. The past few times that I've been…that I've dreamt of this place – our place – you haven't been here. I don't know what that means exactly, but I wanted to explain to you why it's been so long since you've seen me._

_I'm going to continue this letter under the assumption that you are not a dream, as much for the sake of my own sanity as for the wish that I have for you to be real. _

_I get migraines, really really bad migraines. Those three days – our first three days together, I wasn't able to take my medication for them because…I'm just going to skip that part of the explanation, I don't really want to remember it. The day before yesterday was the first time I was able to take it again, and it seems that the Toradol makes it difficult for me to find this place, or any other place, in my dreams. I miss talking with you, I miss hearing your voice. There is so much going on, so much I wish I could forget, but you make it better somehow. I need someone who's outside of everything who doesn't know what's going on. No that's not right, I don't need _someone_, I need you. _

_I'm sorry; I know how selfish that sounds. But it's the truth, you've become my sanctuary. I only hope you don't mind, that I'm not intruding upon you. You seemed so surprised when I first saw you. Would you do something for me, Marcus? Whatever it is that's causing your pain, would consider sharing it with me, that way you don't have to be alone with it. Maybe…maybe if you share your pain with someone else then it won't hurt you quite as much. I hope I wrote your name right on the outside of this letter. We went to the university library this morning and I studied the language books on how to write in Latin and Ancient Greek for almost two hours, but the construct of how to make the Greek letters still confuses me. _

_I wasn't certain if it was Latin or Ancient Greek that you spoke in your human youth, I'm not entirely certain in what way those languages coexisted, but perhaps the next time I see you, you could tell me? Maybe teach me a little and then I can talk with you in your native language? Everyone should have a little piece of home. I miss you, Marcus. I hope to see you again soon._

_Aeterna tuus amica,_

_Angela_

For the first time since Didyme had been alive, Marcus smiled. It was a small expression, barely more than a slight curving of his lips at the corners, but it was in his eyes as well. He couldn't suppress the soft, almost silent, chuckle that sounded from him as he reread her parting expression written in Latin. He knew what she was trying to say 'Eternally your friend', but she had confused the tenses and had instead written 'Eternally yours, friend'. Though the phrases sounded similar, they meant very different things. Mistakenly written or not, he was touched by her effort and the request she had to learn the language he had spoken in his human youth.

He carefully rolled the parchment and retied the red ribbon around the paper to bind the letter shut. He traced his fingertips over his name that she had written on the outside of the paper and was again touched by her efforts. That she had studied a book on Latin and Ancient Greek in an effort to give a piece of 'home' back to someone who she wasn't even certain was real spoke to him of the person that she was. That she had taken the effort to write him a letter in the first place was meaningful. As he laid the letter carefully on the table, her words came back to him and his brow furrowed in concern.

"Migraines?" Marcus spoke aloud as he looked at the empty place on the couch next to him. "You are in pain?"

He wasn't sure why the thought of Angela being in pain drew a growl from him, especially considering that he knew there was nothing he could do for her, but all the same he was displeased by it. He stood from the couch, moving to the window across the room when something caught his eye. Turning to the left, he found a new addition to the room's décor. A small dark wood desk sat along the wall, the chair beside it little more than a padded stool, but it was what the desk held that captured his interest. Sitting atop the desk was a short stack of parchment papers, an ink well and a quill pen, the soft tan owl feather reminding him of Angela. Next to the stack of papers were two small slim boxes with no lids. One contained crimson-red ribbons, the same color she had tied his letter with and the other contained sapphire-blue.

Looking closer he found that the top sheet of the stack of parchment held a small note from Angela. _'Here's hoping this works,'_ she had written and he smoothed his fingers over the smiley face she had drawn beneath the words. She was leaving him a way to contact her if he chose to do so.

"My dear Angela, how clever you are," Marcus said as he pulled out the stool and sat down.

Setting the sheet with her note on top of the boxes of ribbons, he picked up the quill pen and opened the ink well. His hand hovered over the black ink, the tip of the ancient fashioned pen almost touching the liquid. What would he write to her? Certainly he wouldn't put one of his memories into a note; no she loved hearing his voice too much for that. His brow furrowed as he considered how to answer her letter. One moment of statuesque stillness and then two before he took in an unneeded breath and dipped the pen into the ink. Tapping it on the edge of the thick glass jar, he brought the pen to the paper and listened to the familiar scratching as he wrote her name and began her letter.

**:::::**

How much more can I take? How much more will I take until finally I can take no more? Suplicia sat down on her bed and looked down at the hideously expensive extremely fragile garment she was dressed in. Aro didn't truly love her. Oh she knew he would play the romance for her, try to woo her into compliance, but she had known for centuries that he didn't truly love her. That fact had never been made clearer to her than the moment when she had found him in bed with both Chelsea and Corin together. No matter how long they had been together she had always tried to ignore the other scents upon his skin, but when the truth was thrown before her eyes she could not ignore it so easily.

It would be difficult, if not completely impossible; to sneak out of this fortress her mate had created. It was her prison, not her home, and she was beyond tired of being trapped within these walls of stone and brass. She had been trying to think of a way to escape for days now, ever since she had thrown Aro from their chambers almost a week ago, but the problem she ran into was always the same: her clothes were too noticeable. Looking up at the knock on her door and smiling at the sound of Felix's voice, she invited her friend inside.

The giant man stood with his back to the door as he looked at her with a grim expression on his face. He knew what she wanted; they had been friends for so long that he often felt he could read her mind as easily as Aro could. Stepping up to her, he pulled a long flat box from beneath his grey cloak and handed it to her. He remained silent as he watched her frown in confusion and take the box from his hands. When she opened it, he watched as her face registered her surprise and met her gaze when she looked up at him in question.

"I have a few extras; all I ask is that you let me go with you. I would rather guard you myself, then worry about you out there alone," Felix told her as he watched her remove the grey cloak from the box. "With my height, that should cover you completely. I would advise against wearing your heels or anything that may give you away. In fact, I would advise that you change…into these," he said and held out another box.

"How?" Suplicia asked as she opened the box to reveal a pair of black khaki slacks and long sleeved dark grey sweater.

"I've known you for so long, songbird," he said using his nickname for her, "that sometimes I think I know you better than anyone else. I, too, learned how to block your mate's talent. Those of us who have are also the ones who often wish for more than this…whatever this is," he said with a sigh. "What is that?" he asked nodding to the ancient leather bound book on her bed.

"Aro's account," she said simply, her voice holding a note of regret. "It's how I found out the truth about Didyme. I wanted to give it to Marcus, I owe him at least that much."

Felix nodded quietly, understanding her perfectly. They would need to do this carefully and quickly. Aro had decided to take up the offer of a few rather eager female members of the guard who wished to earn his favor with their…talents of flexibility. Nodding to the clothes, he turned his back and waited for Suplicia to change. The way Aro and Ciaus were with their mates, it sickened him. Of course, Felix knew that for the most part those of his kind mated not out of love, but out of a complimentary skill set. But for him it wasn't enough. He wanted the love he had seen between Marcus and Didyme.

"Have you thought of where you want to go?" he asked her without turning around.

"As far away from this hell as I can," Suplicia shook her head, for a moment almost wishing she had the ability to shed the tears her soul wished to cry. "In our early years, I actually thought he loved me. Love," she laughed without humor. "I doubt Aro knows the meaning of the word."

"Warm or cold?" Felix continued his inquiry if only to take her mind off the darker thoughts burning in her still heart.

"Warm," she said after a moment. "Somewhere beautiful, someplace that looks like a fairytale."

"Kauai," he said decisively. "I saw Gianna looking at pictures of it. You will love it, I'm certain."

"Kauai?" Suplicia asked as she stepped up next to him dressed in the new clothes and his borrowed cloak.

"Part of the Hawaiian islands," he told her as he lifted the hood up to cover her corn silk hair. "It is still mostly untouched by man, wild and beautiful. And a few coastal parts of it have enough tourism that a few missing humans wouldn't be noticed, as long as we feed carefully. Are you ready?"

"Yes," she said.

Only five minutes had passed since he entered the room with the clothing for her, but no second could be spared if their getaway was to be successful. He opened the door and stepped outside. There was no one in the hall. The next room over was Marcus' and he kept Suplicia close to his side as he kept his vigil over her for their escape. She placed the journal in her friend's hand, kissing his forehead as he lay still as death in his bed, his eyes closed. Though she didn't know for certain, she often thought that in these moments of stillness he was allowing himself to remember Didyme and the years they spent together. He never moved or responded to her touch and she was quick to leave him as she returned to Felix's side.

It took less time than she thought it would for them to exit through the halls and disappear into the rarely used and never spoken of secret passageways that had been part of the castle's original construction. It would have been easier to escape under the guise of going hunting if not for the fact that Suplicia and Athenodora were never permitted to hunt outside. Their "meals" were always brought to them.

"Run fast, songbird," Felix whispered to Suplicia as soon as they were away from the castle. "We must move quickly."

"How far are we going?" she asked as they turned to the northwest.

"We need to be out of country tonight, we will take a flight once we reach Dijon," he told her as he took her hand and encouraged her to run faster.

"France?" she asked with wide eyes as she matched his step easily, their movements faster than any human or mechanical eye could detect. "When will we get there?"

"Just before sunrise," he told her with a wink. "I forget that you've never been outside the castles walls before," he said with an apologetic smile. "I wish I could let you explore the area a bit, but we cannot risk it, not if you truly wish to have your freedom, however long it may last."

"One day or one century," Suplicia said as she pushed herself to run faster. "I just need to feel free for a little while."

"You've let him cage you up too easily, little songbird."

"He uses the memory of Didyme against me as easily as he does Marcus. Athenodora doesn't care about the truth or freedom. As long as she gets to have a least three men in her bed every day, she could care less what happens."

"Yes, I know," he intoned dispassionately.

"She's gone after you?" Suplicia asked her friend and gasped when he caught her around the waist to throw her high in the air. "Felix!" she hissed in a mix of anger and fright as he leapt over the rocky hilltop and caught her easily before setting her back on her feet.

"We have to go fast, and you're not used to traveling on anything other than predictable flat ground," he told her as they continued to run. "I didn't want to take any chances."

"Good thing I'm used to your impulsiveness," she allowed.

"Is that what you call it?" Felix laughed.

"I do love it when you allow yourself the freedom to be the real you – flirtatious and funny," Suplicia smiled at her friend, squeezing his hand with gentle pressure as they ran. "Why do you hide it so much?"

"Jane," he fairly growled the female's name. "She finds it…amusing, to use her little bag of tricks on me. I'd love to hit her, just once, but if I do I'm fairly certain I would take her head off. Bratty little child that she is, why anyone thought it wise to change them so young is beyond me."

"Do remember, dear," Suplicia said with a hint of humor, "that it was the same idiot who turned you."

"Are you saying Aro's an idiot for turning me? That hurts, songbird."

"Aro's far more than an idiot, period," she said, the anger evident in her voice. "Sometimes I think that I should have listened to my mother, she told me when he first came around that he was the devil."

"Alright you," Felix grabbed her hand and tossed her onto his back.

"What are you doing?" she asked as she caught his shoulders and hung onto him.

"We've got a mountain range coming up and I'm far more fit for this than you are," he said as he ran at his full speed, no longer needing to hold back for her benefit. "Hold on tight, little songbird, this might get bumpy."

**:::::**

_I don't want to talk about this_, Angela thought as she pulled her feet up onto the edge of the couch and wrapped her arms around her bent legs.

"I know, Sweetheart," Edward said as he took a seat next to her on the couch. "But you need to."

He looked up at Carlisle, glad that they had returned home the night before as the familiar surroundings were able to offer the girl some semblance of comfort. He saw Jasper move out of the corner of his eye, his brother's thoughts drawing his attention quickly back to Angela.

"Don't hide on us," Edward said to draw her out of the mental cocoon she was trying to create.

"We're not trying to hurt you, Angela," Carlisle said from his seat on the coffee table in front of her. "We only wish to help you."

"Can't we talk about something else?" she asked him desperately, her eyes begging him for a different topic as she folded herself tighter.

"No, I'm sorry, Sweetheart," Carlisle said as he reached out and tucked her hair behind her ear. "This is something you need to talk about."

She ducked her chin, hiding her face in the hollow created between her chest and knees as she fought back the sting of tears. She felt Emmett's large hands on her shoulders from where he sat behind her on the back of the couch, his legs framing her body. He squeezed her shoulders gently in a vain attempt to massage away the stiffness in her muscles caused by her upset. Looking up at Rosalie, he found his wife to be looking at the ground, the tight way she held her arms crossed over her chest telling him exactly how upsetting this current topic of conversation was for her to bear witness to. Alice stood in the circle of Jasper's arms, Esme standing near them with her arm around Bella as she tried to offer her other human daughter some comfort as well.

Edward nodded at Carlisle when he read the man's thoughts, signaling to his adoptive father that the action he wished to take would be welcomed. Taking in a slow silent breath, Carlisle reached out and gently wrapped his hand around Angela's, feeling her grip his hand desperately as she sought comfort. He heard Jasper sigh in relief behind him and knew that, at the very least, the shrill alarm her upset caused him to both hear and feel had stopped. Angela moved slowly, her face lifting from her knees as her lips folded over her teeth. Her eyes were still closed, but he could see the tight lines of fear and pain etched into her face. Her eyes opened slowly, her lips parting as she took in a much needed breath.

"I was three," she began, her words only loud enough that her vampire family could hear them. "My mother only ever gave me a single piece of toast – no butter or jam – or a bowl of cornflakes for breakfast. I was still really hungry, a growth spurt I guess," she said, her voice trembling as she tried to suppress her fear. "I asked for something more, I said I was still hungry."

"What happened?" Carlisle asked when she remained silent.

"I was locked in my room. I was allowed out to use the bathroom, but I wasn't given any food for almost four days. She said I needed to learn to be grateful for what I was given and that asking for more was showing disrespect."

Emmett folded his body down over her, kissing her hair as he rubbed his hands over the tops of her arms and curve of her shoulders. He could only imagine how difficult this must be for her. After her nightmare and the voicemail left by her mother, it had become not only something that was needed but also quite necessary for her to talk about the treatment she suffered at the hands of her parents. Not only did Angela need to talk over her memories in order to move past them, but they needed to know what had happened to her so that they could understand how best to help her.

"I never asked for more or complained about not liking the food I was given ever again. Peanuts always made my throat burn and made me feel kind of dizzy, but if I didn't eat the sandwiches she made me than I wouldn't be given food for days."

"You have a peanut allergy?" Carlisle asked her in concern, his eyes expressing a mix of alarm and upset.

"I think so," Angela nodded. "I avoid it now, but back then…back then I couldn't. Once I was twelve I could decide what I ate, but not back then…I didn't complain," she promised him, her brown eyes beginning to shine as tears pooled and threatened to fall.

_I promise, I didn't complain,_ she thought desperately and felt Edward smooth his hand over her hair.

"It took me longer to eat the peanut butter sandwiches," she said, her voice shaking as a single tear fell from each eye. "My fa-Reverend," she corrected herself quickly, "he didn't like how long it took me to eat them."

"What did he do?" Carlisle asked gently as he felt her squeeze his hand tighter.

_Please,_ she begged in her thoughts and felt Edward rub her arm in encouragement.

"We're all here, little one. No one's upset with you and you've not done anything wrong," he told her gently when she trembled, her frantic thoughts begging not to be made to relive the memories.

"He would…he would lecture me. He would tell me how the children on their travels were better behaved than I was. He would…it was my fault, I was ungrateful," she whimpered, shaking her head as she buried her face once more in the tops of her knees.

"It most certainly was not your fault," Carlisle told her, his voice gentle yet leaving no room for argument. "Look at me, Angela," he said and waited until she lifted her face just enough to meet his eyes over the tops of her denim clad knees. "They were at fault, not you."

"If it wasn't my fault, then why did they…?" she begged him quietly for an answer.

"I don't know, Sweetheart," he said sadly as he leaned forward to press a kiss to her brow. "I wish I had some kind of an answer for you, but I don't."

"The Reverend, he always…" her voice trailed off and she bit her lip as she tried not to cry, the sound of Jasper's low moan catching her attention. "I'm sorry! Oh god, I'm sorry!" she cried desperately, upset that she was causing him pain but not knowing how to make it stop.

Jasper released his hold on Alice, moving quickly to Angela's side and lifting her to sit in his lap as he took her seat on the couch. He shushed her gently, rocked her slowly as he did his best to soothe her upset. Tucking her head beneath his chin, he promised her that he wasn't upset or in pain. Emmett moved from the back of the couch to sit next to Jasper, opposite Edward, as his southern brother encouraged her to continue. Angela's teeth chattered in her upset and she reached out once more for Carlisle's hand, wrapping her fingers around his in a desperate grip. He raised their joined hands, kissing the back of her hand as he too encouraged her to go on.

"If I had nightmares," Angela began again, her voice painfully quiet as she tried to speak, fighting against the aching desire to hide away. "I had to be quiet."

"What would happen if you weren't quiet?" Esme asked gently as she stepped forward, Bella wrapped in Alice's arms.

Each of the four men surrounding her felt her trembling begin again, each one doing what they could to offer her comfort and remind her that she was safe. Her hands were beginning to cramp, so desperate was her hold on Carlisle's hand and Jasper's shirt.

"My mother would yell at me for waking her up," she said slowly, her voice shaking. "Sometimes she would lock me in the closet in my bedroom if I couldn't keep quiet enough. Sometimes…sometimes she'd forget I was in there."

"Just a little bit more," Carlisle requested of her when she turned pleading eyes on him. "Then I'll let you stop for today. Ok?"

Angela nodded shakily, tears slipping down her cheeks slowly. He could tell that she was tiring quickly, the rush of adrenaline caused by her fear and upset beginning to fade away and leaving her exhausted. He felt lucky that they had gotten this far. When he had first told her that he wanted her to talk over the abuse she had suffered at the hands of her parents, Angela's fear over the topic had driven her to hide away in her mind the same way she had done after Lauren's verbal assault on her. It had taken Emmett nearly thirty minutes to coax her out, promising her that she was safe and that they only wanted to help her.

"When I was five, I got invited to a spelling bee," Angela's teeth chattered as her trembling became almost violent. "I was the only one in my class, the only one out of the entire kindergarten class to receive an invitation to the spelling bee. I was really excited, I thought they'd finally be proud of me," she said, her voice becoming quieter the more she revealed of her memory. "The Reverend was the first one I saw when I got home. I was really excited and I…I…"

"You called him 'Daddy'," Edward said and watched her turn wide brown eyes on him when she nodded shakily.

"He…" her breath came faster, her voice closing off as it became harder to speak. "He…"

"He hit you," Edward finished for her and watched her nod. "Do you remember when Carlisle gave you that book and you called him Papa?" again she nodded and bit her lip so hard he was afraid she would draw blood. "I saw that same memory in your mind that day. I told him about that."

"It was my fault," she said in a rush, shaking her head and averting her gaze as she trembled. "I was being disrespectful."

"No," Carlisle's voice was firm yet still soothing. "It wasn't your fault, Angela. He had no right or reason to hit you like that. You were not being disrespectful. You were not to blame for what he did. For what either of them did and I want you to remember that."

_Can I stop now?_ She asked Edward, her voice no longer able to form words.

"Yeah, baby girl, you can stop now," Edward told her having read Carlisle's thoughts. "Read to her," he told his father, his voice too low for Angela to hear.

Carlisle nodded and accepted Angela in his arms when Jasper handed her to him gently. He stood slowly from the coffee table, carrying her through the house and up the stairs quietly. Edward looked over at Bella, her dark eyes cast to the floor. He knew that Angela's voice had been too low for her human ears to hear, but just the knowledge that her friend had been talking about the abuse she suffered was enough to upset her. Taking in a deep breath as he stood from the couch, Edward walked toward Bella, standing in front of her for a moment as he waited for her eyes to meet his.

"Alice translated," Bella said quietly, tears in her eyes.

"I know," Edward confirmed as he wrapped her in his arms. "Charlie wanted you home soon," he told her as he glanced at her watch. "Considering the time he's having to spend at the station lately, I'm certain he wouldn't mind if you asked to stay."

"I need to go home," Bella said quietly. "He's actually going to be home for dinner and Angela needs all of you right now."

"Ok," he agreed quietly as he pressed a kiss to her hair. "Come on, we don't want to keep him waiting," he said and led her out to his car, keeping her tucked against his side.

**:::::**

Carlisle set Angela gently on her feet as he came to a stop next to the bathroom. Encouraging her to tend to her needs, he left her to find the next volume of his journals. In a short time, he had already read through three of his journals to her and was beginning to enter into the years when he had discovered early medicine teachings and practice. Returning upstairs with the leather bound book in his hands, he stepped into the bedroom he shared with Esme and selected Jane Eyre from the shelf so that she would have a choice as to what he read to her. He stepped back to her bedroom and knocked on the closed door.

Her voice was soft when she bid him to enter and he found her standing in front of the glass wall as she looked out into the darkening night. He could see her reflection in the glass, her expression full of sadness and fear. Stepping over to her bed, he set the books down and moved to stand behind her.

"Baby girl," he called to her quietly accepting her weight against him when she turned and buried her face in his chest. "Oh, Sweetheart," he mourned the pain she felt as he wrapped her in his arms and petted her hair. "You have a large family here that is not only proud to have you as a part of it, but each and every one of us loves you without question or compromise," he reminded her and kissed her hair. "You are loved, Angela. You have a home with us. We will always be your family."

He held her tighter, rubbing his hand over her back in slow circles when he felt her silent tears soak through his shirt. He spoke to her softly, reminding her gently that she was loved and cared for. He promised her that she was safe, assuring her that no harm would ever come to her from any of them. Keeping his arm around her back, he bent low and caught her behind the knees with his other arm, lifting her effortlessly as he carried her to her bed. Laying her down on the soft sheets, he toed off his shoes and pulled the blankets up around her shoulders before lying down beside her. He waited quietly while she curled against him and smiled at the sight of the 'Emmett' bear that had somehow made it into her arms without him noticing.

Wrapping his arm around her back once she had found a comfortable position, he hugged her close and kissed her hair. He told her of the option he had for her to choose from and petted her dark locks when he felt her jaw move against his chest as she yawned. Her voice was soft, filled with exhaustion, when she asked him to read Jane Eyre to her because she was too tired to remember his journal. He smiled, chuckling silently at her request and rubbed his hand over her arm as he reached for the classic novel.

"Close your eyes, little one," he told her as he turned to first page of the story and began to read.

**:::::**

Edward glanced at Bella as he turned onto the street her father's house was on. He was worried about her, her silence unnerving him. Pulling into the driveway behind Charlie's cruiser, Edward exited his Volvo and rounded the front of the car to open her door. Looking up at him as she took his hand and let him help her out of the car, Bella felt the sting of tears once more. She walked with him up to her front door, biting her lip in a vain effort to hold back her tears. The door opened before they reached it, Charlie standing inside the open doorway and staring in worry at the way Bella kept her gaze averted.

"Bells?" Charlie called her name in concern.

Bella looked up slowly, her voice cracking as she called out to him before running into her father's arms. Charlie caught her with a surprised gasp, his arms wrapping around her tightly when he felt her trembling. He looked over her head at Edward, his expression and thoughts demanding an explanation for his daughter's upset. Nodding only once, Edward followed Charlie inside as the police chief led Bella over to the couch. Closing the door, Edward moved to sit in the arm chair as he watched Charlie sit on the couch with Bella held tightly in his arms.

"What happened?" Charlie asked Edward, his voice tense.

"We were able to get Angela to discuss a little of what she went through in her childhood," Edward answered slowly, tight lines of worry and upset bending his lips into a frown.

"How much did she tell you?" the man asked.

Edward pressed his lips into a thin line and looked down at his hands as he turned his attention on Charlie's thoughts. The man had a hint of the natural talent that Bella did, his direct thoughts almost hidden as Edward read the emotions that motivated them instead. The man was at once both the cop and the father as he held his crying daughter and waited for Edward to answer his question. Sighing softly as he lifted his head, Edward met Charlie's eyes and took in a deep breath.

"It was difficult getting Angela to talk," Edward began softly. "At first she shut herself away in her mind, Emmett…he has experience helping people through panic attacks like what Angela experienced."

"I've seen victims do what you're describing before, especially when asked to relive an attack," Charlie said with a slow nod.

"Angela was…she was abused, mostly through fear and manipulation, but at times physically as well. We weren't able to keep her talking for long, only a few memories from when she was three and then when she was five…I know that neither Carlisle nor Esme have had a chance to come see you yet since we arrived home from Seattle, but they will be soon. We want – we _need_ – to be able to protect her from her parents."

"She's almost at the legal age," Charlie said with a concerned frown. "There's not a whole lot I can do."

"We understand that, but whatever can be done would be welcomed. Angela's been through enough," Edward said and stood slowly. "I need to get home. Please don't let Bella worry too much. We will take care of Angela."

Charlie nodded and watched as Edward turned to leave. If Angela's memories from just a few years of her childhood were this upsetting, enough that his daughter who was quite adept at hiding her emotions was sobbing in his arms, then he would do whatever he could to help the Cullens protect her. Looking down at Bella when the front door closed, Charlie smoothed her hair back from her face and tipped her chin up to see her eyes.

"Why?" Bella asked him, begging for an answer. "How could anyone treat their child like that? Angela's the sweetest, kindest person I know. Why would they do that?"

"I wish I knew, Bells. Will you tell me what she told you all?" he asked her as he led her to the kitchen table and pulled a small digital recorder from his uniform jacket. "Not just as daughter to father, but also for an official record?"

Bella nodded and sat down as Charlie turned on the recorder and set it in the middle of the small table. She watched her father move across the kitchen, gathering a glass of water for her as well a napkin. He knew that Bella would need something to keep her hands busy, a nervous habit that she had inherited from her mother. Setting down the glass in front of her, he handed her the napkin and watched as she immediately began twisting and worrying it in her hands, tiny bits of the processed paper falling onto the table top as she began shredding it slowly.

"She was so scared…" Bella began, her voice shaking as she fought against the tears pooling in her eyes.

Charlie listened as Bella described the reaction Angela had when first asked to talk about her childhood, he listened as she described the actions Emmett had taken to coax Angela out of her mental hiding spot. He ground his teeth, clenching his hand into a fist where it rested on his knee beneath the table. He looked down at the table top, his eyes seeing the growing pile of shredded paper as Bella reduced the napkin in her hands to tiny white balls of rolled paper. He hated child abuse cases. He hadn't worked on that many through the years, but the ones that had fallen across his desk were always bad and Angela's was no different.

Her parents had used fear and words as weapons, food as well had become a tool with which to control the girl. It was harder to spot and prosecute those cases. Physical abuse was easy to spot, the bruises on the arms or face always telling, but for Angela and those like her who were abused verbally and emotionally it was far harder to tell. There were always suspicions, after all, who wouldn't be made suspicious when confronted with an unhappy child? But just like victims of sexual abuse, it was too easy to hide what was happening and unless the person being abused spoke out about what was happening, there was nothing anyone could do.

Charlie reached out, turning off the recorder after Bella had finished speaking and tucked the device back into the pocket of his uniform jacket. Handing Bella another napkin, this time to dry her eyes and wipe her nose, he helped her up from the chair and wrapped her in his arms. Encouraging her to go take a bath and try to relax a little, he watched her leave before reaching for the phone mounted on the wall. Taking a card out of his wallet, he dialed the number and waited for the person on the other end to pick up.

"Hi, Annabelle, this is Chief Swan over in Forks," he gave a soft chuckle at the woman's greeting and smiled sadly. "Actually, do you remember what you told me a few years ago?...That's right, I met someone that I think would actually do really well in that field and was wondering if you could send over the information for what kind of schooling and training he would need… Grief too, maybe, but I was thinking more along the lines of trauma and abuse counseling. He's helping a friend through a rough patch and I've seen how he is with her. I think he'd make a good trauma counselor…Don't worry about an address or anything, I'll deliver the paperwork to him myself…His name? Emmett Cullen."


	26. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

Felix looked up with an impatient sigh as a hollow ding sounded foretelling the coming announcement over the intercom. Offering Suplicia a soft smile when she took his hand, he rubbed the back of her hand gently. It was her first trip on any kind of transportation other than a horse and she was understandably nervous. Raising their joined hands, Felix kissed her knuckles as the pilot's voice filled the cabin, the words he spoke in French being repeated by his copilot in English.

"Thank you for flying Trans-Atlantic Airways, flight four-six-seven, international flight from Paris to Lihu'e, Kauai. We apologize for the delay, but due to fuel levels and storms brewing over the Pacific waters this flight has been rerouted to Sea-Tac International Airport in Seattle, Washington. We are expected to land within the hour. Please be advised that more information will be given after we land and disembark."

"Felix," Spulicia whispered his name in worry as she looked out of the window next to her.

"We'll be alright, little songbird," he promised her. "You let me take care of things, ok?"

"We've been gone for a little over three days, Felix. He's going to notice soon if he hasn't already," she knew she was shaking, knew that she was afraid, but felt unable to silence her fears. "He'll send Demetri after us, if he doesn't come himself."

"Hey, easy, little songbird," Felix released her hand to wrap his arm around her shoulders. "We're going to be alright. You deserve your freedom and if it comes to it, I will defend you. We'll figure this out."

"What about you?" Suplicia asked him, looking up into his eyes only to laugh softly when he kissed her forehead.

"I planned this weeks ago. I told Aro that I needed time away, time to myself. He granted my leave easily enough, I just never told him when I would return. I also never told him when I would leave. As far as he knows, I left to take my…vacation. You, he hasn't visited since you threw him out and you have always been careful to remain unseen by those except for Corin and Chelsea," he told her, silently praising her ability to stay hidden when it was needed.

"I haven't seen Chelsea or Corin in nearly a fortnight," Suplicia said as she began to calm. "Not since they decided to flaunt their activities with Aro in front of me."

"In front of you?" Felix asked as he looked down at her.

He knew that Aro's top manipulators often shared a bed with him. Felix clenched his jaw and rolled his red eyes that had darkened to a black-cherry. Aro, bastard that he was, often shared a bed with any female that crossed his path – including Jane. He didn't care that the girl was a vampire or not, she had been changed at the age of twelve. Aro's _relations_ with the girl disgusted him.

"You're growling," Suplicia said softly, grateful that they were the only ones sitting in the first class section of the airplane.

"Sorry, little songbird," Felix said, smiling when Suplicia chuckled at the nickname. "It just upsets me how he treats you. You deserve better than him."

"That's why I have you, Felix," Suplicia said with a soft laugh. "You make the bad things better."

"That's what friends do," he told her with a smile.

"Please fasten your seatbelts and return your trays to the upright position," came the disembodied voice of the female flight attendant. "We will be landing in Sea-Tac International airport shortly. Please have your passports ready for check-in at the customs desk. Thank you for flying Trans-Atlantic Airways."

"We don't have any clothes," Suplicia reminded him. "Or money to buy them with."

Felix chuckled and held her tucked under his arm as the plane landed. "I have money," he told her, squeezing her shoulders in a half-hug. "I have well over five million dollars to my name, little songbird. I don't like being tracked though so I had one million given to me in mixed cash funds. Mostly American dollars," he told her. "I wanted to see the Grand Canyon and a few other notable landmarks."

"All those books you keep in your chambers," Suplicia smiled with secretive pleasure as she looked up at him. "You didn't get those just for me, did you?"

"Sadly, no, little songbird," Felix said with a laugh. "I love scenery. It's why I was so good as a scout and soldier back in the day. My attention to detail and love of natural landscapes made it easy for me to find the best areas to attack or set up blockades. I knew how to use what was around me to my advantage."

"If you didn't have to worry about the Volturi, or laws or anything having to do with our kind, what would you be doing? What would Felix want to be?"

He sat back, blinking wide as he considered her question. He hadn't truly given any consideration to what he wanted before, his immortal life had been planned out since the night Aro had changed him. He closed his eyes as he gave the matter some thought. What would he want to do? What would bring him pleasure?

"Teach, I think," Felix finally said as the plane bounced when the wheels touched down on the runway. "I had three younger siblings when I was human," he told her, their entire conversation having taken place below the range of human hearing. "Before I left to join the ranks, I would teach them what I knew about history, the landscape, our political system. Anything I knew, really. What about you?"

"The one thing I truly ever wanted, I never realized that I desired until almost a decade after I was changed," she answered, her voice holding sadness and regret.

"What was that?" he asked her as he unbuckled his seatbelt when the flight attendant opened the door for them to disembark the plane.

"An impossibility. Nothing more than a foolish dream," she told him as she followed him off the plane and into the airport.

"Maybe it won't be so impossible now that we're free, little songbird."

"Business or pleasure?" the man behind the customs counter asked as Felix laid their passports down on the counter.

"Pleasure," Felix answered and looked at Suplicia.

"Enjoy your stay," the man nodded and waved them through.

"Stop looking around," Felix told her gently. "I'd know if any others were here. It's one of the reasons why Aro keeps me around, I can sense when danger is near. I know when to run and when to fight."

"I just feel like we're constantly being followed. I want to be free, Felix, truly free."

"I know," he said and tucked her close against his side as he walked up to the desk by the arrivals board. "Excuse me," Felix said gaining the young woman's attention.

"Wow," he heard her whisper as she stared into his dark eyes and chuckled silently as her eyes scanned over his body. "He's yummy."

The words she spoke may have been silent to her human counterparts, but being the vampire he was, Felix heard her perfectly. Time to dazzle, he thought wickedly and offered the young human woman a wide charming smile. He wisely kept his humor silent as he heard her gasp and took in a deep breath, smelling the scent of her arousal.

"You are being entirely mean," Suplicia laughed quietly at him. "Stop tormenting that poor girl."

"How can I help you?" the woman asked as she shook herself from her stupor.

"Justina," he read her name off the plastic tag affixed to her black vest. "My sister and I were on the Trans-Atlantic Airways flight from Paris, France to Lihu'e, Kauai. Our flight was rerouted here due to weather in the Pacific. We were told there would be…options?"

"Oh, yes, of course," the woman smiled and tucked her sunset-red hair behind her ear. "Let me see," she typed quickly on the keyboard and studied the screen for a moment. "His sister," she whispered to herself as she waited for the screen to bring up the options the airline had made for those on the flight. "I hope he's single."

"Don't you dare," Suplicia whispered too low for the girl to hear as she playfully slapped Felix's arm while laughing silently. "I know just how playful you can be."

"What?" he asked innocently and turned his attention back to the girl behind the counter.

"It looks like the airlines set aside two full paid for options," she said. "If you still wish to continue onto Kauai, then there is a hotel about three miles away that has standing reservations for you, we would just need to add your names. The weather service expects the storm to clear within about a week, ten days at the longest, and then you would be able to fly out again. The other option is a connecting flight departing in," she checked the screen, "five hours that would take you to Jamaica. It was their closest scenic substitute."

"Well," Felix looked down at Suplicia, "what do you want to do, songbird?"

"I want to go to Kauai," she told him and he nodded.

"The hotel, please," he told the woman and winked at her when she blushed.

"Names?" she asked and he smiled as he gave her the false names from their passports.

"Giuseppe and Arcadia Giusti," he told her, turning his charm up another notch and delighting in the heated blush from the human girl.

"Giuseppe," the girl repeated, rolling the name on her tongue. "Ok," she said after a long moment and handed him a computer print out. "Your reservations are all set. The hotel is paid for including room service and if you'd like to wait, there will even be a private shuttle coming to collect you and the other passengers."

"Thank you, but I think we'll find our own way there," he told her. "Your help has been appreciated, my lady," Felix said and raised her hand to kiss her knuckles.

The woman practically swooned when they turned away and Suplicia was hard pressed not to laugh as she again smacked Felix's arm.

"You are a devil," she told him unable to hide her humor. "That poor girl will not be able to function correctly for the rest of the day."

"Aw, songbird," Felix chuckled as they made their way outside, a black combination lock briefcase in his hand, "you've got to let me have some fun."

She walked beside him, tucked under his arm as he led her through the airport and out the front doors. The sun was finishing its descent into the water as night fell over the city, the sky mixed ribbons of burnt oranges, fiery reds and bluish-purples. Suplicia stopped just outside the doors, her attention captured by the night sky as she stared into the clouds. Her voice was so soft that Felix had to lean close to hear her words.

"It's so beautiful," she said with wonder as she stared into the clouds. "I can't remember the last time I saw the sunset. Thank you, Felix," she turned her eyes on him and he knew that had she been human she would've been awash with tears. "Thank you for setting me free."

"Anytime, little songbird."

It didn't take them long to reach the hotel and check in. The building was tall, elegantly structured and designed with overstuffed leather couches lining the front of the lobby for people to sit and visit upon. To the right was a doorway leading into a gift shop and another open hallway leading into a fine dining area. He wasn't surprised to see how lavish the hotel was considering how expensive the airline tickets were. Trans-Atlantic Airways was one of the most prestigious European airlines that catered mostly to the rich and famous or high ranking politicians. There had been a total of less than fifty people on the flight and for that he had been thankful.

He watched Suplicia frown in confusion as he took the thin plastic card out of the white paper envelope and slid it into the slot above the door handle. There was a soft beep followed by the unmistakable click of the lock coming undone. He turned the polished brass handle and pushed the door open, waving his arm to motion her into the suite first. She smiled at his chivalry and stepped inside.

"Everything is so…modern," she said searching for the right word to describe the surroundings.

"And to think, that idiot you mated," he teased her, "never sought to invest in a television for your entertainment."

Her eyebrows quirked in confusion as she watched him step across the room. Of course she had heard mention of the technologies that had appeared through time, but she had never seen any of them. She watched him pick up a long slim plastic object from the table and press down on it. She gasped when the sound of voices filled the room and looked over at the fifty-two inch television that was mounted flat against the wall.

"Gianna watches this series on her computer at her apartment," he told her as he set the remote down on the glass-top table. "She called it NCIS. I never paid much attention to it, but she told me that I remind her of a man named 'Gibbs'. I thought you might like a little distraction."

"What about clothes and hunting. I fed the night before we left, but - "

"With all the physical activity, you are hungry again," he finished for her. "I am too, but these clothes, especially the capes are too conspicuous. Come here," he said as he set his briefcase on the low coffee table and sat on the white leather couch. "The combination is two-fourteen-seven," he said as he rolled the numbers on the left side, "and twelve-one-zero," he said as he rolled the numbers on the right side.

The locks flipped open and he opened the briefcase. A collection of papers sat on the top of a metal plate that he removed carefully. In the bottom of the briefcase, hidden by the lead plate that kept the x-ray machines from seeing the funds, sat the cash he was carrying with him. Seven hundred-fifty thousand of the dollars were in American currency, the rest in Euros. He took a stack of American money and handed it to Suplicia.

"There's fifteen hundred dollars there in fifties," he told her. "It's more than enough to get you new clothes. Keep it hidden, I've no doubt that you can take care of yourself, but I'd rather not have to see you be forced to. We need to get you normal clothes, regular clothes. Me too, these Volturi robes are not easy to hide in. I'll talk to the concierge, we'll – "

"Felix," she interrupted him and he looked up.

"Hey, shh," he caught her as she fell and held her against his chest as she sobbed in his arms. "Suplicia…songbird, what is it?"

She couldn't speak to answer his question, too strong were her emotions. For centuries she had been held captive in the ancient castle, not allowed out, not allowed to meet anyone new, and now she was free. There was a whole world out there for her to explore, others of her kind to meet, even humans that she could talk to. Unlike her mate, she didn't think humans to be the cattle to their kind. She was human once, they all were. Humans were more than food. They were people, people who were captivating, intelligent; people she had enjoyed engaging in conversation. That was until Aro found out that she wasn't eating the people he brought to her and talking to them instead. Since that time, less than a decade after Didyme's death, he stopped having humans brought to her and instead had pitchers of blood taken to her room.

Felix pressed his lips together, turning and laying back on the couch as he held her on his chest. He rubbed her back, petted her hair as she cried. He kissed her forehead, and then her hair as he spoke soothingly to her. He moved to kiss her forehead again when she turned her face up to him and his lips met hers instead. They both froze for a moment, shocked by the intimate touch. Their eyes were locked on each other, her eyes wide as her breathing quickened, the action unnecessary, but instinctual. Felix's eyes flicked down to her full lips, his hand slipping up her back to cup the back of her head, his fingers combing into her thick cornsilk hair.

She whimpered invitingly, her hand fisting in his shirt as he dipped his head forward and captured her lips once more. Suplicia gasped, pressing closer to him as his arm tightened around her back. Her hands moved from between their bodies, sliding up along his chiseled chest to cup his square jaw in her hands. Felix suddenly broke their kiss, sitting up quickly and setting her aside before fleeing to the other side of the room, all with vampire speed.

"I-I'm sorry," he said to her, shaking his head as he was unable to meet her eyes. "I shouldn't," he told her. "You're mated to someone else and we've been friends for so long…"

"Felix," Suplicia stood from the couch and stepped toward him. "Please. Kiss me."

"Suplicia," he met her eyes and shook his head, the expression on his face full of a mix of lust and regret.

"Felix," she stepped toward him slowly. "We have known each other for so long. I fell in love with you, I don't even know when, one day it was just there. You can't tell me you don't feel the same."

Felix shook his head as he backed away from her. "I won't take another man's mate."

She dropped the hand that she had been reaching out to him and sighed. Looking at the floor, Suplicia shook her head and stepped back.

"You're too good to be chained to the Volturi," she told him, her voice sounding as old as she felt, "You may be the only person left among them who still knows what honor is."

"I'm sorry," he told her, his voice full of regret. "I do love you," he told her. "But I can't, I can't lay with you knowing that you belong to someone else. I'm too selfish for that. I would want you all to myself, body, mind and soul. I'm sorry."

"So am I," she said, her voice shaking. "Can we," her voice became choked and she swallowed back her emotions. "Can we still be friends at least?"

"Always," he told her as he appeared at her side in an instant. "You will always have me," he promised her as he wrapped her in his arms and held her close. "As a friend and as a protector."

"But not as a lover," she finished for him.

"No, not while your mate lives," he said without thinking of how his words would sound. "No, Suplicia," he said when she turned determined eyes on him. "I will not condone the killing of Aro just so that we can be together. I could never condone that, no matter the circumstance."

"You're too good for them," she told him again. "Does Aro know that after all this time you still have honor and integrity?"

"It amuses him, or so he says," Felix said as he rolled his eyes. "I try to hide it around him and the others. But here, I don't have to hide anything."

"Neither of us does, not anymore," she said with a deeply indrawn breath. "We are free."

**:::::**

"She's not eating," Esme said with sad sigh as she stepped into Carlisle's office. "All of this is upsetting her so much."

"We cannot simply stop," Carlisle told her as he held out his hand for her to take. "We're making progress, my love. It's slow and it's painful, but it is progress."

She shook her head as he tugged gently on her hand until she sat down on his lap. Wrapping his arms around her waist, he kissed her temple and held her tucked against his chest as he rested his chin on her hair. It had been two days since they had gotten Angela to talk about her childhood, the few memories she had revealed horrifying them all. She hadn't spoken a word since, not even through her thoughts to Edward. Angela was retreating into herself, becoming the ghost again as she tried to escape the memories of her childhood.

"I just hate that she's hurting so much. Her silence even has Jasper worried. He told me that he's beginning to think she can block him," Esme told him as she remembered the conversation she'd had with him earlier that day.

"Block him?" Carlisle pulled back to look at her in confusion. "I didn't think anything could block Jasper."

"He told me that it feels like his talent is bouncing off of her, like lasers on a mirror." Esme stood up from his lap, pacing away from his desk as her worry made it impossible for her to keep still. "Carlisle…are we doing the right thing? What if we're only hurting her more?"

Carlisle stood from his seat releasing a silent sigh as he stepped toward his wife. He wrapped her in his arms, smoothing his hand down over her hair as he held her close. Leaning back enough to see her face, Carlisle cupped her cheeks in his hands and kissed her slowly.

"We are doing the right thing," he assured her softly. "We have to get her to talk, Esme. It's the only way to help her heal. Where is she?"

"The same place she's been since the morning after: wrapped in Emmett's arms."

Offering her a somewhat sad smile, Carlisle nodded and kissed her once more before stepping away from her. He walked through the house, not finding Emmett or Angela in the living room, kitchen or her bedroom. Looking up when he saw Jasper standing in the hall he watched as his adoptive son nodded toward the window.

"She's outside with him," Jasper clarified as he stepped into Angela's room and pulled back the curtain. "He's the only one that's been able to calm her. Every now and then her fear will spike. There's something about the way she's acting, the way she's hiding herself away, I think they did something – threatened or hurt her – to keep her from talking about what happened. Whatever they did, when you asked her to talk about what she went through, I've never felt her so scared."

Carlisle sighed. "The problem is getting her to talk again. How do we make her feel safe?"

"I think we need to let Emmett take care of that," Jasper said as he looked down on his siblings below where they sat on the boulder in the backyard. "She feels safe with him. He calms her…she clings to him."

"Carlisle," Alice's voice sounded from behind them. "Edward's gone to go get Chief Swan. Charlie asked Bella to tell him what Angela told us. He wants to be here for the next time and you're already planning to talk to her tonight."

"He won't be able to hear her," Carlisle shook his head, knowing that there was the distinct possibility that what they were could be revealed to the human police chief.

"He will," Alice assured him. "He's not going to stay long, he just has a few questions for her," she assured Carlisle. "It's her reaction he's most interested in. He wants to see how she reacts to his questions."

"Can you see how she will react?" he asked her and sighed when she shook her head no.

"Edward's coming now, Charlie asked Bella to stay home. He's behind Edward in the cruiser. They'll be here in less than five minutes," she told him.

Carlisle nodded and looked down below to see Emmett's face turned up to them, his son having heard their quiet conversation perfectly. His brow was furrowed in worry, but he nodded to Carlisle and stood with Angela cradled in his arms. Turning away from the window, Carlisle stepped out of Angela's bedroom and into the hall. He hated the pain this was causing Angela, the terror she experienced and the nightmares that followed, but he didn't have a choice. If he wanted to help her heal then he had to get her to talk about what happened. He felt his hands tremble and looked down at them as he walked down the stairs. He could still feel Angela shaking in his arms; hear her silent whimpers in her sleep. He had read to her each time her sleep had become troubled, even going so far as to walk around the room with her cradled in his arms, anything to take away her nightmares. Nothing had worked, she hadn't gotten much more than an hour's worth of uninterrupted sleep the night that he had gotten her to talk.

He looked up as the front door opened. Greeting Chief Swan with a sad, tired smile and a nod, he welcomed the man into his home. He could feel the man's eyes on him as he led him into the living room, Emmett already seated on the couch with Angela held on his lap and wrapped in his arms. He knew that Charlie had questions for him; he only hoped he could answer them without having to lie to hide their true natures.

"She's not doing so well, is she?" Charlie asked Carlisle quietly as he looked at the girl wrapped in Emmett's arms.

"No," Carlisle said slowly. "No, she's not. She hasn't said a word since the morning after we got her to talk. She's not eating either, she's barely sleeping."

Charlie nodded and stepped up to stand near Emmett. Angela looked absolutely tiny in Emmett's arms and Charlie sighed silently as he looked at her. She reminded him so much of Bella that it was hard to separate the father in him from the cop. Nodding his thanks to Emmett when the teen tipped his head toward the low coffee table in front of him, Charlie sat down and looked at Angela. It took him almost five minutes to gain the girl's attention, and when she did finally turn her face to him he was saddened by the haunted look in her eyes.

"Angela, I need to ask you a few questions, if that's ok?" Charlie said and watched her look at Emmett.

"It's alright, half pint," Emmett assured her softly and kissed her forehead. "I'm not going anywhere," he promised her and rubbed her arm. "Just answer his questions, ok?"

Angela bit her lip and nodded slowly before turning her eyes back on Charlie. Her brow furrowed in confusion as she watched the man's hand move and saw him take a slim digital recorder from his pocket. He didn't have the small notebook with him that he carried whenever he asked her about her stalker which meant only one thing. Her eyes flared wide and she began to struggle against Emmett's iron hold. His arms weren't holding her tight enough to hurt her or make her uncomfortable, but he refused to budge an inch.

"It's alright, baby girl, shh," Emmett tried to soothe her as she fought against him. "It's ok, I promise. You're safe here, Angela, just remember that."

"I don't want to talk about this," she whimpered, her voice barely loud enough for Charlie to hear.

"I know you don't," Emmett said gently as he held her. "But you need to, Sweetheart. It's ok, you're safe here, remember? No one's going to hurt you."

Everything in her was telling her to run, she couldn't do this, she couldn't talk about this. She tried pushing at Emmett's arms once more, but escaping him was impossible. She heard Charlie say something, her frightened mind not able to understand the words, but his intention was clear. She knew what he wanted to talk about, but she couldn't do this, none of them understood. She had to get away and when she realized that she couldn't physically leave, she did the only thing she could do.

"Angela," Emmett looked down when she grew completely still in his arms. "Angela, come back to me," he called to her when he gained no response from her.

Charlie looked at the girl held in Emmett's arms. Her struggles had stopped, in fact all movement from the girl had stopped save for her breathing. Her eyes were open, but empty as she stared at nothing. She had retreated into her mind. Shaking his head and looking down, Charlie put the recorder away. He didn't need to see or even hear anymore, her reaction was telling enough. Standing from the coffee table he looked at Carlisle only to find the man talking softly into his cell phone. He turned his attention on Esme instead and stepped toward the gentle woman.

"Edward said there was a voicemail," he said to her and watched her nod.

"Come with me, I'll get it for you," Esme said as she led him out of the room.

"My friend, she is safe," Carlisle said into his phone as he paced the living room.

"Don't tell me she's safe, Carlisle," Eleazar said, his voice heard clearly by the other vampires in the room. "I felt her, all the way here in Denali, I _felt her_. She is terrified. Where is she?"

"She is here with us," Carlisle sighed. "We have been trying to get her to talk about her childhood. Two days ago we were able to get her talk for a little while; today it's proving more difficult."

"Can I talk with her?" he asked, his voice growing more concerned.

"I wish I could say yes," Carlisle said as he looked at the girl in question. "But she has shut herself away inside her mind. She's not talking to anyone."

"Would it help her if we came back?" he asked and Carlisle could hear both Carmen and Tanya's voices in the background.

"At this point, I honestly don't know what would help her. What few memories she revealed to us before were bad enough, hold on," he said and lowered his cell phone as Charlie came back into the living room with Esme. "Charlie?"

"I'll talk with Mike – Judge Harrison," he clarified. "The voicemail and her reaction should be enough proof. I'll call you as soon as I have the restraining order against her parents."

"Thank you," Carlisle said, nodding gratefully and returning to his phone as Esme led him out of the room and back to the front door. "Eleazar, I need to get back to Angela, I'll call you with any news."

"Wait," Jasper said and met Carlisle's eyes. "I need to speak with him."

"I'm going to hand you over to Jasper, he has a few questions for you," Carlisle said before handing his son the phone.

**:::::**

Marcus looked up from the second letter he was writing to Angela. He wasn't sure what had captured his attention, but looked around the room anyway. Turning back to the letter in front of him when he found nothing to be amiss, he reached out to dip the quill into the ink only to gasp and drop the feather pen to the desktop instead. His hand flew to his chest as he pushed back and stood from the table. He moved to the center of the room with difficulty before falling to his knees and crying out in pain. It felt as though something was clawing at him, a feeling of maddening fear and desperation filling him.

Falling forward, he caught himself with one hand while the other remained clutched over his silent heart. He looked up around the room trying to determine where the feeling was coming from only to see nothing around him. Another wave of the feeling passed through him, the desperate tug seeming to claw at him, but he didn't understand it. It wasn't his; this feeling didn't belong to him. He groaned as he lost his balance and fell onto his side. Whoever this feeling belonged to, they were crying out for protection. This person was terrified.

Marcus stilled, his eyes opening as he stopped fighting against the emotion and let it flow through him. There was only one person who could reach him here, he realized with a growing sense of horror. It was Angela; this feeling was coming from her. She was calling for him, tugging at him in whatever way she could, the only problem was, he had no idea where she was. They had never talked about her home or where she was from. She could be anywhere and he didn't even know where to begin to look for her. He stood slowly, his balance regained as he looked around the room. She wasn't here with him; she hadn't come through to his mind.

"Where are you, little one?" he asked the empty room. "How do I find you?"

The feeling stopped after a little while, minutes or even hours could've passed, he wasn't sure. Looking around the room, his eyes came to rest on the desk. The letters were the only way he had of contacting her. He had to try, he had to do something. Returning to the desk, he sat down and looked at the paper. Whatever he had meant to write was forgotten as he took up the pen once more and dipped it into the ink.

_The next time you write to me, leave me your address. Let me send you a real letter._

It wasn't much, but it was all he could do and he hoped it would be enough. Blowing gently over the paper to help the ink dry, he carefully rolled the paper and tied it with a sapphire ribbon.

"Please let this work," he prayed as he set the note aside.

**:::::**

"There you are," Emmett said with a soft sigh as he watched Angela blink slowly. "That's it, little one, come back to me," he encouraged her gently.

"Twenty minutes," Rosalie said quietly as she looked at the girl in concern. "At least it didn't take quite as long this time."

"Hey, half pint," Emmett said as Angela turned her face up to him. "That's it, Sweetheart. Good girl," he praised her gently and kissed her forehead. "You're safe here," he promised her.

"Angela," Carlisle spoke her name softly to get her attention and waited for her to turn her attention on him. "Hi, Sweetheart."

"I don't want to talk about this," Angela said as her breathing quickened and she looked around desperately seeking an escape.

"I know, baby girl," Carlisle told her and reached out to take her hand. "But I need you to be brave for me and talk to me, ok?"

"Please," she begged as tears fell from her eyes and cascaded slowly down her pale cheeks. "Please don't make me talk about this."

"You need to, Sweetheart," Carlisle said, his expression full of sadness and regret. "It's the only way to help you heal."

"Can't we just forget?" she begged him, her voice little more than a high pitched whimper. "I'll be better, I promise."

"Sweetheart, no," Carlisle reached out and tucked her hair behind her ear. "You haven't done anything wrong. That's not what this is about."

Her heartbeat was accelerating quickly, her breathing following suit and Carlisle feared she would shut herself away inside her mind once more. He looked up when Rosalie moved from her spot by the wall and watched her curiously as she moved to sit beside Emmett on the couch. She was angled to see Angela's face and reached out to brush the backs of her fingers over the girl's pale cheek.

"It's all pretty scary, huh?" she asked Angela and watched the girl give a shaking nod. "It's not easy to talk about what terrifies us, especially not if we've been punished for doing so before. What did they do, Angela? What happened if you talked about what they did?"

Her questions only served to make her anxiety worse and Angela once again began trying to escape Emmett's unbreakable hold. Their vampirism, the speed and strength, had always comforted her before, but now it scared her. She needed to escape, she had to get away. She couldn't talk about this; she couldn't answer their questions, not this one.

"Her only thought is escaping," Edward told Carlisle with a deep sigh. "I've never seen her so terrified. What the hell did they do to her?"

"Angela," Rosalie called to the girl again as she gently, but firmly caught the girl's face in her hands and held her still. "You're safe here, you need to remember that. No one here is going to hurt you…What happened if you talked?" she asked her again.

"Let her go!" Edward suddenly called out in alarm. "Let her go, both of you," he said again. "She knows you're there, Emmett, but she's not seeing you. Let her go."

As soon as they released their hold on her, Angela was up and out his lap running blindly for the stairs. They followed behind her at a distance, giving her the space they thought she needed only follow her into her bedroom and watch as she tucked herself into the back of her closet. She folded herself as tightly as possible, wrapping her arms around her legs and rocking back and forth with her face tucked into the tops of knees.

"I'm sorry," she chanted repeatedly as she rocked back and forth, her voice barely a whisper.

"Angela," Esme was the first to move, the first one who seemed able to speak. "Sweetheart, do you know where you are?" she asked gently as she sat down on her knees in front of Angela. "Edward?" she turned her eyes up to him when the girl failed to respond.

"I don't know," he shook his head. "All I see is darkness."

"Half pint," Emmett got down on his hands and knees, crawling slowly over to sit beside Esme. "Baby girl, look at me," he called to Angela gently as he reached out to touch her arm.

She was slow to respond, her trembling increasing as she fearfully lifted her head. Her teeth chattered as she looked around her eyes widening when she met Emmett's gaze. Her voice was trembling, causing her to stutter more than once as she tried to speak his name. When she was finally able to get his name out, he nodded to her and assured her that he was there. Angela gasped as she released the tight hold she had on her legs and launched herself into his arms.

"Shh," Emmett soothed as he dragged her into his lap and rocked her slowly. "You're safe," he promised her as he petted her hair. "That's it, baby girl," he kissed her bowed head. "You're safe, I've got you."

Emmett moved carefully, standing slowly with her cradled in his arms and moved toward the crowded doorway of her closet. His family moved back to allow him room as he carried her to her bed and sat down.

"Hand me one of the bears," he said to Alice, the girl standing closest to the table holding them. "Thanks," he said, not bothering to look at the stuffed animal as he tucked it into Angela's arms. "Feel that?" he asked Angela and watched as she slowly turned her eyes down on the blond bear in her arms. "That's your safety point, ok?" he told her gently. "When we talk and you start getting scared, if your mind takes you back to what they did to you, then I want you to squeeze that bear," he instructed her. "Feel its fur and remember that you're safe with us, ok?" she nodded jerkily as she hugged the stuffed animal tightly. "Can we try again?" he asked her gently.

"I'm scared," she whispered and he hugged her tight.

"I know," he told her and kissed her hair. "But we're here; we're all here with you. We won't let them hurt you. They can't touch you here," he promised her. "Will you try? For me?" he asked and rubbed her arm when she nodded slowly. "That's my girl," he praised and placed one hand on top of the bear in her arms. "Remember, half pint, that's your safety point." He waited for her to nod before he continued. "What happened if you talked about what they did? Did you ever talk about it directly?"

"No," she finally answered after a long moment. "But I asked my second grade teacher why none of the other kids had to walk home."

"What happened?" he asked her gently when she remained quiet.

"She called my parents and asked to meet with them in the classroom. I had to wait outside; I don't know what she said to them." Angela's voice was beginning to tremble again, her heartbeat increasing.

"Remember the bear," he told her softly as he rested his palm on her arm, his fingers touching the bear clutched to her chest. "What happened?" he asked gently, looking up when Carlisle moved to crouch down in front of him as he watched Angela.

"It was the last day of school before spring break," she said as her breathing increased. Her fear was growing again, but her fingers curled around the arms of the small bear and she found herself able to calm down a little bit. "When they took me home," she whimpered and closed her eyes against the onslaught of memories. "The Reverend, he…he wanted to know what I'd said, but when I told him he didn't believe me. He said that I was lying and he demanded to know what I told my teacher."

Emmett kissed her hair, rocking her when she grew silent. His eyes left her when he sensed one of his siblings move and looked up to see Alice holding out another bear to him. He nodded gratefully, taking the bear without saying a word and tucked it into Angela's arms alongside the other one that she held. His lip twitched up at the corner in a micro-expression of sad amusement. Where she had always gained comfort from being held in between himself and Jasper, now she was holding them, or at least their bears. Rubbing her back he encouraged her to continue.

"He was mad that I wouldn't tell him the truth, but I wasn't lying," she whimpered, her eyes finding Emmett's as she begged him to believe her.

"I know, Sweetheart," Emmett promised and kissed her forehead. "What did they do?"

"He…he hit me," she said slowly, "really hard. I must've passed out or something, because the next thing I knew I was in the closet again. The one in the basement," she said as her eyes turned on Carlisle when he touched her arm.

"How long were you in there?" Carlisle asked gently.

"I don't know," she confessed quietly, her voice shaking. "They dragged me upstairs and thr-threw me into the bathroom. When I came out, my mo-Mrs. Weber," she corrected quickly with a wince, "asked me what happened. I didn't understand what she meant, but she kept asking. Over and over again, she kept asking me what happened."

"And then what?" Emmett asked her softly, encouraging her to go on while reminding her once again of the bears in her arms.

"I didn't understand the question," she said, "I shook my head, I didn't understand," she whimpered.

"What did they do?" Carlisle asked her gently.

"He…he h-hit me again and they…they put me back in the closet," she stammered as her teeth chattered. "Each time they let me out, they asked me what happened. The last time, the last time they let me out, I told them that nothing happened…When I said that nothing happened, they let me stay out. Don't let them lock me away," she begged quietly and jumped slightly in surprise at the feel of Carlisle kissing her temple.

"We won't, Sweetheart," Carlisle promised her. "You're safe here," he reminded her. "Do you know how long they kept locking you away? Did they feed you at all?"

"No," she whimpered and squeezed the bears in her arms tightly. "I know the final time they let me out they told me to make sure that I was showered and dressed in clean clothes. The next day they took me to school. I guess it must've been the end of Spring Break."

"Angela," Carlisle's voice drew her attention. "Did they feed you or give you anything to drink?"

"No," she sniffled as she leaned heavily against Emmett. "The next time I ate was at school. I was so hungry, but the food made me sick and I threw up."

"You ate too fast," Carlisle said his voice too soft for her to hear. "That's enough for today," he told her and kissed her temple. "Would you like a bath?" he asked her gently, smiling sadly when she nodded. "Ok, why don't you let Esme help you?" he suggested and watched her nod as he moved back to allow his wife to help the girl up from Emmett's lap.

Carlisle moved to the wingback chair that sat next to her bookshelf and fell heavily into it as he dropped his head into his hands. He could never remember having wanted a human's blood before, but he did now and the desire for it scared him. What they did to her was unconscionable. He looked up when Edward spoke, his telepathic son's voice shaking with barely controlled rage.

"I can't be here right now," he said as he moved toward the window. "She's not just thinking about what happened; she's re-experiencing it as though it's happening all over again. If I stay here too much longer, I don't know what I'll do," he shook his head as he moved to stand on the edge of the open window. "Will you let her know I'm not mad, if she asks?"

Carlisle nodded and watched his son disappear out of the window. He could only try to understand what Edward was going through. As hard as it was for all of them to hear what had happened, Edward was being forced to experience it through his talent. He didn't know what he would do if he had Edward's talent. How would he cope if he had to experience the girl's memories instead of just hear about them? Turning his attention on Alice, he found his psychic daughter already at the window.

"I'll watch over him," she promised Carlisle, having seen his decision in her vision. "I'll make sure he doesn't do anything stupid."

"Thank you," he said and released a deep sigh as he stood from the chair.

**:::::**

Esme stood inside the bathroom, holding Angela in her arms as the girl cried. She stroked her hair, rubbed her back as she rocked her from side to side. Kissing her bowed head, Esme looked up at the ceiling and clenched her jaw tightly. She had lost control a few times within her first year of this life and remembered clearly what human blood tasted like. She wanted to taste it again now, if only to know with absolute certainty that Angela's parents could never harm her again.

"I'm going to get the water started," she told Angela when the girl's tears slowed. "I'll be right back. Why don't you take a human moment, alright?"

Angela nodded slowly, her movement unsteady as she stepped to the counter and set the bears in her arms down on the marble surface. She watched as Esme exited the bathroom, waiting for the door to close before moving to the toilet. Esme stepped into the bathroom once again a few moments later as Angela was washing her hands in the sink and moved to the bathtub. Turning on the water and adjusting the temperature, Esme added a handful of lavender scented bath salts to the water. Drying off her hands, she stood and moved to Angela, taking the girl into her arms once again as the tub filled behind them.

"We love you, Sweetheart," she told Angela, stroking her hair gently. "I want you to always remember that."

Stepping back, Esme led her over to the closed toilet seat and had Angela sit down while she brushed her hair. Esme pulled the brush slowly through her hair from root to tip until the tub had filled with water. Setting the brush on the counter, she moved to the tub and tuned off the taps before instructing Angela to undress. Helping her into the bath, she knelt beside the tub and helped her to lean back against the hanging bath pillow that was at the end of the large tub.

"Do you want me to stay?" Esme asked her. "Ok," she said when Angela nodded. "You can go to sleep if you want, Sweetheart. I'll take care of you," she promised as she smoothed the girl's hair back from her face. "I'm right here, I'm not going anywhere."

"Will you read to me?" Angela asked, her voice a soft whimper.

Esme smiled sadly as she nodded and looked up when the bathroom door opened and Rosalie stuck her head inside. Her blonde daughter moved closer and took Esme's seat next to the tub so that she could gather a book. Reaching out, Rosalie gently stroked Angela's hair and watched as the human girl opened her eyes slowly.

"We're all here for you," Rosalie promised her gently. "We won't let anything happen to you."

"Promise?" Angela asked, the word slurred with exhaustion as her eyes drooped heavily.

"I promise," Rosalie nodded and looked up when Esme returned.

Moving so that Esme could take her seat next to the tub once again, Rosalie sat on the closed toilet seat and listened as her adoptive mother read to Angela. She had come to the start of chapter three of 'A Christmas Carol' by Charles Dickens when she noticed Angela to be sleeping. Standing slowly, Esme set the book aside and asked Rosalie to hold out a towel while she lifted Angela from the bath. Rosalie wrapped Angela in the large thick towel when she was handed the girl, lifting her easily into her arms as Esme took care of draining the bath.

"I've got her," Rosalie said softly to Emmett as she stepped into the hall. "Let me dry her off and get her dressed and then you and Jasper can lay with her."

Emmett nodded quietly as he watched his wife disappear into Angela's bedroom with the girl cradled in her arms. He wanted nothing more than to take Angela away, someplace safe, someplace where her parents couldn't reach her. He knew that she was safe in their home, but this was the town the girl had spent her life in and he wondered if perhaps a change of scenery wouldn't make her feel safer. Looking up as the door opened and Rosalie stepped out, he met her eyes when she nodded to him and kissed her before stepping into Angela's room.

Jasper joined him a moment later, the Cullen brothers laying on either side of their human sister and enfolding her in their arms as she slept. Whimpering softly in her sleep, Angela turned and tucked herself into Jasper's side as she slept, her cheek pillowed on his chest. Every single one of them knew that their bodies felt like frozen stone to the human girl, but they had also learned over time that if they left her to sleep alone she would wake continuously throughout the night. Jasper's lips tilted in a crooked smile. The few times that either he or Emmett had tried to offer her comfort by tucking a pillow between her body and theirs she had woken as easily as she did if left to sleep alone. She needed to feel them with her, ice-cold hard-as-marble body and all.

"We're here, little one," Jasper told her softly when she sighed in her sleep. "Your big brothers are here."


	27. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

Blinking slowly as she moved silently, she stepped into the open entryway of the room without making a sound. It was the soft melody of Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata that had drawn her attention, captivating her and calling her closer to the source of the music. Edward was sitting at the piano, his back straight and arms holding an elegant bend as his fingers moved over the ivory and ebony keys with flawless perfection. She had watched him play several times before, Edward even having taught her how to play a simple short song at one point. He hadn't played in so long though and with the easy way that he seemed to flow into the musical instrument, her tired mind began to perceive Edward and the piano as being one entity.

"Come sit with me," he called to her softly, his voice just loud enough to be heard over the music without disturbing the peacefulness the melody inspired.

Catching her bottom lip between her teeth, she bit down on the plump flesh as she moved forward slowly. He hadn't looked up from the piano, hadn't even opened his eyes when he had spoken to her and she stopped halfway to him wondering if she shouldn't simply leave him instead. He seemed so peaceful and she felt as though she were intruding upon that. She watched as he turned his head and opened his dark butterscotch eyes, his movements in response to her thoughts as he beckoned her closer once more with a gentle nod of his head.

Her gaze fell to the floor out of habit as her steps began once more. She came to his side as he played the last notes of the music and held out his hand for her to take. Angela lifted her hand slowly, placing her palm in his as her eyes lifted to his face and she let him guide her to sit astride his lap. She felt his leg move beneath her as his foot moved over the pedals of the piano. He wrapped his arms around her, petting her hair as he encouraged her to rest her head against his shoulder.

"Close your eyes," he instructed softly as his hands returned to the piano. "You're safe here, baby girl," he reminded her quietly as he began to play Claire de Lune, his touch gentle as the soft notes filled the air.

He felt her eyelashes tickle against his skin as her eyes fluttered closed. Her breath was soft and warm, puffing against his skin as her steady breathing began to deepen. He turned his head, rubbing his cheek against her warm hair as he held her in his lap while playing the classical music. For three days now she had been little more than a ghost, moving throughout the house without saying a word. Her silence worried everyone, her lack of appetite worrying Carlisle the most. She wasn't sleeping much either and the times that she wasn't wrapped in someone's arms or wondering the house silently, she would be found curled up in a tight ball in the back of her closet with her face tucked into her knees.

"Go to sleep, Sweetheart," Edward said softly, kissing her hair before resting his chin on her head while he played for her.

Her mind had been mostly still, the few thoughts he was able to read speaking of her fear that his family would turn her away. Speaking over her past with her parents was terrifying for her. Edward sighed softly as he listened to the sound of her heartbeat. He almost wished that she would cry, if only just to show that she was still in there somewhere. He blinked slowly as he let the soft music of the piano calm him while he used the music to soothe her to sleep. Where so many others would cry or grow restless in their fear, she became as soundless and transient as a ghost. She closed in on herself, becoming silent and almost unseen and it worried them all.

He looked up at the sound of Alice's worried thoughts entering his mind, his sister standing just inside the room. Her eyes were filled with such sadness that he knew she was crying silently, her vampire nature making it impossible for her to physically shed the tears in her heart. Angela hadn't spoken a single word since Emmett had been able to get her to reveal what had happened the one time her parents had thought she had spoken out about the abuse she suffered at their hands. She hadn't slept much more than a few hours each night since then either, her sleep plagued by endless nightmares that terrified her and left her exhausted. Not even Emmett and Jasper holding while she slept could keep the nightmares away.

_She's losing weight,_ Alice thought, her mental voice filled with pain and sadness as she grieved for her newest sister. _Why? How could they do that to her? How could anyone do that to a child? What else did they do to her that we don't know about?_

"She'll be alright, Ali," Edward said, keeping his voice below the range of human hearing. "This is just the hardest part right now. We have to reopen the wounds in order to help her heal."

_Eleazar and Carmen want to come back here. They want to help her anyway they can, but I don't think it's a good idea. Carlisle's asking them to wait._

"Why not?" he asked her, shushing Angela gently when she stirred against him.

_Conflicting visions,_ she told him and opened up her mind to him.

He could see her vision of Eleazar and Carmen returning to stay with them. He could see Eleazar holding her the same way Carlisle always did. He could see Carmen cuddling Angela and telling her stories of Spain to try and coax her out of the silent state the girl was in. But he could also see what troubled Alice, what had made her ask Carlisle to tell them to stay away. Eleazar and Carmen had both lived on human blood for a long time before joining the sisters in Denali. He could see them killing Angela's parents after seeing her talk about the abuse. No matter how much they all wanted to kill Angela's parents, Edward and everyone else knew that if they did that Angela would only retreat further into herself. She wouldn't be upset out of love for her human parents, but rather the self-destructive fear that she would be to blame for their deaths.

"Come sing," he told his sister as he began to play a slow flowing melody from the nineteen-twenties.

Alice's sweet soprano voice filled the air as she began to sing the love song turned lullaby. Edward's music and Alice's voice seemed to be the perfect combination, the coveted solution needed to end Angela's torment. Listening intently to her mind, focusing on the girl sleeping in his lap as he ended one song, the music effortlessly flowing into a new melody as Alice supplied the lyrics, he smiled at the knowledge that for once Angela's sleep was peaceful.

Carlisle stood just outside the room, watching as Angela slept peacefully for the first time in days. Turning at the soft sound of Esme's voice behind him, he nodded and stepped away from the room. Walking slowly into the front room, Carlisle nodded quietly to Chief Swan, taking note of the haggard look in the man's eyes.

"You don't look so good, Charlie," Carlisle observed softly as he studied the human in front of him.

"Bella's having nightmares," the police chief admitted with a tired sigh. "I think she's dreaming about what Angela told you all, but she won't tell me for certain. If I had any physical evidence, any proof that would stand up in a court of law, I would have Angela's parents behind bars right now. The problem is, with her being a year shy of the legal age and no documented evidence of the abuse she suffered before now, there isn't much I can do." Sticking his hand into his jacket, he pulled out a folded paper from his inside pocket. "This is the restraining order against her parents; it includes physical proximity, phone, email and written communication. This," he said holding up a heavy white catalogue-envelope in his hand, "is for Emmett."

"What is it?" Emmett asked as he stepped into the room and took the thick envelope from Charlie with a nod.

"I know you just graduated," Charlie said. "I don't know if you've chosen a major yet or not, but with the way I've seen you with Angela, I think that'd be a good fit for you."

Emmett frowned and opened the unmarked envelope. Taking out a thin glossy book from within, along with a few papers, he studied the materials. He read through the top sheet, a letter that was addressed to him personally from a woman named Annabelle, blinking in surprise at the information.

"Trauma and abuse counseling?" Emmett said as he looked up from the papers in his hands.

"You're good with her, Emmett," Charlie said with a nod. "The doctor I got the information for you from, Annabelle Seers, I worked with her a few years ago on a domestic violence case. The woman – the victim," he clarified, "she was terrified of everyone. Annabelle was able to get her to talk some, but said that while she had gone into that field to make a difference, it was really something best left to naturals. She asked me to send anyone that I thought could be a natural at it her way. In five years, you're the only one I've met who fits the bill. Read through the information, her card's in that folder, you can give her a call if you have any questions."

"Thanks," Emmett said as his attention returned to the papers in his hands.

"How's Angela doing?" Charlie asked them both, not surprised to see the tired look in Carlisle's eyes.

"Not well," Carlisle said with a heavy sigh. "She's finally sleeping peacefully for the first time in days," he said. "She's not eating and she's not talking." Carlisle looked down at the legal paper in his hand for a moment before meeting Charlie's dark eyes once more. "Angela talked about a closet in the basement that her parents used to lock her in," Carlisle said and described the enclosure as best he could from what Angela had revealed to them.

Charlie's expression grew dark, his hand clenching into a fist in a vain attempt to keep him from reaching for his gun.

"I know what you're talking about," he nearly growled at Carlisle's vague description. "It's an old air tight cabinet that was built into a few of the older homes around these parts. I have one in mine; I had it permanently sealed when Renee got pregnant with Bella. It was made to store wood or coal in during the winter since most of the furnaces at that time ran on that instead of gas or electricity. That any air was able to get in at all was a miracle. She could have easily suffocated inside that thing. How often did they lock her inside it?"

"Frequently," Carlisle answered tightly, his voice holding both anger and sorrow.

"Take this," Charlie said, holding out a small digital recorder. "If her voice is loud enough to be heard on it when she talks, use it to record what she says. I don't know if I'll be able to do more than that restraining order, but whatever you're able to get, I can take to the D.A. and get his thoughts on it." Carlisle nodded as he took the device from the man's hand. "I have to get back to the station, but I wanted to check in. The FBI agents left town a few days ago. From the looks of it, Angela's stalker passed through British Columbia about a week ago. We don't know if he's still there or not, but I wanted to keep you updated. Let me know if anything more turns up from him."

"We will," Carlisle assured him with a nod. "Thank you, Charlie."

He nodded stiffly once before turning and leaving the Cullen manor. The sound of his cruiser leaving the driveway drew a heavy sigh from Carlisle and he turned slowly. His brow lifted in curiosity when he found Emmett to be looking through the glossy catalogue that the police chief had given to him, his eyes reading every detail carefully.

"What do you think?" Carlisle asked his son as he nodded to the information in Emmett's hands.

"I never thought about doing anything like this before," he admitted as he followed Carlisle back through the house.

"I think he's right," Carlisle said as he came to a stop outside the entryway leading into the room that held Edward's piano, his son still playing for Angela while she slept in his lap. "You've shown a natural aptitude for it with Angela, but the question is: is it something you want to do?"

"I want to help her anyway that I can," Emmett said as he watched Angela sleep while Edward played the piano for her and Alice sang softly. "If studying this will help me do that, then I will."

**:::::**

The leather in his hands was supple, but ancient and delicate. The paper held within was fragile if not a bit stiff, his mind reminding him to be cautious with the book that was well over a thousand years old. This piece in his hands was handcrafted by the person who wrote it, he knew that because he had watched the man make the book, the pages held together with stitching made from animal sinew. His eyes looked over the words written on the page before him, his mind refusing to believe the passage written even while his heart began to fill with the fire of rage that he had not felt since the day the account spoke of.

:::

_If she had been mated to anyone else, I would not have been forced to take the actions that I did. Her power was of no use to me, not if I was to succeed with my plans. I loved Didyme, I truly did. She was my sister by birth, by blood. She was Marcus' mate, but ultimately, she stood in the way of my success. Didyme's gift was to make people happy. Anyone who came near her felt happy, peaceful. Everyone was drawn to her, human and of our kind, but once they were around her they lost their edge. Marcus was a proud and strong warrior, he was a soldier with passion and fire, but he fell in love with her and bonded with her. He even married her – a human ceremony that I have never seen any value in, despite Suplicia's insistence that we be wed before I turned her. _

_Marcus came to me, spoke of his desire to leave us, to leave what we had created. The fool never understood that his power is what has made it so easy for me to defeat all of the other ruling bodies. His power is not one that I will ever let go of. That Didyme wanted to leave this life, to find something 'better' forced my hand. I couldn't allow them to leave, but as long as she remained alive, Marcus would never be content in staying with us. I told Marcus that I was happy for them, encouraged him to leave and find 'his place' in the world. The fool believed me as well, he never has been too adept at reading people, not like I can. _

_I held a feast in his honor, told him that Didyme would be joining us soon as Suplicia was helping her to pack. While he was distracted I returned to their chambers. Didyme knew. The instant she saw my face, she knew what I had planned, my little sister was the only one who could ever read me so easily. That moment was Corin's test, her way to prove the usefulness of her gift to me and my cause. Her ability to make a person feel content was quite useful in keeping Didyme still and silent as I destroyed her. I had to make it look as though the Romanians did it._

_I laid her bodiless head on their bed, placed her body in the chair by the window, but only after removing her arms. I had to make it look as though there had been a struggle. If I didn't then Marcus would know all too quickly that I was the only to destroy her. After all he had seen and done in his human life with the military he still somehow managed to believe in love. Didyme only made his compassion stronger. Compassion is such a worthless trait. I had to leave their chambers quickly; I could hear him calling out for her as he came down the hall, the love in his voice only betraying the weak fool she had turned him into. _

_With Didyme gone, Marcus belongs to my service completely and Chelsea's gift will make certain of that. _

:::

It had been so long since that night when he had found Didyme dead within these walls, but his vampire mind made it impossible to forget any of the details. His memories of that night flowed through his mind with startling clarity, making it feel to him as though it were happening all over again. His grief overpowered him, his pain tearing him in two as he fell heavily to the bed behind him. He didn't realize that he was crying out her name, he was deaf to any and all sound. He wasn't certain when it happened, but the room around him disappeared, the stone walls of his chambers melting away as the delicate beauty and soft comforts of his mental sanctuary appeared before him.

He stood silent as he looked around the room, his eyes finding Angela's form instantly as she stood at the window with her back to him. She was silent, still, her immobility unnerving him. Stepping up behind her, wondering if perhaps his mind was creating the image, he reached out to touch her. His hand rested on her shoulder, the warmth of her human body almost burning his hand. He turned her slowly to face him, his lips parting in concern when he saw the almost dead look in her eyes.

"Angela?"

She didn't seem to recognize him. As he watched her, he was fairly certain that she had no idea that he was even there in front of her. She stepped away from him, fear filling her eyes as she moved to sit on the couch and folded herself into a tight ball. Her arms were wrapped tightly around her legs, her knees drawn to her chest as she rocked back and forth in such a small and slow motion that only one of his kind would be able to see the movement. He stepped up to her, kneeling on the floor in front of her as he lifted his hand and cupped her cheek in his palm.

"Angela?" he called to her again.

"I don't want to talk about this," she said, her voice whisper quiet as a single tear escaped her eye to roll down her cheek.

"Talk about what, little one?" he asked as he smoothed the tear away with the pad of his thumb. "Angela, what's happening?"

"Please, don't make me talk about this," she begged, her eyes never meeting his and he began to realize that mentally she was in two places at once.

She couldn't see him, but he could both see and hear her. She was seeking the sanctuary he provided her, but whoever she was talking to was keeping her from retreating completely into the mental hideaway. He shook his head, wishing he could hear the voices of the other person or persons that she was talking to, but knew that she was the only one he would be able to hear. His crimson eyes studied her dark brown orbs as he remained where he was, listening to her every word.

**:::::**

She wanted Marcus; she didn't want to talk about this. She couldn't talk about this anymore. Why were they so instant? Why did they keep pushing for more? Didn't they understand? If she talked, if she told them anymore they would see everything. They would see how bad she was, they would see what kind of a person that she was. They would ask her to leave and she didn't want to leave.

"Look at me, baby girl," Edward spoke to her softly, waiting as she slowly turned her eyes on him. "No one is going to make you leave. You haven't done anything wrong. We only want to help you, Sweetheart."

_I can't do this_, she whimpered as she looked at him.

"Yes, you can," Edward assured her gently as he tucked her hair behind her ear.

_Please, please don't make me talk about this_, she begged him as a single tear rolled down her cheek.

"Angela, sweetheart," she turned her eyes on Carlisle as he spoke to her. "We're not trying to hurt you. We only wish to help you heal."

"It was my fault," she said slowly, her voice barely more than a whisper as she dropped her eyes from his face and shook her head. "They wouldn't have done what they did if I didn't deserve it. I was bad."

Carlisle clenched his jaw as he took in a deep breath through his nose. He looked to the side, nodding gratefully to Jasper when he felt his son influence his emotions, allowing him to control the anger that her parents' abuse made him feel. Leaning closer to her from his seat on the coffee table in front of the couch, Carlisle reached out and cupped her cheek in his hand. Her eyes met his slowly, the fear in her brown orbs making his heart constrict painfully within his chest. His body may be still, his once-human organs no longer functioning, but no matter his vampire state of being, emotions still carried the same physical sensations that they had when he was alive.

"You are not bad," he promised her, his gold eyes locked with hers. "You never deserved any of what they did to you."

Leaning closer to her, Carlisle pressed a lingering kiss to her forehead and brushed the few fallen tears from her cheeks with the backs of his fingers. Tucking her hair behind her ears, he dropped his hand down to where hers were gripping her legs and curled his fingers around her left hand. Promising her that she was safe and feeling the desperate hold she gripped his hand with, he asked her to talk to them.

**:::::**

Marcus looked up into her eyes, the feel of her fingers gripping his hand desperate and terrified. She was shaking, her muscles trembling almost violently as she seemed to be fighting the desire to run. He wanted to pick her up, to hold her and promise her his protection, but he was afraid that if he did that she would disappear on him.

"I will always protect you," he told her, not knowing that his words were being spoken to her simultaneously by another. "You will always be safe here, Angela."

Her lips parted, a stilted breath being taken in as she prepared to speak. He leaned closer to her, not wanting to miss a single word and wondering just what it was that she didn't want to talk about.

"I…I fell asleep…"

**:::::**

"We were supposed to be taking our third grade state learning assessment tests, the ones that the state gives you to test what learning level you're at," her voice was soft, her tone full of fear and shame as she spoke. "I fell asleep half way through it. I was so tired and I couldn't focus."

Emmett kissed her hair as he lifted her to sit in his lap and tucked the 'Edward' bear into her arms. He rubbed her back in soothing circles, hoping to ease some of the tension from her stiff muscles.

"The school called my parents," she said, fear restricting her voice and making the words come out in broken whimpers. "My d-the Reverend," she corrected quickly, wincing as her mind told her that she would be struck for the mistake. "He…he took me home from school…He was so mad…I didn't mean to fall asleep…"

"Keep going, half pint," Emmett encouraged her gently, stroking her hair as he rocked her slowly in his lap.

"When we got home he…" her voice broke off and she shook her head.

"Remember, sweetheart," Esme looked up at her from where she sat next to Carlisle on the low coffee table, "it wasn't your fault. You didn't deserve what they did. Keep going, sweetheart, you're doing good."

"He…he yelled at me, for a really long time. He was mad; he kept telling me that I was bringing shame on them, that I was bad. He had copies of the test," Angela shook her head. "I don't know how, those tests are never supposed to be outside the school, but he had copies. He and m-Mrs. Weber wouldn't let me sleep. They…" _Please_, she begged silently without looking up from her bent knees.

"You're doing really good, baby girl," Edward told her gently, looking up to see Bella wrapped in Alice's arms. "Keep going, Sweetheart."

As much as he wanted to go to Bella, to hold her in his arms and keep her from the pain of Angela's memories, he knew that Angela needed him more right now. He also knew that Bella would refuse him if he did try to go to her. His love would send him back to Angela. His lips twisted in a sad smile when Bella met his eyes, her own dark eyes filled with sadness and understanding. Turning his attention back on his human sister, he kissed her hair and encouraged her once more to continue.

"They made me take the test over and over until I got all of the answers correct. They said…they said that they had been too lenient with me, that they had spoiled me."

Her teeth chattered in her fear of the memory as she pressed against Emmett's chest and curled herself tighter as she tried to disappear. Emmett kissed her hair, feeling her turn her head to bury her face against his chest as she fisted one hand in his shirt, her other hand still clutching Carlisle's tightly. He turned his eyes on Jasper when his brother sat down beside him, opposite Edward, and smiled at the sight of the other two bears in his arms. Taking them from Jasper one at a time, Emmett tucked the stuffed vampire bears into Angela's arms and kissed her hair before encouraging her to continue.

"They didn't let me sleep very much at all over the next few days, but when they did I had to sleep on the floor," her words were slow, her fear evident in the way she trembled. "They had all of my text books…I was so tired," she whimpered. "I tried, but it was hard to focus my eyes to read the material…They made me take all of the tests from the end of the chapters in the math, English and science books since those were the subjects tested in the Washington Scholastic Assessment Test…They didn't give me anything to eat, yelled at me if I asked for food. They said that I had to earn the food."

"Just a little bit more," Emmett said when she remained quiet.

"Monday was the next time I was allowed to take the test. I was so tired…I found a tack on the floor by the teacher's desk…I had to keep squeezing it in my hand to stay awake. My hand hurt and it was bleeding but I answered all the questions…I had to wait another week for the test results. I wasn't allowed to eat until the test results came back, I had to earn it…I got all the questions correct, I didn't miss a single one…when they did give me food I got sick. The Reverend hit me, he said I was ungrateful. I was only allowed water and crackers until I could prove that I was grateful for what I was given. I had to sleep on the floor until my next report card; I had to prove that I earned the right to sleep in a bed."

Emmett kissed her hair and rubbed her back. "Ok, baby girl, that's good. That's enough for now," he told her. "Rose?" he looked up at his wife expectantly.

"It's all set up," she told him, her expression betraying her emotional turmoil.

"Edward," Emmett spoke his brother's name as he stood from the sofa, his thoughts telling him to follow.

Emmett carried Angela into the room that held the grand piano; the lid closed and covered with a thickly stuffed comforter folded in half, two pillows stacked near the head of the instrument. Kissing Angela's forehead, he laid her carefully down on the folded blanket, his hand cupping the back of her head as he guided her down to the pillows. Offering a nod of thanks to his wife, he took the quilt she offered him and covered Angela with the hand stitched blanket as Edward sat down on the bench and opened the keys.

Bella sat down next to Edward as the soft strands of a melody she almost recognized filled the air. She knew she was crying, the tears rolling silently down her cheeks, but was unable to stop them as she listened to him play. She looked up at Angela, her friend's eyes blinking slowly as she neared sleep, her body curled on top of the piano and hidden beneath the blankets making her look exceedingly fragile and tiny. She shook her head, feeling her heart break for the pain that Angela was going through and stood from the bench, intending to leave to room before she sobbed aloud.

He could hear the soft whimpers she was trying to hide, knew that she was close to breaking down and watched as she stood from the piano bench. Before Bella could move away any further, Carlisle stepped forward and wrapped her in his arms, stroking her hair as she gave into the urge to cry. He held her close, his chin resting on her hair as she cried into his chest, her tears scalding him as they soaked through the thin material of his light sweater. He swayed gently from side to side with Bella in his arms, offering Esme a soft sad smile as she stood next to the piano, her hand gently stroking Angela's hair.

Edward ended the classical piece he was playing, his eyes studying Angela's face only to find her eyes still open. Looking at Alice, knowing that she had seen his decision and reading the song title from her mind as she moved to sit next to him on the piano bench, he began to play through a slow lullaby while she sang softly. His sister kept her voice low, matching the cadence and volume of the piano perfectly as she sang and inflected just enough of the famous "vampire charm" into her tone to make the song soothing and hypnotic.

They both watched as Angela's eyes blinked slowly before finally falling closed. Esme continued to gently stroke Angela's hair while the vibrations from the piano and Alice's voice soothed her into a dreamless sleep, allowing her to find the peace she so desperately needed. Her eyes lifted from the girl sleeping on the piano to look at her husband, Carlisle still holding Bella in his arms. He had stopped swaying, the look on his face telling her why. Bella had fallen asleep as well it seemed and Esme let her eyes scan the room slowly as she looked at each member of her family in turn.

They were supposed to be the dangerous creatures, she thought as she looked at her immortal children and husband before looking back down at Angela. They were supposed to be the ones that humans were afraid of. They were vampires, by definition they were dangerous, but it was in the arms of vampires that Angela found safety and comfort. It was through the care given to her by every member of their family that Angela was able to find love and learn the true meaning of 'family'. Her eyes lifted slowly to look at Carlisle, her husband having lifted Bella into the cradle of his arms while she slept.

Her eyes closed sadly as she thought over all of the memories that had been revealed so far, both by Angela herself and Edward. How anyone could treat their own child in such a manner was horrifying, but when she thought about the fact that it had been her family who had shown Angela compassion and love, she felt her heart break. What if they hadn't been there? What if Emmett had never been assigned to work on that history project with Angela? What would have happened to this poor, gentle creature that lay sleeping on Edward's piano if her family hadn't been there for her?

Edward looked up at Jasper, nodding as he read his brother's thoughts and tipping his head toward Emmett as well. His fingers continued to move seamlessly over the keys as he moved from one melody to the next, Alice singing when there were lyrics to the songs he played or humming along to the music when there wasn't. He watched as his brothers moved silently, enfolding Esme in their arms as she sobbed silently into Emmett's chest. Jasper moved back, feeling Carlisle's desire to hold Esme and he turned, accepting Bella into his arms as the blond doctor stepped up to pet his wife's hair in long slow strokes.

She turned without a sound, burying her face in her husband's chest and wrapping her arms around his waist as he rubbed her back and held her close. Rosalie moved into Emmett's arms when she felt her steel edged control break, her emotions boiling to the surface, only to overflow with the force of an erupting volcano. Emmett kissed her hair, rubbing her back and stroking her pale blond hair as he held her tightly. He watched Jasper, his chin resting on Rosalie's head as his brother moved and gently laid Bella down on the blankets beside Angela. Covering her with the quilt and nodding his thanks to Alice when she appeared at his side with a pillow, Jasper tucked Bella into the piano-bed and kissed her temple.

Edward watched Bella and Angela as they lay sleeping on top of the piano. As upsetting as the revelations of Angela's abuse was to every person in the room, he also knew that in a way, the knowledge of what she had been through was only strengthening the already unbreakable bonds between the members of his family. There was no doubt in his mind that the two human girls lying on the piano would always be protected, and even after they were changed into vampires, he knew that they would be forever guarded then as well. They were the delicate pieces, the final souls needed to complete his family.

He smiled as he turned his head and looked at Alice, the vision in her mind bringing him peace and warmth. Michael, the poor tortured soul that was very slowly learning to trust the Denali coven, would be the glue so to speak. He could see Alice's vision that Angela and Michael would become a bonded pair, their relationship serving to not only solidify the already powerful bond between the Denali coven and their coven, but it would be the joining of Angela and Michael that would make their covens into one unbreakable family. Though neither he nor Alice knew when exactly Angela and Michael would bond, they both knew the effect it would have.

**:::::**

Marcus opened his eyes to find himself back within his chambers inside the Volturi castle. Washington state, that was where Angela lived or at least where she had grown up. It wasn't much, but it was a start. She lived in the United States and her last name was Weber. It wasn't much to go on, but it was more than he had before. He shook his head as he ran his hand through his hair, the revelation of her abuse making him furious even as it saddened him. She was such a delicate creature to have been treated so maliciously in her youth. It was no longer a question of if should he go to her, it was now a necessity. He needed to see her in person, even if he stayed out of sight of her once he found her. He needed to know that she was safe and protected.

Looking up as the door to his chambers opened, he arched a questioning brow at Chelsea while staring at her impassively. Part of him wished to destroy her, but he knew that he couldn't, not yet at least. He wanted to destroy Aro as well, but something told him that it wasn't time yet. He waited for her to speak, his eyes never leaving her face as he carefully maintained his apathetic expression. He still felt the bone-shattering pain of Didyme's death, but more than that was the overpowering need to find Angela and see that she was safe.

"What is it that you need?" he asked when it became clear that the female in front of him was not going to speak first.

"Suplicia is missing, Master Aro was certain she would be with you," she said, her voice hesitant as she looked at Marcus.

"As you can see, she is not here," he said and looked past her into the hall. "Perhaps Aro should take better care of his wife, or perhaps you should take better care whose bed you share."

He wasn't surprised to see her recoil from his words. Though his voice held no emotion, his words slow and uncaring, the meaning was clear and they had the desired effect. As sharp as a slap to the face, he had called Chelsea out on her whorish actions. He watched her stiffen, her chin tipping up as she held her head higher and turned to leave the room.

"At least I know what sex is," she said as she left the room. "How long has it been for you?"

"Some of us still remember what honor is, something you know nothing about," he told her stiffly. "Do not mistake his dalliances for affection; he even lays with Bianca when the mood strikes him. I am leaving to hunt," he told her as he removed his dark robe and tossed the velvet and silk garment across the foot of his bed.

"When can I tell Master Aro that you will return?" she asked with a snarl curling her lip.

"I will return when I decide to," he told her stiffly. "Leave my sight."

Chelsea sniffed, insulted by his words as she turned and left the room. He was one of the Masters, but she had never cared for him. He never offered himself to anyone, never took any of them to bed. In fact, he wanted nothing to do with any of the other females. He didn't even bed any of the human women brought for feasting as Caius tended to do. It was a well known fact that Marcus had not taken anyone to his bed since his wife had been destroyed. In her eyes, that made him weak. Love was a weakness, one that she promised herself she would never fall prey to.

Marcus closed the door after she left the room. Stepping up his closet, he opened the door and moved the garments hanging in front aside. Opening a hidden panel in the back of the stone wardrobe, he withdrew an ancient dress that he was infinitely careful to keep in the best condition possible. Folding the white and gold gown carefully, he tucked it into a small carry bag along with two flat jeweler's boxes that were roughly the size of his hands. Inside the boxes remained the only other possessions he held of Didyme: a silver and ruby hair comb she used to always wear and the necklace he had given her when they married. He tucked both of the boxes inside the bag, along with ten stacks of neatly bound Euros totaling half a million dollars, and zipped it closed.

Turning to the door of his room, Marcus was careful to keep the bag out of sight as he made his way down the hall and out of the castle. This was something he should have done centuries ago, but Aro kept him from taking such action through the manipulation of Chelsea's talents. This time, he thought as he turned in the surrounding midnight and looked back at the ivy covered stone palace, this time he wasn't coming back. He truly did need to feed, but he would take care of that later, first he needed to decide how he would make his way to North America. He couldn't simply take a flight there; he knew that once Aro discovered his extended absence he would be looking for him before sending out Demitri after him.

He hadn't realized how far he had traveled until the sound of the ocean drew his attention. Looking up, he found a cruise ship to be docked in port. It would certainly take longer and he would have to be exceedingly careful to stay in control of his thirst and out of sight of the humans, but this boat seemed to hold his answer. He could pay for boarding or… He looked around and found a human man waiting to board the ship. This man had no allegiance to anyone in the crowd; none of the other humans were paying him any attention either, these facts telling Marcus that the man was unimportant.

Moving fast enough to be unseen, Marcus sped toward the human man, wrapping his arm around the man's waist and moving back to his original position nearly a quarter mile away. He knew the man hadn't even registered that he had moved yet, his human brain too slow to comprehend the speed of the journey that had taken less than three seconds to accomplish. Marcus sunk his teeth into the man's neck, draining him in moments. His thirst satisfied and a ticket for the cruise ship obtained, Marcus returned to the line of humans and boarded easily. He moved to the cabin specified on the papers in his hand without incident as the sun rose outside the window.

"I'm coming for you, Angela," he spoke aloud after closing himself behind the solid door of the high class suite. "Be patient for me, little one. I do not know how long it will take me to find you."


	28. Chapter 26

A/N: This chapter's focus is a bit different from the focus of the others you have all read so far. Aro is a complex character and it has taken quite a lot of time and research between the books, the movies and various character studies that I have found to climb inside his head. I realize that not all of you may agree with how I present him, but I have done my best to do his character justice.

Chapter 26

There was no sound to his steps as he paced back and forth, his movements effortlessly graceful making him look as though he were floating. He stared at the closed door of his chambers before glancing back at the wide bed and then to the mirrored vanity that sat in the corner near the window. Corin was the only other one who knew that Suplicia was missing and he was at once both worried for his wife's safety and enraged that she had been able to leave without anyone knowing. He knew that she was displeased with him, having discovered the truth of his involvement with Didyme's death, but had that really driven her to leave him?

Aro took in an unneeded breath as he walked around the room searching for any clue as to where she might have gone. His still heart ached with her absence and he wasn't certain if it was because there was a physical separation between them as mates or if it was his emotional response to her absence. He did love her, truly he did, but he also knew that he didn't often express his affections for her well enough. He had always thought that the act of consummation would be enough to satisfy her desires and tell of his love for her, but perhaps it wasn't enough.

Closing his eyes, Aro took in a deep breath and thought back over everything that he had read from his wife recently. There was one set of memories that seemed to go together, but each was blurred as though Suplicia had been trying to hide them. As he dug deeper, pushed harder into the memories, he began to wonder if she wasn't trying to hide them from herself and not necessarily from him. The first of the blurred memories that became clear to him was one that, when seen through her eyes, made him flinch mentally with the emotional turmoil it carried with it.

He was with Corin, his female guard naked save the pendant that she wore marking her as a member of the Volturi. She was straddling him, riding him as she stared at Suplicia, the expression in her crimson eyes full of pride and malice. He knew that while initially, in the beginning stages of lovemaking his talent would strengthen, once he was in the throes of passion his excitement created a block so that he could focus on his own pleasure and not be distracted. He felt his stomach twist, could feel the torment as Suplicia's heart had broken with the memory. Opening his eyes as he looked over at the vanity where the ghost of her image haunted him, he realized then that he had never known she was there.

His wife was quite good at hiding the truth from him and he knew why she had begun her efforts to block him. He could remember that fateful day clearly, his heart still twisting with the memory. They had been walking through the city at night, simply enjoying each other's company, their relationship less than a decade old. She had stopped walking, her words falling silent as something pulled her attention away from him. When he had touched her hand to find out what it was that she was thinking, he felt her mix of longing and grief to such an extent that it made him feel her pain as though it was his own. His wife, his beautiful Suplicia, had wanted what she could never have. Her attention had been drawn away by a woman whose middle was thick with late term pregnancy, her hand held by a small child as she had led the young girl inside their modest home. Suplicia had wanted a baby.

He had known that she had never before desired a child, never even given the matter any thought; but in that moment as she had stared at the young mother, a baby was the one thing she wanted more than anything else. She had tried to fool him, acting as though it didn't matter to her, but his talent made it impossible for anyone to lie to him. He knew what was in her heart, what she longed for and it had hurt him to realize that it was the one thing he could never give her. Love was a strange thing, he thought as he stood from the bed and walked toward his wife's vanity. Love could make you feel every emotion in a way you never had before, but it could also break you faster than a well trained interrogator.

Suplicia had built walls inside her own mind in an effort to hide her desire from him. His wife was gentle, caring, and while at times she could be a force to be reckoned with, it was never her intention to hurt anyone. She had begun learning to hide her memories and thoughts only in an effort to save him from her own pain. She had done the same thing after Didyme's death when her grief had served to enrage him. He had never been mad at her for feeling it; rather he was mad at himself when he had realized the widespread destruction his actions had caused.

He reached out, his fingertips sliding along the pearl inlay silver handle of her hairbrush. His mind continued to turn over another of the blurred memories, his brow furrowing with the effort it took. Felix was holding her, comforting her as she was held crying in his lap. Her hand was clutching his shirt as he sat with his grey cloak wrapped around them both like a blanket. He was soothing her, promising her that she was safe and that he had replaced the guards outside her doors. Her face was hidden against his chest, but the emotions Suplicia felt in this memory choked him and he unconsciously brought a hand to his chest to press his fist against his heart.

"_I would kill them all right now for you, songbird," Felix told her as he stroked her hair. "But I can't, not without informing Aro of what has happened and to do that, I need you to tell me what happened."_

_Suplicia shook her head frantically, moving off his lap and backing away. "No," she refused his request for information as she took in an unsteady breath._

"_Songbird," Felix shook his head as he stepped toward her. "What happened? Please, tell me what happened."_

"_No," she said again, backing away from her friend._

"_Why not?"_

"_No one would ever believe me."_

"Believe you about what, my love?" Aro asked as he opened his eyes, the memory dissipating as he focused on the present moment. "What happened that would inspire Felix to kill without being given the order to?"

Felix may enjoy fighting and was quite physically powerful, but he was not prone to rash decisions. He was a man of thought and diplomacy which was what made him such an effective guard. He wouldn't kill without reason and certainly not without bringing the issue before either himself of Marcus at the very least. He knew that while Felix swore loyalty to all of them, he trusted Caius the least. His brother, while not having a talent of his own, was nothing if not violent and sadistic. He turned away from the vanity, a knock at the door drawing his attention and he stepped forward to answer it.

"Jane," he greeted her, accepting the hand she held out to him. "Has anyone tried to reach him? We do all carry cell phones as is the modern convenience."

"No, Master," she said as he released her hand. "As you saw, Master Marcus was found immobile and catatonic for nearly twenty hours before he left. There is concern that he has returned to his state of…depression," she said slowly and backed away as Aro followed her into the hall. "There is also talk that Mistress Suplicia is missing, is this true?"

Aro looked at Jane, gauging whether her interest was purely innocent or not. Something about the child-woman before him spoke to him, advising caution with the subject of his wife and he reached out his hand to cup her cheek. He searched through her memories, his crimson eyes locked with hers as he found a series of memories in which she was standing within his chambers. It appeared that she was talking with Suplicia, but no words were spoken and he felt only Jane's satisfaction of a job well done. Suplicia wasn't moving, rather sitting still in the large chair near the bookshelf and he delved deeper to understand more of the memories. Nothing more would come of his searching though, as in each of the memories, Jane would turn away and nod to Corin before leaving the room.

"What were you doing with Suplicia?" Aro asked her when it became clear that he would not gain his answer through her memories.

"When, Master?" Jane asked him, her expression uncaring.

"When you visited her in our chambers," he clarified, his patience growing thin.

"What was necessary," Jane said as she moved to step away from him.

"You will answer me," Aro growled as he caught her arm and held her fast.

"You have seen my memories, certainly you know," she said, her words drawing a low growl from him. "She was fighting Corin's talent," Jane explained with a tired sigh. "She wished to leave the castle. Corin asked that I…make her understand that such a thing would not be wise."

"You used your talent on my wife?" Aro asked in disbelief, his eyes widening as his grip on her arm tightened.

"Only when Corin thought it necessary. You did after all leave all decisions concerning the wives to her."

"How many times?" he asked her slowly, his anger rising at what he saw to be a betrayal.

"I did not count," she answered with a note of apprehension in her voice.

"Did you ever use your talent on Athenodora?" he asked as studied her.

"It was never necessary. She always found those with which to…enjoy her time with," Jane answered, falling back when Aro released her roughly.

"You will stay away from Suplicia," he commanded low, his tongue sliding along his teeth as he contemplated what he would do with her.

"Yes, Master," Jane said before stepping away.

"Jane."

"Yes, Master," she stopped and turned to face him.

"Leave the matter of Marcus to me."

"Yes, Master."

**:::::**

She shook her head, her heart conflicted. She knew that this was the coward's way out, but she needed to hear his voice. Nodding thankfully as the laptop was set down in front of her, she waited while her friend booted up the computer and started the program. She knew the kind of risk she was taking, how she may very well be putting not only herself, but also her friend in danger with the action she was about to take. Her hands trembled as she bit her lip, feeling at once both nervous with anticipation and frightened of what would happen.

"Are you certain about this? Once I hit enter and tell it to dial the number, there is no going back. The call can't be traced, but he's damn smart. Are you sure?" her friend asked as he looked deep into her eyes.

"I'm sure. I know the risk I'm taking and I'm sorry to put you in danger, but I need to do this," she said, nervously tucking her hair behind her ear.

"Ok," he agreed with a heavy sigh. "Be careful," he said as he double checked the number in the computer program. "I'll be in the next room if you need me," he told her before hitting the enter key and leaving her.

She couldn't keep her hands still, clenching and unclenching her fists as she stared at the blank screen in front of her and listened to the hollow digital ring. Her lips folded together over her teeth as she waited for what felt like hours, but in truth was less than twenty seconds. The ringing stopped, the screen changing from a blank box to a live feed of her husband's face. She remained silent, knowing that he had yet to actually look at the image on his side of the internet call.

She watched as he did a double-take of the screen, his eyes seeming to bore into hers through the screen of the computer and she tried to speak, but no words would come forth. She knew that he could see her and while she was trying to remain strong, trying to keep her expression a mask of indifference, she knew the very second that her emotions betrayed her to him. The tight anger softened, the tense set of his muscles loosening as he stared at her and she could tell that he was waiting for her to speak first.

"I needed to hear your voice," she said in lieu of greeting.

"Come back to me," he implored her, his words spoken as both a request and a command.

"I can't," she said, her voice a mere whisper as her words trembled and she looked down at the keys on the laptop. "I need time. I can't be a prisoner anymore. I know why you're worried, why my being away from you frightens you, but I can't be there right now."

"I love you," he told her only for her to laugh and cry at the same time. "Why do you doubt me?"

"Why? Are you seriously asking me that?" she tucked her hair behind her ear and shook her head as she looked into his eyes on her computer screen. "Do you think I don't know about the others? Do you think that your precious girls – Corin and Chelsea, don't love rubbing my face in it? Or Jane for that matter?" She shook her head, glancing down before looking directly into the tiny dot on the top of the laptop screen that Felix had told her was the webcam. "Do you really think that Jane and I ever had anything in common to talk about? Do you think I hold any affection for her at all?"

"Suplicia, what are you talking about?" Aro asked her, his normally cheerful façade giving way to his true feelings of confusion, concern and a touch of anger. "Tell me where you are."

"I can't do that," she shook her head. "I need to see the world I'm living in, Aro. I can't be a prisoner in the tower anymore. And don't send Demetri out after me either. I'll destroy him if I have to, I need my freedom. Aro…"

"You are hurting," he stated unnecessarily as he looked at the emotional pain etched into the lines on her face.

"I've been hurting for a long time now," she told him and he could hear her voice tremble.

"Tell me why," he begged her, for once allowing his heart to be worn on his sleeve.

Suplicia studied his image on the screen, seeing the Aro that she had met when she was human, the man who had loved her and spoiled her with kindness and affection. She wanted that man back; she wanted her true husband back and felt her heart ache with the need to be held by him. She shook her head, not denying his request, rather telling him that she was unable to make her voice work. It was true that while she had fallen for Felix, her heart still belonged in great part to Aro and it was the conflict between the two that robbed her of her voice.

"There are so many reasons," Suplicia said once she found her voice again, "But the one that hurts me the most is one that I will never speak of. I don't want to talk about it," she shook her head when he opened his mouth to question her. "I can't talk about it. I have hidden that memory from you, because I do not want to remember it," she whispered and he could hear the fear and sorrow in her voice. "But it is…go to Corin," she said after a moment, dropping her gaze from his eyes on the screen and he watched as she seemed to shrink away from him. "She knows the memory, she was there."

"Suplicia," Aro spoke her name softly with love and looked at her. "What has happened? Why have you left Volterra? _How_ did you leave?"

"I can't answer those questions. But I will tell you that I'm not unprotected. I'll come back when I'm ready, but you need to let me have this. Do as I said, go to Corin… Aro," she shook her head and lifted her hand to rest on the top of the laptop screen. "Why was I never enough for you?" she asked with a trembling whisper and closed the laptop, effectively ending the call before he could respond.

Suplicia folded in on herself, burying her face in the tops of her knees as she cried tearlessly. She couldn't handle being away from the one person that she needed most. No matter how he had treated her over the years, he was the one person who was always able to calm her. He was her mate and despite everything that had taken place, every memory she had of seeing him brought her a mix of peace and pain. She loved him, she did, but he had hurt her so much over the years with his dalliances that she didn't know if she could ever trust him again.

"Songbird?"

She looked up at Felix from where she was folded on the couch and saw him staring at her with concern. She opened her mouth, tried to speak, but couldn't get her voice to work. He sighed almost silently as he looked at her and opened his arms. She hadn't even made the decision to move when she was suddenly in his arms, sobbing tearlessly into his chest. He stroked her hair gently, rubbing her back as he cooed softly to her hoping to bring her comfort. She felt him kiss her temple and hold her tighter as he gently swayed them back and forth, rocking her gently.

"As uncaring as he can be at times," Felix began slowly, "I don't think he knew. I don't think he would have let that happen. He does love you…in his own way."

"I was never enough for him," she argued, her hands clutched tightly in his shirt.

Felix remained quiet. There wasn't much that he could say to bring her any kind of comfort. He knew what she was remembering and knew how much pain that particular memory brought to her. He only wished that he had come in before, when there would still have been time to stop what had happened. Instead he had arrived too late after everything was already said and done. She still wouldn't tell him the details of what had taken place, but her fear and distrust of anyone but him were telling enough for him to be able to guess. He was certain that if Aro had known what had happened, that he would have destroyed the guards at the very least. Kissing Suplicia's hair, Felix promised her his protection and assured her that he would help her call Aro again if she wished to. Her best friend, her protector, her safety net, he could be those things for her, but he could never be more. It was easier to tell himself that she was his sister, because if he thought of her as his friend then it was more difficult to reconcile the fact that they could never be more.

**:::::**

He looked down, taking in a deep steadying breath before moving slowly closer. _I can do this_, he told himself as he carefully placed one foot in front of the other and walked slowly toward the house hidden in the trees. _Don't be a coward; they're not going to hurt you_. The closer he got to the house, the more his hands shook and the stronger his desire to run away became. He closed his eyes, standing absolutely still as he clenched his fists by his side. _You can do this,_ he told himself once again and ground his teeth together as he opened his eyes and resumed his painful slow journey forward.

There was only fifty feet separating him from the house, but it took him nearly an hour to cross the distance. Everything was telling him to run away, but it was his thoughts of Angela that kept him going forward. He missed her; he would do this for her. His eyes widened as the front door of the house opened and an impossibly beautiful woman with strawberry blonde hair stepped in the late afternoon light. She tipped her head curiously to the side and he realized then that he had once again stopped moving.

"He really is terrified of us," he heard her say softly to someone before she stepped outside onto the wraparound porch.

"Yes, he is," came a familiar male voice and he watched as the Spanish man with short dark hair stepped out onto the porch beside her. "We have made a room for you, Michael. You are welcome to share our home with us."

He felt frozen with his fear, he couldn't move forward, but he was unwilling to step back. He didn't want to be afraid anymore, but he was terrified of being in such close proximity with those of his own kind. He heard movement behind him and turned quickly to see the man's wife behind him. He couldn't remember her name and wasn't certain if he had actually paid any attention to it when they had spoken with him back in Seattle. Another blonde woman was standing beside her and he began to feel claustrophobic.

_Don't run,_ Michael told himself, unable to hide the fear on his face. _Be a man, do this for Angela._

"Michael, this is Kate," Carmen introduced the woman at her side before nodding behind him. "The woman standing beside Eleazar is Tanya. She and my husband share leadership of this coven. The sisters will not hurt you," Carmen stepped forward, seeing his minute trembling as he fought to stay where he was. "Come with us inside."

Carmen held out her hand to him and he stared at her upturned palm. She was waiting for him to take her hand, this was another test. He could do this. Michael closed his eyes and took in a deep calming breath as he lifted his hand slowly. Opening his eyes, he placed his palm in Carmen's hand and felt her fingers close around his hand. Her grip was gentle, but firm. She was making him choose, allowing him the comfort of the knowledge that she would release him if he asked.

"Come on," Carmen encouraged gently and tugged on his hand to get him to move. "You are safe with us, Michael. I promise you that."

His first step seemed to take forever, but soon he was walking slowly beside her as she led him up to the house. When they came to the four wooden steps leading up to the porch, he felt himself freeze once more, his movements ceasing as he became little more than a statue. Carmen's voice was gentle. Her soft encouragements reminded him of his mother and though it took him nearly five minutes to move, he walked up the steps slowly.

"Inside, now," Carmen said gently as she led him to the door of the house. "It's alright."

Eleazar watched Michael with sadness. He was fairly certain that if the boy was human he would be in the deep throws of a panic attack, as it was he was experiencing the closest his kind ever came to such a thing. It took him longer to walk into the house than it did for him to climb the short stairs, but eventually they got him inside. As soon as Tanya had shut the door behind her though, Michael began to move with vampire speed as he darted around the house and memorized all of the different ways he could escape quickly if he needed to.

"What has happened to him?" Tanya asked Eleazar as she watched Michael's frantic movements finally slow.

"He was created and rejected by Victoria. She has sent others to kill him ever since," he told her.

"Victoria?" Irina said as she stepped off of the stairs and joined them in the main room. "The woman who Laurent ran with?"

"Yes why?" Tanya asked as she looked at her sister. "He isn't here?!" she asked the younger girl with wide eyes. "Irina, I told you why he couldn't stay here with us right now."

"No, he's not here," she explained quickly. "But he was. He left out the back while you were leading him in the front. He was only here for a few moments. He left to go see her."

"If he brings her here," Tanya threatened with a low growl.

"He won't," she shook her head. "Why don't the Cullens take him in?"

"Because they have Angela living with them. It would be too dangerous right now," Eleazar explained patiently.

He knew that Irina had not truly listened to him when he and Carmen had spoken of Michael upon their return from Forks. He looked at Irina, making certain that he had her full attention before retelling the boy's story, or at least what he knew of it. He watched as Michael came back to them slowly, staying just outside the room as he watched them, his eyes still wide and posture tense. Nodding to Tanya, he watched as she turned her attention on Michael and walked slowly toward him, giving the boy time to back away if he wanted to.

Tanya smiled gently, the curve of her lips reassuring when Michael didn't back away from her. Holding out her hand to him she waited for him to place his palm in hers and closed her fingers gently over his hand. Tipping her head to the side, she turned and led him back through the dining room and into the front room. She was patient with him, moving slowly so that he could learn that he was safe inside their home.

"I'm going to take you upstairs now," she told Michael and felt relieved when his posture relaxed ever so slightly. "I want to show you the room we have prepared for you. Even though we do not sleep, we got a bed for you," she told him as she led him up the stairs. "Sometimes it is nice to simply be able to lie down and relax for a little while."

"So," he began, his voice holding more of the lilting Irish accent in his uncertainty, "I would be expected to live here?"

Tanya turned to face him once they stood on the top landing. Reaching up, she tucked his caramel hair behind his ear and looked into his eyes. They were black again, whatever he had fed on while in Seattle was gone now and he needed to feed again. Eleazar had told her of his strength though, his resistance to feeding often as his diet of human blood left him emotionally ill.

"We're offering you a home, a place to stay and a family to be a part of," she told him patiently. "You are welcome to stay in your room, to use that as your living space or private sanctuary, but we all understand that trust takes time. I was glad to see you come out of the forests today. I've sensed you around the area for the past week. Today was a big step," she told him and rubbed the back of his hand that she held. "I understand that fully adding yourself to our coven will also take time. The room is here for you whenever you feel ready to use it. We will not force it upon you, but we do ask that you go hunting with us; just so that we may help you better acclimate to our vegetarian lifestyle. Do you accept that?"

Michael nodded silently. She smiled at him and turned to lead him down the hall. She came to a dark wooden door three rooms down on the left side of the hall and opened the door quietly. Stepping aside and nodding for him to enter, Michael closed his eyes and bit his lip, the unconscious move making him look younger than he was. He stepped forward slowly, taking in a deep steadying breath as he walked into the room.

Dominating the room in the middle was a four poster dark wood bed; the blankets the mattress was dressed with were in shades of blue. The sheet he could see was cerulean while the comforter on top was a dark midnight blue. To the left of the bed was a desk, the piece of furniture matching his bed perfectly. He stepped closer to it and smiled when he saw that he had been given stationary and two different options for writing: an old fashioned feather-quill pen with an ink well and a modern click-top roller ball pen.

To the right of the bed stood a six-shelf bookcase that was wide enough for him to touch both sides with his fingertips if he stood in the middle and stretched his arms out to the side. There was a dictionary, a thesaurus and a set of encyclopedias on the middle shelf but nothing else. He turned to look at Tanya, to thank her for the room only to find that he couldn't get his voice to work. He watched her purse her lips in an understanding smile as she stepped up to him and moved slowly closer. He didn't know what to expect, but when she wrapped her arms around him, Michael felt something in him break and he bent over her smaller form, wrapping his arms around her as well as he shook with silent tearless sobs.

"Oh, Michael," Tanya cooed and clucked her tongue sadly as she rubbed his back. "You've never known anything kind in this life, have you? You poor thing," she moved slowly, maneuvering them to the bed and sat down with him.

It was long moments before he calmed, and Tanya wondered just how it was that he had survived all these centuries on his own. He had no one to train him, no one to guide him in this life and regardless of whether Victoria had turned him or not, she had abandoned him when he proved to retain kindness and compassion. He had a family now, she told herself as she stroked his hair, he had people willing to help him understand what he was better. Sitting back when he shifted out of her arms, she reached up and tucked his shoulder length hair behind his ears.

"Eleazar guessed on the sizes," she told him and nodded to the dresser that sat beside the closet doors. "There are some clothes for you, a few outfits; I figured we'd take you shopping once you were more comfortable with us. Why don't you take a shower and then come downstairs. We can talk some more then and answer any questions that you have for us. You're safe here, Michael. I hope you know that."

Michael watched her leave quietly, closing the door behind her. He hadn't felt the kindness and caring that she had shown him since he had been human. In the almost two hundred-forty years that it had been since he was changed, he had never known a single moment of peace until he had found Angela and her family had taken him in. They lived in different states, but Eleazar had told him that the families were very close, Tanya often considering Carlisle to be a brother or cousin. All of this had happened because…he laughed silently as he shook his head, because one little slip of a human girl had been brave enough to talk to him. Who knew that 'hello' would be the one word that would change his world for the better?

**:::::**

He realized as he took her hand that he hadn't truly read her in months. He had bedded her certainly, but he hadn't taken the time to read her, or at least to pay attention to what he read from her. He had thought that it would be a simple inquest, just a touch of her cheek and he would know the answers that he was searching for. What he hadn't expected was for the first of the memories to cause the rage that led him to where he was. Her back was pressed against the stone wall, his hand wrapped around her throat in a crushing grip as he growled low while reading through her memories.

Nearly a century and a half, that was how long she had been using Jane to control Suplicia. Corin had stopped using her talent on his wife in an effort to punish her for her anger. She knew that her talent had drug-like side effects and just the same as with a human's chemical addiction, the loss of her talent would cause painful symptoms of withdrawal. His jaw moved, his lips parting in a movement that was somewhere between hunger and disgust as his tongue scraped between his teeth to wet his lips. She had kept him away from Suplicia, distracting him with her many bedroom talents in an effort to keep him from seeing the pain she was causing his wife. What was worse was that Corin had repeatedly promised Suplicia that Aro had not only approved her use of Jane's talent but encouraged it as well.

Suplicia had hidden the abuse from him because Corin had promised her that it would only get worse if he had known how often she was forced to use Jane's talent. His lip curled up in a snarl as he looked deep into her crimson eyes and searched deeper in her memories. He needed to see it, whatever it was that had made his wife afraid, he needed to see it. His eyes narrowed as he found the blurred memory that Corin was trying to hide from him.

"Show me everything," he demanded slowly, his grip tightening around her neck. "Do not hide anything from me," he growled low as he heard the first soft crack as her marble skin began to break under his punishing grip and he loosened his hold just enough to allow the fissure to heal.

His low growl that had almost stopped gained volume and tenor, the sound becoming more frightening than anything she had ever heard before. Aro didn't give the action any thought as he turned and flung Corin across the marble chamber, hearing her crash into the table along the far wall as she landed heavily. He was at her side before she had a chance to get her hands beneath her and lifted her into the air, his hand once again around her throat.

"You not only knew what was happening, but you orchestrated it?!" he snarled with a level of rage he had never felt before. "I don't care that it was her idea," he snarled as he read through her thoughts, "you're the one who acted upon them. You are on trial here, not Athenodora!"

"What has my wife done, brother?" Caius questioned as he watched Aro's enraged interrogation with interest. "What did she and Corin do?"

"Take her from my sight at once," he commanded, throwing Corin bodily into the guards at the back of the room. "I will decide what to do with you later."

"Aro?" Caius questioned again, his brow raised in expectation of an answer.

"How much did you know about all of this?" Aro snarled as he turned on Caius and shot forward to take the man's hand. "Well," he said after a moment and released his hand, "it seems you were ignorant to the events."

"Would you mind telling me what _exactly_ I was ignorant to?" Caius asked with an annoyed and impatient tone.

"Your wife takes her pleasures with any man she chooses, including Alec," Aro said and Caius rolled his eyes.

"How is this anything new?" he asked with boredom. "Athenodora and I have never held an exclusive relationship. Mates or not, we take our pleasures where and with whom we please."

"Yes, I know, as have I," Aro stated for once feeling a sense of shame for his actions as he realized that Suplicia had always been faithful only to him. "Your wife commented to Corin that Suplicia simply needed to 'find enjoyment elsewhere' and Corin _acted_ upon her suggestions."

"In what manner?" Caius asked uncertain if he was truly interested or not.

"She used Jane to keep Suplicia under control and Alec to keep her still while inviting their _guards_ to take their _pleasures_ with my wife. Suplicia has not felt safe since, but she found a way to hide the memory from me, mostly because she wished not to remember it herself."

"When was this?" Caius asked as he sat back, unable to believe that a crime of that magnitude could take place inside the palace without their knowledge.

"Roughly a century ago, but she repeated the…event…at least once a year until Felix came upon them a little more than a decade ago." Aro heard the loud crack and looked down to find that he had broken the arm of the throne he sat in. "I must speak with Felix," Aro mused aloud.

"You granted his leave with no set time for his return," Caius reminded him as he looked at the broken chair when Aro stood and began to pace. "He should have his cell phone on him though. I've never known him not to carry it. He knew what was happening?"

"No," Aro said as he finally began to regain control over his temper. "As far as her memories told me, Felix came upon them to see the guards leaving our chambers with Jane and Alec in tow. Corin's smile unnerved him, that's why he went inside, but I could see no more than that as she left shortly after he entered."

"If he knew, why didn't he tell us?" Caius' lip curled with the angry pleasure at the possibility of being able to destroy Felix.

"If she hid the memory from me, fool, do you really think she would tell him?" Aro asked with disdain. "You will not touch Felix," he snarled low at Caius. "I will decide if anything needs to be done."

"Of course you will," Caius rolled his eyes patronizingly.

"You forget Caius," Aro's face contorted with his displeasure. "I know your deepest thoughts. I know that you have never been _entirely_ loyal to us," he said as he swept his arm around the empty room. "But do not think that your _place_ makes you immune to our laws."

With those words, Aro turned on his heel and left the throne room. His steps were silent and graceful belying his silent rage. Stepping into the room he used as an office, he shut the door and braced his hands on the back of the desk chair. It was no wonder that Suplicia doubted his love for her. The woman he had left to care for her, offer her companionship and distraction had abused her with the forced withdrawal of her addictive talent and Jane's ability to induce pain. He wanted to destroy everything in his office if only to sate his anger. Instead, he took in a deep breath and removed the smart phone from his pocket, feeling lucky that he hadn't damaged it with his earlier actions.

Scrolling through his contacts, he highlighted one name and brought the device to his ear. He stood silent as the call rang through and did his best to regain control of his temper. The call was answered quickly, the person on the other end sounding as though he had been interrupted.

"Felix," Aro said to draw the man's attention, thankful that his voice no longer held any trace of his earlier rage.

"Aro," the man greeted, the customary title of 'Master' dropped from his greeting.

Nodding to himself, Aro silently appreciated the man's candor. "Answer me honestly; are you the one guarding Suplicia?" The man's silence was the only answer he needed. "Let me speak with her," he demanded patiently.

"And if she doesn't wish to speak with you?" Felix returned, his tone patient but firm.

"Then set the phone down and let me speak, she will decide whether or not to pick it up," he said, for once understanding why it was that his wife trusted Felix so much.

"_Felix,"_ Suplicia's voice sounded from the background. _"It's alright, let me talk with him."_

"_Are you sure, songbird?"_ he heard Felix ask, his voice muffled and Aro was certain that he had his hand over the receiver. "Here she is," he said after a moment. "Please don't upset her," he requested before Aro heard the device change hands.

"Aro?" her voice was hesitant, the tone uneven and he knew then that she was upset.

"Why did you never tell me?" he asked, the anger he felt replaced by the deep pain the knowledge of her attacks caused him. "Why did you hide it from me?"

"Corin said that you approved everything," she answered slowly after a long moment. "How was I to know you didn't? I can't read your mind. That's your gift, not mine. I was afraid…"

"Of what?" he asked and thought he heard an announcement in the background, but the words were too muffled to make out. "Suplicia, where are you?"

"I can't answer that last question," she told him, her voice hesitant. "I can't be brought back there; it hurts too much to be there. But the first…she always told me that you would be upset if you knew how often she had to use Jane. I was afraid of it getting worse."

"I would never bring harm upon you, nor condone such actions from anyone else," he promised her, his voice full of sorrow and regret for what she had been forced to endure. "I need to see you," he told her.

"I'll try to call once we get settled," she promised. "But I can't be brought back there. I need my freedom, even if it's only for a little while."

"And if I were to come to you alone?" he offered.

"Let me think about that, Aro. Please just give me time. I have to go now. I…I do love you."

The call disconnected before he could tell her that he loved her as well and he was left staring at the silent device in his hand. How had she been able to make love to him after her attacks, he wondered. How had she been able to stand being touched by him or anyone else for that matter? He closed his eyes as he sat down at the desk and tried to sort through what had been revealed to him. He couldn't act on his emotions; he couldn't make his decisions based on revenge. He had to be logical; he had to uphold the law. It was his two best and most formidable weapons that had been used to subdue his wife while she was attacked, where did that leave them? Where did these events leave him and how would he make certain that Suplicia was truly protected? For the first time in over three thousand years, Aro didn't know what to do.

**:::::**

His smile was slow and malicious, his nostrils flaring as he breathed in with pleasure. Her screams had stopped almost two hours ago, her voice too hoarse to make any sound. His eyes were riveted on hers as he watched the light fade away, her life draining before his eyes. It was his favorite part, watching their life fade away. He felt powerful, aroused and more than a little giddy. Stepping away from her body, he turned to the camera and with the mask and voice modulator in place, smiled into the lens.

"I hope you enjoyed the show, my beautiful rose. I made it last as long as I could, but she was so young. If you hadn't run from me, she wouldn't have had to take your place. Enjoy your gifts."

He turned the camera off and removed his mask. Making certain that the DVD was finalized; he removed it from the recorder and secured it in the clear plastic case. Donning a new pair of gloves without removing the blood soaked set; he used a box cutter to sever the arteries and removed the child's heart from her body. Holding the silent organ up over the plastic sheeting, he waited for the blood to stop running and gave it one final shake before he took a thick, clear plastic bag and tucked it inside. The plastic was thick enough to hide the scent of the blood from any dog and strong enough that a box cutter would be needed to open the shrink wrap, thus damaging the organ itself. He removed both sets of gloves and put on a new pair before sealing the bag and picking up the blow dryer to shrink the plastic around it. He followed the same procedure with the child's eyes.

He was careful to make certain that he had a new pair of gloves on before he picked up a pair of silver shears and cut the girl's hair just above the ribbon that kept it tied back from her face. Placing the hair in the small white box on top of the shrink wrapped eyes and heart; he laid the plastic encased DVD on top and closed the box. He was careful as he wrapped the wide ribbon around the outside, effectively tying the box shut and smiled as he affixed the postcard to the top with her name on it. Stepping outside in to the falling night, he carried the box with him to his car that was almost two blocks away.

Climbing inside, he set the box on the passenger seat and started the engine. A post office would be too direct, too easily traced, but that was alright. He had other plans for this gift and drove to the courier's office two towns over. Smiling as he stepped out of the car with the box under his arm, he walked into the building with twenty minutes to spare before they closed.

"Hello, Melissa," he greeted the high school aged girl behind the counter. "I need to have this box hand delivered. You have courier offices that go down into Washington state, isn't that correct?"

"Yes, sir we do," she said pleasantly, her thoughts distracted by how handsome the blond man was.

"That's wonderful," he smiled at her, his grey eyes sparkling. "I need this package delivered to Miss Angela Weber. It's a late birthday gift. Just have it delivered to the newspaper office at Forks High School. They should be open by the time it's delivered."

"Ok, that won't be a problem. Who should we say it's from?" she asked when she noticed that there wasn't a sender name or return address.

"She'll know who it's from," he said with a smile. "Trust me, she'll know instantly. I got her exactly what she wants."

"Ok," the girl laughed and gave him the total before taking his cash. "Thank you for choosing us."

"It's a shame," he said regretfully as he studied her face.

"What is?" she asked.

"I'm certain that you would be absolutely gorgeous without that acne," he told her and watched her blush furiously. "I used to have the same problem when I was your age."

He turned and walked out of the office quietly. It was truly a shame. He couldn't abide any imperfections on his roses. Not acne, nor artificial tanning, piecings or tattoos. He was certain that she would be a knockout, but her acne made her undesirable to him. Only perfect roses. He wanted them to be flawless and innocent, not spotted or made to look whorish. Angela would be his, none of his roses ever got away and he wasn't about to let her think she had gotten away.

"You belong to me, little rose."


	29. Chapter 27

Chapter 27

Bella braced her hands against the bathroom counter as she blinked tiredly and stared at her reflection in the mirror. She turned her head to the side and glanced down at her shoulder before looking back at her reflection once more. She was losing weight, she knew she was and now dressed as she was in her sleep tank and lounge pants, it was painfully obvious. After the first night of hearing Angela's memories, Bella had kept her window closed, she had even locked it. She wasn't mad at Edward, but rather doing what she thought was right. Angela needed him; he could hear her thoughts and see into her nightmares. She needed Edward to protect her.

Bella grimaced and bent at the waist, her hand pressing against her stomach. The nausea wasn't stopping during the day anymore like it used to. Groaning as her stomach spasmed, she lifted the toilet seat and dropped to her knees. She breathed harshly, bending over more as she pressed her arm tightly against her stomach. She felt the need to throw up but she knew that there couldn't possibly be anything left in her stomach. She waited until the spasms stopped before rising slowly from the floor and closing the toilet seat to sit on it.

Her soft laugh was short and humorless. She knew that in a way, she was doing this to herself. She didn't have nightmares as long as Edward stayed with her while she slept, but Angela needed him. She couldn't be selfish, no matter how much she wanted to. Angela was her best friend – her best human friend – she thought as she rose slowly to stand before the mirror once more. Turning on the hot water she let her fingers pass through the water until it warmed enough to her liking. Dipping her toothbrush beneath the water, she applied the blue gel and scrubbed at her already cleaned teeth. It was habit to brush her teeth after anytime she had experienced a bout of nausea regardless of whether or not she actually vomited.

"Don't be selfish," she whispered to herself when she walked back into her bedroom and looked at the closed window.

She wouldn't have nightmares if Edward was with her, but then Angela would be left trapped in a place where no one could reach her. Her friend needed the brother she had in Edward and Bella refused to be selfish. She walked over to her bed and sat down slowly, her stomach cramping as tears filled her eyes and rolled down her cheeks. They were just nightmares, that was all, just nightmares.

"Dreams can't hurt you," she reminded herself, her voice never rising above an exhausted whisper.

She reached out to turn off the lamp, her hand moving to her cell phone instead when it began to vibrate. She had to clench her jaw to keep her teeth from chattering against the new wave of nausea as she answered the call and brought the phone to her ear.

"Bella?" Alice's voice came over the line sounding somewhere between concerned and frightened. "Bella, are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Bella said slowly after a moment, forgetting that Alice's hearing was sensitive enough to hear the soft whimpers that came as a result of her constant stomach cramps.

"You're not," she argued as Bella lent forward battling against another wave of nausea. "Bella, answer me."

"I'm fine," Bella repeated, her hand shaking as her exhaustion made her tears return.

"If you're 'fine' then why are you locking Edward out of your room at night? And why haven't you been over in the past few days? Bella…"

"I'm fine, Alice," she insisted, grimacing as she pressed her hand against her stomach. "Angela needs Edward right now. If I leave my window open he won't stay with her."

"You need him, too," she argued, the tone of her voice telling her that Alice had seen her clearly. "Carlisle was going to bring the recorder over to the station for Charlie tomorrow. Maybe I should send him tonight."

"Alice, I'm fine," her voice trembled beyond her control as she felt the bile rise and burn in the back of her throat. "I have to go."

She ended the call and tossed the phone on her bed as her feet hit the floor and she ran for the bathroom. This time when she reached the toilet she did vomit. A few moments later, her teeth had been brushed again and she was back in her bed. She had the blankets pulled up to her chin, hoping to find warmth against the chills that made her tremble and reached out her hand to turn off the lamp. She was asleep in seconds, her last thoughts were a silent prayer for a break from her nightmares.

**:::::**

The soft sound of her moan seemed to echo around her as she pushed her hands against the cold hardwood floor and tried to rise. Her side hurt, her chest hurt, her leg…her leg felt like it was on fire. Blinking against the pain and disorientation, she looked around in the darkness and tried to determine where she was. She had just been in her own bed, hadn't she? Hissing as she pulled her legs underneath her to stand on her hands and knees, she felt the room spin around her as her stomach clenched with nausea.

"Just breathe," she whispered to herself as she closed her eyes and waited for the vertigo to pass. "Just breathe, Bella."

But it was hard to breathe and she clenched her jaw tight against the piercing burn in her left side, her ribs protesting the movement of her expanding and contracting lungs. Where was she? Why was she in so much pain? She couldn't remember. Shaking her head in a vain effort to rid herself of the vertigo swimming through her mind, she only made it worse and groaned when she lost her balance, falling onto her left side as her back scrapped against something hard and sharp behind her. Her head ached terribly and when she brought her hand up to the spot behind and below her right ear, she pulled back at the feeling of sticky dampness. Hissing at the pain, she brought her hand to her face and felt weak at the sight of her own blood.

Light flickered through a broken window, the headlights of a passing car, and she felt her eyes grow impossibly large when she caught sight of the room. No, this couldn't be, she couldn't be back here. Bella clawed at the hardwood floor and tried to pull herself up to her hands and knees once more but was unable to do more than knead her fingers against the slick floor. Her muscles weren't strong enough to hold her, the pain she felt clouding her mind was making it difficult for her breathe, let alone move.

"No, please," she whimpered and felt tears pool in her eyes at the sound of maniacal laughter.

There was a flash of movement, a shock of wild blonde hair. He was moving too fast for her to see much more than a blur, but his laughter echoed off the walls. She had to get up, she had to leave this place, but the more she struggled to get her hands and knees beneath her, the more pain she felt. She hated this place, this ballet studio and in a way she had grown to hate Phoenix, if only because James had attacked her here.

"Blasphemers!" she heard a male voice cry out and turned her head in the direction of the new voice.

"No," her breathing escalated even as her ribs protested the movement. "No! Run, god, Jasper run!" she cried out, but it was already too late.

She didn't know how he had been able to restrain him, seeing as the man holding the length of chain was only a human, but there it was before her eyes. Jasper was wrapped in heavy chains, iron shackles around his wrists and ankles as he was being forcibly dragged across the wooden floor of the ballet studio by Angela's father. James' cackling sounded close to her and she tried to scoot away only to cry out in pain and terror when his icy hand slammed down on her leg. She heard the snapping-crunch, screamed out with the pain as he snapped the bone in two, the tears in her eyes cascading down her cheeks.

"Looking for him, Bella?" James asked her, tilting his head at her as he tossed the thing in his hand across the floor to her.

The object rolled unsteadily, James having put enough force behind it to make it stop only after crashing into the side of her broken leg. She cried out again at the new pain and reached down, her terror growing as she felt the familiar softness beneath her fingers. She shook her head, unwilling to believe what it was until James was once again in front of her and lifted the object in front of her face, letting it swing back and forth as he laughed at her.

"Poor, Edward," he sang to her as his crimson eyes bore holes into hers. "He just wasn't strong enough. Oh, but wait!" he fairly purred with excitement as he moved his other hand from behind his back and she screamed in horror. "A matching set. What was this one's name, hmm? Oh, yes, that's right – Doctor something wasn't it?"

"No!" Bella cried out, unable to contain the force of her tears as she sobbed and cradled the bodiless heads of her slain lover and immortal father figure in her arms. "Jasper, run! Please run!" she cried out, the words barely making sense through her hysterical sobbing.

"And the blasphemers shall be cleansed by the fire!" Angela's father shouted as he closed the open bible in his hands.

"NO!" Bella screamed as she watched Victoria manhandle Jasper up against a wooden pole. "No! Jasper!" she screamed his name, but he was deaf to her cries. "Let him go! Please, _god please_ _let him go_!"

The chains were released from his hands only to wrap around his waist and secure him to the pole. She screamed out louder, more desperately then before when she saw another figure being led to the pole. He was forced back against it, his back to Jasper's with only the pole between them and she screamed out, her heart hammering wildly in her chest to see that it was Emmett being secured to the pole. She screamed out, begged them to run, cried their names, but nothing stopped the events from unfolding before her eyes.

"Let the unclean be cured by the fires!" the man called out again and Bella heard a woman's screams.

"No!" she cried out, begging for him to let her friend go. "Take me!" Bella called out desperately. "Take me, leave them alone. Take me!"

She watched, her body shaking so badly that her teeth were chattering loudly in her ears, as Angela was dragged across the floor by a woman she could only assume was her friend's mother. Bella's eyes widened as an object from her history class suddenly appeared in the room before her eyes. She shook her head, screaming and trying to fight her way up to her feet only to be stopped by the agonizing pain of her broken leg and ribs. She screamed for Angela's release to no avail, watching as her friend was forced into the belly of an iron bull.

"No! NO! NO! NO!" Bella screamed louder as she pounded her fist against the floor when it became clear that any other movement would be impossible. "Let them go! Let them go!"

**:::::**

Charlie stood up from his seat on the couch, scrubbing his hand tiredly over his face as he walked to the front door. It wasn't late, only half past nine, but he felt drained. His hand lifted slowly to the door knob, his movements clumsy and lethargic due to his lack of sleep over the past ten days. He pulled the door open slowly, not knowing why but feeling incredibly relieved and grateful to see Carlisle and one his sons standing on the stoop. Nodding and stepping aside to allow them entry, Charlie narrowed his tired eyes in order to focus on the boy's face before nodding to himself. Jasper, the blonde boy's name was Jasper.

"You don't look well at all, Charlie," Carlisle said as he studied the human man before him.

"Yeah," the police chief agreed with his friend's statement. "Did you get anything?" he asked nodding to the recorder in the man's hand.

"Not much, I'm afraid," Carlisle said as he handed over the digital recorder. "Only a few memories, her voice is rarely loud enough to be heard on that."

It was clear from the expression on Carlisle's face that he intended to say more, but the sound of Bella's terrified scream broke through the air around them.

"I've got her," Jasper said, already halfway to the stairs when Charlie looked up at him.

Charlie watched him disappear up the stairs, his hand scrubbing down over his face. He didn't know how much longer he could last against his daughter's terrified screams. He hadn't had a decent night's sleep in almost two weeks and he was becoming more than a little unsteady on his feet.

"Charlie, if I may," Carlisle said as his eyes left the unseen top landing of the stairs and returned to the human in front of him. "Let us take Bella back with us. You need a decent night's sleep and we understand a bit more about her nightmares than anyone else," he offered sincerely.

"Are you sure?" Charlie asked, at once both cautious and relieved by the doctor's suggestion. "I don't want to put you all to any trouble."

"It's no trouble," Carlisle assured him and watched Charlie nod tiredly. "She'll be safe with us, Charlie. I promise you that."

"I trust her with you all, Dr. Cullen," he said after a long moment as though he had to focus on the words to get them out. "But this isn't the end. This is only the first of it," he said, his words becoming slurred. "She usually wakes up screaming three or four different times." Charlie shook his head, falling back to sit heavily on the couch when his legs refused to support him any longer. "I even tried getting her some sleeping aids, but she always wakes up screaming."

"Go to sleep, Charlie," Carlisle said, inflecting enough of the hypnotic soothing quality into his voice to end the man's fight against consciousness. "We'll take care of Bella."

**:::::**

"Watch now and praise in glory as the demons are slain, for I am the hand of God!"

"_**NO!**_" Bella screamed, her terror reaching an uncontrollable level.

There were no words to her scream as she found herself powerless to do anything but watch as Angela's father lit the fire beneath the iron bull his daughter was trapped inside of. He shouted again, another verse from the Bible, as he raised the torch in his hand and pointed it at Jasper and Emmett. They were both struggling against the chains that bound them, but unable to break the irons and her wordless screams sounded again as he brought the torch down and lit the wood surrounding their feet.

_Wake up, darlin'._

"Jasper!" she sobbed. "No, let them go. Jasper, fight him. Get away!"

_I'm right here, Sweetheart. You're safe, you need to wake up._

She felt her heart stop, her rapid breathing held tight as her lungs and ribs refused to move to allow her to pull in the much needed air. She tried to scream again, but without air her voice held no sound. She shook her head, tears blurring her vision and cascading in rivers down her cheeks as she sobbed. Bella swore that she could feel the edges of calmness infusing her as though Jasper were trying to comfort her, the feeling making her cry harder as she watched him burn, his body being engulfed in flames.

_C'mon, Sweetheart. Wake up for me. _

"Bella, Bella, Bella," James purred as he appeared before her in a flash and she screamed as he bit down on her flesh, tearing into her neck with his razor sharp teeth.

"NO!" Bella screamed as her eyes flashed open.

Suddenly she was back in her bed, safe in her room as someone petted her hair. She tried to pull air into her lungs, but choked and coughed instead when her breath caught in throat. She felt herself being lifted easily, her body folding at the waist as someone rocked her gently in their arms.

"Deep slow breaths," Jasper instructed softly as he held her and stroked her hair. "Shh," he whispered to her and kissed her bowed head as she lay limp in his arms. "That's it, darlin'. You're safe," he promised her as he rubbed her back.

She whimpered his name, her mind still caught in the dream of him burning. His cool hands cupped her cheeks, smoothing away her tears with the pads of his thumbs as he tipped her face up to see her eyes. He kissed her forehead and promised her that he was there with her. Bella's brow furrowed when she looked at him; her breathing becoming dangerously close to hyperventilating again as she studied his face before launching herself desperately at him. Her arms wound around his chest, under his arms as her hands clutched at the back of his shirt. He rocked her gently, soothing her as best he could with his words, touch and talent as she sobbed against his chest.

Jasper looked up when he felt Carlisle step into the room, the look on his adoptive father's face unreadable. He watched him nod, felt his steel edged resolve, as though he had made a decision before stepping closer to sit on the bed. Reaching out to pet her hair, Carlisle watched as Bella slowly lifted her face from where it was buried in the side of Jasper's throat. Her eyes found his face, her entire body beginning to tremble violently before she reached out for him. Carlisle accepted Bella easily into his arms, lifting her to sit in his lap as he spoke too low for her to hear and instructed Jasper to pack a bag for her.

"Go to sleep, Bella," Carlisle told her gently as he held her to his chest and petted her hair. "You're safe, Sweetheart. Go to sleep."

"The terror I felt from her is matched only by what I feel from Angela," Jasper said as he tucked a shirt into the already full bag in his hands and zipped it closed. "She called my name, begged me to get away from someone. From the sounds of it we, or at least I, was being hurt in her dream."

"Charlie said that she's screaming herself awake multiple times each night. She'll be staying with us until further notice. He all but collapsed downstairs," Carlisle said with a tired sigh. "It hasn't been that long since James attacked Bella. I can't help wondering if it's not just Angela's memories that are inspiring her nightmares."

"I don't recall Edward mentioning her having nightmares before now," Jasper said as he watched Carlisle stand with Bella cradled in his arms.

"When he's with her she feels safe," Carlisle said as Jasper followed him down the stairs and out of the house. "When she's alone…"

He let the words hang in the air as he watched Jasper open the back driver's side passenger door. His son tossed the bag of Bella's clothes against the opposite door before reaching to take the girl from his arms. Carlisle pursed his lips, not surprised in the least when Jasper chose to put her in the back seat so that he could hold her during the ride. He was certain that Alice had seen his decision and what preceded it, but when he had left their home, both Edward and Emmett were trying to coax Angela out of her own nightmares.

"I hate what this is doing to them," Carlisle said softly as he turned down the street and headed for their home. "They're both losing weight, though on Bella it's harder to notice because of her clothes."

"Edward's been worried more than before since we got Angela to start talking," Jasper said as he petted Bella's hair and shushed her when she whimpered in her sleep. "He told me that Bella's been closing her window at night. Refusing him because she thinks Angela needs him more."

"They'll both be staying with us from now on," Carlisle said as he glanced at Bella in the rearview mirror. "I can see it more now around her eyes and cheeks," he observed as he directed the car onto the turn off for their manor. "She's lost at least ten pounds, possibly more."

"Do you think she's not eating as well?" Jasper asked as Carlisle pulled into the driveway and shut off the engine.

"I've seen her eat," Carlisle sighed. "It's more probable that she's becoming ill after waking up from her nightmares. Let's get her inside," he said as he stepped out of the car.

Edward was by Jasper's door in an instant, holding the car open as his brother stepped out. He shook his head when Jasper moved to hand Bella to him, his brother's brow furrowing in confusion.

"Alice could see pieces of her nightmare," Edward said as he gathered Bella's bag from the backseat. "You need to be the one holding her when she wakes up."

"You know what she saw?" Jasper asked in concern as he looked down at the sleeping girl in his arms.

"She watched you burn," Edward said and clenched his jaw. "From what Alice was able to see, Bella's nightmares are a mix of the attack she suffered at James' hands and the memories that Angela has been revealing." Edward huffed, the sound amused as he nodded at Jasper's thoughts. "I think that should work quite well."

Jasper offered a sad smile as he nodded and stepped into the house with Bella's sleeping form cradled in his arms. He didn't stop to talk to anyone as he walked up the stairs and stepped into Angela's bedroom. Emmett was already laying on the far most right side of the girl's large bed with her tucked in his arms, instructed to do so by Alice. Smiling at his brother, Jasper laid Bella down next to Angela and slipped in the bed behind her.

Bella whimpered in her sleep, calling out Jasper's name as tears slipped from beneath her closed lids. The southern vampire soothed her gently, promising her that he was there with her as he infused ribbons of comfort and safety to her in her sleep. Emmett reached out; stroking his hand over Bella's hair as she slowly calmed and tucked herself into Jasper's chest.

"I feel the same way both of you do," Edward said as he brought the wingback chair from the bookcase close to the bed and sat down. "I've never wanted to kill anyone so much in my life. But doing so would only bring more pain upon Angela. The last thing she needs right now is more stress in her life."

"Alice?" Jasper looked to his wife when she stepped into the open doorway and looked down at the bed.

"I can't see much of anything yet, at least not clearly," she said as she looked at her sleeping human sisters tucked between her brother and husband. "But from the feeling of my visions, it's only going to get worse. Something's coming, I don't know what, but it's bad."

"How bad?" Jasper asked, looking between her and Edward.

"I don't know exactly," she said with a shake of her head. "But something's going to happen either on or around Bella's birthday."

"It's a few weeks away yet," Emmett said as he looked at her. "There's still time to sort it out, isn't there?" he asked as he petted Angela's hair and cooed to her when stirred against him.

"I don't know. I can't see what's coming, I can only feel it and it doesn't feel good."

**:::::**

Eleazar and Carmen cried out at the same time, falling halfway to their knees as each held a hand pressed tightly over their still hearts. Tanya and Kate each held their friends and coven mates as they watched the mated pair take in deep breaths in order to calm the feelings raging inside of them. It felt as though they were being pulled, clawed at as the feelings of fear and desperation shook them to their very core. Halfway across the world, in a cruise ship destined for Spain, another felt the same call that they did, his body motionless as he lay on top of the bed in the locked state room.

Angela was terrified, they all knew it with the same certainty that they knew the world revolved around the sun. Eleazar had known that she would be powerful, a force to be reckoned with once she was turned, but he had never expected for her call to be this powerful in her human form. He shook his head, moving away from Tanya as he regained his balance and withdrew his cell phone from his pocket. His intention was to call his friend and see what had happened, but when he looked at his phone he found there to already be a text message from him.

"Nightmares," he read the single word text with incredulity. "This powerful a call is the result of nightmares?"

His phone rang a second later, the caller ID showing Alice Cullen to be on the other end and he answered it quickly. He listened to her words, nodded his agreement before speaking the words. As much as he and Carmen wanted to go to Forks, as strong as Angela's call for protection was, he would respect the wishes of her family and stay in Denali. Looking at his wife he nodded at the question he could see in her eyes and returned his attention to the vampire on the other end of the call.

"Would you have her call us, Alice?" Eleazar requested. "Just so that we may speak with her and know she's safe?"

"Of course," her sweet voice answered him. "I'll have her call as soon as she's awake. With all of the stress that this is causing her, I think Carlisle's going to have her stop talking about her childhood, at least for a little while. Hopefully her nightmares will stop as well. Believe me, my friend, we can all feel her cry for protection too and it's a hundred times more powerful because of how close we are to her."

"Is there anything that we can do?" he asked, wishing for the ability to take away Angela's fear.

"No," Alice said, her voice suddenly sounding tired and ancient. "There's not even anything that we can do. Emmett and Jasper are constantly holding her, but even that isn't helping as much as it used to. Edward says that when she talks about the abuse she suffered, she's reliving it. When she sleeps it's as though all of the fear overwhelms her. I wish there was something that you or any of us could do, but so far nothing works."

"Alright," Eleazar nodded to himself even as he hated to agree with the Cullens' request. "Just have her call us, ok?"

"I will, I promise," Alice assured him.

Alice sighed as she disconnected the call and tucked the device back into her pocket. Rubbing her hand over her mouth, she looked up at the floor above her and felt her heart ache for what her human sisters were going through. They had both woken screaming from their nightmares only a half hour earlier and it had taken the combined efforts of Emmett, Jasper, Carlisle, Edward, and Esme to calm them back to sleep once more. She sat down on the couch, dropping her face into her hands as she cried tearlessly, her wrenching sobs silent.

"Oh, Alice," Carlisle mourned when he saw his adoptive daughter curled in a ball on the couch. "Sweetheart," he kissed her hair as he lifted her into his arms and sat down with her, holding her in his lap.

It wasn't often that his vampire daughters needed comforting, but it always broke his heart to see them hurting as Alice was now. Kissing her hair as he rubbed her back, Carlisle thought nothing of the fact that she, like him, had no need for sleep and did with her what he always did with Angela. Moving slowly, he turned them so that he could lie back on the couch and held Alice curled on his chest as she lay between him and the sofa. Resting his cheek on her head, he kept her wrapped in his arms as he sang softly to her.

No matter how much she wanted to, Alice was powerless against her emotions and couldn't stop crying. Her body shook, trembled with the force of her emotions and she clutched his shirt in her hand as she lay with her face buried in his chest. She listened to his voice, laughed through her sobs as he sang to her and followed his instruction when he told her to close her eyes. They both knew that she wouldn't fall asleep, the act in and of itself impossible for their kind, but what he was offering her was the peace and security to simply let someone else hold her and be strong for awhile. She gave in easily, turning her head to rest her cheek against his shoulder as she closed her eyes and released a deep slow breath.

"Norah Jones?" she questioned his choice of songs softly with a grin.

"Yes," he returned with a soft laugh of his own. "I've been listening to her a bit more lately. I thought the easy tones of the music would help Angela sleep better. Unfortunately, nothing seems to be helping her sleep."

They both turned their eyes up to the ceiling when the sound of fast footsteps could be heard followed in short succession by the sound of the bathroom door closing and the tell tale retching. Alice's face contorted in misery as she felt her emotions stirring again, her grief strengthening as she began to tremble softly with tears that would never fall.

"She's sick again," she said as they both heard Esme talking softly to Bella in order to comfort her.

"I know," Carlisle sighed sadly as they both sat up. "I may need to pick her up an anti nausea medication if this goes on much longer. It doesn't matter how much we get her to eat during the day if it keeps coming up at night."

"It hasn't even been three hours since you brought her home," Alice shook her head and looked down at her hands before turning her attention on her adoptive father. "How do we help them?"

"I don't know. I really don't know."

**:::::**

She was so tired, exhausted beyond compare, but she couldn't sleep. Sleeping hurt. Sleeping brought about her nightmares and the nightmares were worse than any of her memories. Stumbling tiredly down the stairs, Angela turned into Carlisle's office but found the room to be empty. Through sleep blurred eyes, she found his cell phone to be lying on his desk. Not normally one to use another person's phone without asking, she took the device and sat heavily on the black leather couch. Rubbing her eyes with the back of one hand, she scrolled through the contacts only to pout in frustration when she didn't find the name she was looking for.

"Who did you want to call, Sweetheart?" Carlisle asked as he stepped into the room and knelt down in front of her.

"Uncle Merlin," she said tiredly, the words slurring together.

"Let me see," he requested and took his phone from her hand with a soft smile. "Here we go," he said and handed it back to her as the call to Eleazar rang through. "It's ringing, Sweetheart. Just wait for him to answer," he told her with a soft smile.

"Carlisle?" Eleazar's voice sounded over the phone and Angela rubbed tiredly at her eye once more as she put the call on speaker.

"Uncle Merlin?" she said softly as she laid back on the couch, curling up on her side.

"Angela?" his voice was smooth and soft, holding a note of concern when he spoke her name. "How are you doing, little one?" he asked her.

"Will you tell me a story?" she asked instead, her eyes drooping heavily as Carlisle covered her with a blanket.

"Of course," he offered gently. "Close your eyes for me," he requested even though they both knew he couldn't see her, but she did as he asked.

He began slowly, describing the landscape and landmarks of the eighteenth century Spain he had grown up in. He told her of the smell of the flowers, the sounds of the ocean tides and the sight of the sunsets on the water. He described to her the clothing, the mannerisms and customs of the time, his voice lyrical and soothing. Though the famous 'vampire charm' that they all used to ease her to sleep when telling her stories didn't work as well over the phone, the story itself eased her into a light slumber. He knew almost the moment that she was asleep, his vampire ears able to detect the changes in the rhythm of her breathing and heartbeat.

"She's asleep?" he asked for confirmation.

"Out like a light," Carlisle said as he picked up the phone and took the call off speaker. "Hopefully she'll sleep a little bit longer this time. Thank you, my friend."

"Not a problem at all," Eleazar assured him and then chuckled softly. "She called me 'Uncle Merlin'."

"So she did," Carlisle chuckled as he brushed the backs of his fingers over Angela's sleep warmed cheek. "It looks like you have a new name."

"I have all of the books in that series," he confessed. "If she wakes up again, you're more than welcome to call me and I'll read to her."

"I think she'd like that. How are you all doing there? Alice told me you could feel her call," Carlisle said as he stood and stepped out of his office, pulling the door almost closed as he left Angela to sleep.

"It's not as powerful as it was earlier," Eleazar said and Carlisle could hear the man draw in a slow breath. "If not for Tanya and Kate, both Carmen and I would've been on the floor. It was that powerful. Believe me when I tell you that it took every last ounce of our combined willpower not to simply run straight to your home."

"I can only imagine," Carlisle returned and rubbed his fingers against his temple when he heard Bella cry out from upstairs.

"Is that Angela?" Eleazar asked in concern when he heard the cry.

"No, that's Bella," Carlisle said tired. "They're both having nightmares. I'm afraid that I'm at a loss for what to do."

"What can you do?" Eleazar asked. "How do you fight back against a dream?"

"I don't know," Carlisle sighed and looked up when Jasper called his name softly from upstairs. "I have to go, my friend. I will call later."

"Go tend to your children," Eleazar said his serious tone holding a note of amusement.

Carlisle ascended the stairs quickly and was outside Angela's room in seconds. Looking in, he found Jasper and Edward to be sitting on either side of Emmett as he cradled Bella in his lap and tried to coax her out of her nightmare. All three looked up at him with concern and he stepped closer to sit down on the bed facing Emmett. He could see the worry on all their faces, though Edward's held the greatest distress.

"She won't wake up," Edward said as he looked at Bella, her face awash with tears.

"Give her to me," Carlisle said and took Bella easily from Emmett's arms.

He held Bella in his lap, tucked her hair behind her ears as he smoothed the short curls by her temples from her tear stained face. Kissing her forehead, he called to her gently and rocked her slowly. She whimpered brokenly, sobbed quietly in her sleep as she mumbled, calling out his name or Jasper's as she remained in the throes of her nightmare. Pursing his lips as he looked down on her, there was only one thing he hadn't tried yet, something he thought her far too old for.

"Maybe not," Edward said as he read his thoughts. "If it'll work, Carlisle, do it."

Nodding, Carlisle stood from the bed and waited as Edward and his brothers stood and moved away. He watched as Edward smoothed out the top quilt until it lay flat on the bed, but turned so that the four corners were hanging off the bed. Nodding his thanks, Carlisle stepped up to the bed and gently laid Bella down on the quilt. He pulled first on the left corner, folding the blanket over her and tucking the pointed edge of the blanket under her opposite side. Making certain that the first fold was tightly wrapped around her; he lifted the bottom edge, the corner only coming up to mid-thigh and then folded over the right corner as he had the left. She was swaddled tightly, wrapped like an infant in a manner that left her unable to move, but he hoped it would bring her the same comfort that it brought to the young.

Lifting Bella back into his arms, Carlisle sat down on the bed and held her tightly in his arms as he began to sing softly to her. Two and a half songs later, her whimpering stopped, her tears dried and she returned to a peaceful sleep devoid of dreams. Finishing the lullaby with a soft sigh, Carlisle lifted his hand from around her and tucked her hair behind her ear. She was finally sleeping peacefully and he found that he was thankful that his vampire nature left him never needing to sleep. Though none of his family ever needed to sleep, he knew how draining Angela's nightmares and ghost like silence was on them all. Looking down into Bella's face as he continued to rock her gently, he wondered how Charlie had been able to handle the trial of her nightmares these past few weeks.

"Esme just did the same thing with Angela," Alice said as she stood in the open doorway and nodded at Bella's blanket wrapped form. "It worked like a charm."

"So to get them to sleep without the terror of their nightmares," Rosalie said with an amused frown, "we need to wrap them like infants?"

"If it works," Carlisle said with lopsided grin.

**:::::**

Suplicia gasped in wonder as she stared wide eyed at the land outside of her airplane window. The sun was just setting, the angle of the light not in any danger of revealing her prismatic skin and Felix chuckled when he found her to have her face pressed against the glass like a child. He smiled as he watched her, the delight and wonder she felt almost palpable. He saw her reflection in the glass, her bottom lip caught between her teeth as she looked at the land below.

Tropical forests, mountains covered in trees and flowers, clear sapphire blue waters crashing against the island shore and so many other things held her attention mercilessly and she was powerless to resist. She smiled as she turned to look at him and he laughed when she expressed her desire to run through the forests and roll through the rainbow colored fields of flowers. Her attention was captured once again and she looked ready to climb out of the window in pursuit of something she saw below.

"What are those?" she asked him and pointed at the water below.

"Dolphins," Felix smiled at her. "Those, my dear, are dolphins. The Hawaiian Islands are famous for them; the common bottle nosed dolphins are thick in these waters. We can go swimming tonight, if you'd like. You should be able to see them up close."

"We could?" she asked with the same excitement he imagined children must use when asking to open their presents on holidays.

"Yes, we most definitely can," he chuckled and tucked her pale blond hair behind her ear.

"Dolphins," she repeated with wonder. "I can't wait."


	30. Chapter 28

Chapter 28

He sat down on the end of the bed slowly, closing his eyes as he took in a deep unneeded breath. Her scent surrounded him, faded though it was. The sweet scent of her venom and the spicy scent - a mix of cinnamon, vanilla and cranberry that was unique to her surrounded him, filling his nose and comforting him. A smile crossed his face as he listened to the man on the other end of the phone and he laughed silently as he shook his head. Opening his eyes, he nodded to himself and stood from the bed as he moved to the window.

"Is she enjoying herself?" he asked as he looked out at the busy streets below.

"Yes," the man told him as he laughed and the sound of water splashing could be heard in the background. "She's like a child at Christmas."

"Can I speak with her?"

"I don't really think that's going to be a possibility right now," the man's voice was filled with amusement. "I haven't been able to get her to come in from the water since we landed. I can't believe you never took her swimming before."

"There was never a reason to," Aro commented as he looked back at the neatly made bed, his heart aching in the absence of his wife. "Send me a picture?" he requested.

"That's up to her," Felix said with a sigh, his voice taking on a serious tone. "She's still afraid you're going to send someone out after her – us. That you'll drag us back there against our will, she's even afraid that you'll have me destroyed."

"You know I won't," Aro said with a deep sigh as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

"I know that," Felix agreed easily enough. "The point is, she doesn't. The question becomes, why does she doubt you so much? What is there to make her think that you would rather see her unhappy or in pain then let her be free for awhile?"

"I'm certain that even you understand why we have the wives guarded so heavily."

"I do," Felix said with a nod as he watched Suplicia spring up from the water only to dive back under the surf. "She still won't tell me what happened," he told Aro as he looked around the beach to make certain they were alone as the first rays of sunlight began to traverse the sky. "Every time I even hint at mentioning home she gets this haunted look in her eyes and does whatever she can to change to subject."

"She never told you any of it?" Aro asked, the tone of his voice somewhere between disbelieving and resigned.

"Aro," Felix's voice changed, the tone of the man's friend becoming instead that of the honorable Volturi guard who had served faithfully for centuries. "Had I any information on your wife's torment, on what instilled that haunted look in her eyes, I would've come before you personally and privately. You've known me long enough to know that, or at least you should."

"Honor, chivalry, integrity and discretion," Aro listed as he shook his head. "These are attributes that I thought made you…weaker than the others. You were never ruthless or cunning; you have never sought power for power's sake. What I thought of as a weakness is the sole reason that I trust you so completely…"

"If we were standing in the same room, I wouldn't know how to take that. You're not exactly one to ever issue compliments," he chuckled at himself. "Except for that young vampire you met centuries ago, the one that fascinated you. But my point is, hearing you say that about me while I'm out here guarding Suplicia tells me that something has happened there. You haven't even mentioned coming home once during this call which means, and correct me if I'm wrong, it's not safe to come back or at least not safe for her."

"For all the times that I've stepped into your mind, I have never noticed quite how perceptive you were before," Aro told him and Felix felt his eyebrows rise high on his forehead.

"There's that complimenting thing again," he commented, making it clear that he wouldn't let Aro avoid the question. "You never had reason to notice. I'm not a high ranking guard; I'm just muscle when you need it."

"An obvious oversight on my part."

"Aro," Felix's voice became hard as alarm bells went off in his head. "Stop avoiding the question. What have you discovered?"

He could hear Aro's sigh, the three-thousand-year old vampire rarely letting such a human expression show. The silence he received was telling enough, but the words to come from Aro were not ones he ever expected to hear.

"Corin has not been using her talent to influence Suplicia in well over a century…she's been using Jane instead."

His fist closed of its own accord, the plastic and metal of his phone crumbling to the sand below. Cursing at the ruined device littering the ground by his feet, he looked up to see Suplicia stepping onto the beach. She dashed to his side, her movements demonstrating the grace and speed she possessed as a creature of the night. He chuckled as he watched her disappear into the hut they were staying in on the private side of the island. Following her inside, he told her that she should take a shower and get dressed while he took care of a bit of business.

He waited for her to close herself inside the bathroom before he opened the laptop and brought up the video communication program. After the first call that Suplicia had made, he had saved Aro's private video phone number into the system allowing him to make the call with a single click of the touchpad mouse. He waited as the call rang through, sitting back against the couch as the fifth digital tone went through.

"The connection dropped," Aro said as his face appeared on Felix's monitor.

"No…I broke my phone. This is our only form of communication until I acquire a new one."

"Ah," Aro's eyebrows lifted and Felix could see the mix of amusement and understanding in the man's milky crimson eyes.

"I know what Jane's power feels like," Felix said as he ground his teeth together and stared at the computer screen. "She enjoys using it enough on me. I swear she sees it as a toy to entertain herself with whenever the mood strikes her."

"How often?" Aro asked with a hard edge to his voice even as his face remained carefully impassive.

"Often enough," he answered vaguely as he heard the shower shut off. "Suplicia will be in the room soon, I don't want her to hear us discussing this."

"You're very protective of her," Aro said and Felix could see the underlying question in his eyes.

"She's your mate, Aro, I would never take another man's mate," he promised sincerely. "She's my friend, that's all."

He watched Aro nod silently, able to see the strain that Suplicia's absence was having on him. Felix looked back over his shoulder when the man's expression suddenly changed from strained to peaceful. He felt his lips twist into a crooked smile and nodded for Suplicia to join him on the couch, watching as she dried her hair with a towel.

"Would you two like some privacy?" he asked as he looked between Aro's face on the computer and the woman sitting next to him.

"Please," Aro requested, watching as Suplicia bit her full bottom lip and nodded quietly.

"I'll just be in the other room," he promised her as he stood and moved away.

Aro studied his wife as she remained silent, her lip caught between her teeth. He knew that she was nervous and understood why. He also had a very intimate understanding of why she doubted not only his love for her, but also her fear of the home he had made for her. He watched her set the towel down, her damp hair hanging freely down over her shoulder, the water darkening the pale blonde to a honey tone.

"I miss you," he told her when it became obvious that she wouldn't be the first to break the silence.

"I miss you, too," she told him, her voice whisper quiet, but he heard her clearly. "I miss the way you would sit and hold me while we talked," she confessed softly. "You haven't done that in almost seven hundred years."

"I failed you, Suplicia," he told her after a long moment of silence. "My first job is to protect you and I didn't do that."

She bit her lip again, ducking her head and looking down at her hands folded in her lap. As fearful as she was of being taken back to Volterra, she wanted to feel his arms around her more. She wanted to trust him, she wanted her husband back, but she felt equally afraid to trust him.

"You must know that I never would have allowed that to happen," he told her, his voice pained as he watched her through the monitor. "Had I know what was happening, I would have…"

"You would have what?" she asked him, her voice soft and tired as though she didn't believe he would be able to have done anything. "They were your most trusted high guards and she…you appointed her yourself." Suplicia shook her head. "You would have also had to bring the matter before Marcus and Caius…even if you do have the final say, you would need to have their input and speaking of the matter to them would've only brought you embarrassment."

"Embarrassment?" Aro repeated, his brow furrowed as he studied what he could see of her face, her bowed head hiding her in shadows. "Is that what you think? That I'm embarrassed by or ashamed of you?"

"Aren't you?" she asked after a moment, her voice soft and frightened. "You make love to Corin and Chelsea more often than you do me. In the past six hundred years I've only seen you for a few moments each day, we haven't even had a real conversation in more than eight hundred years. As far as your actions tell me…"

"Suplicia," she looked up at the pained tone of his voice. "You are my mate, my wife."

She shook her head sadly. "I don't know what that means to you anymore. I haven't known for a very long time. The girls, Jane included, have always loved to come see me when your scent is still thick upon them. You would spend hours with them, hours making love to them, where I got less than thirty minutes from you. They always made certain that I knew my…that I knew my place and that I knew that theirs was higher. They would sit and talk with each other in front of me about the places they had visited, their hunts outside the castle walls. They made certain I understood exactly what I was…a prisoner."

"Suplicia…"

"I-I'm sorry, I can't."

She shook her head rising from the sofa and disappearing from the room without disconnecting the call. A moment later Felix appeared in front of the camera and moved to sit on the couch as he studied Aro's face. The man had been careful to hide the emotions from his face, but not his eyes and Felix could see the pain they held. He remained silent, waiting for Aro to speak.

"There are matters that I must attend to. I will let you know when it is safe for her to return. Protect her," Aro said as he stared at Felix.

"I always have."

The call ended, the screen becoming black before the entry box appeared for him to make another call if he wished. Minimizing the program, Felix closed the laptop and stared at nothing as he sat on the couch. The fact that Aro avoided his question entirely and Suplicia refused to speak of the matter only confirmed the dark suspicions he had. He didn't know the extent of what she had gone through, had no idea as to the severity of the actions taken against her, but what he could piece together was enough to both enrage him and fill him with sorrow. Closing his eyes, he promised himself that he would do whatever he could to help Suplicia heal.

**:::::**

Bella pulled her knees up to her chest, hugging her arms around her legs as she bit her lip and rocked slowly in Edward's bed. She could hear his soft voice as he spoke to Angela, her friend's cries having woken her from her own nightmare. Closing her eyes as she bowed her head, she fought to keep her tears silent.

_You're fine,_ she told herself as she tried to control her breathing. _It was just a dream. Nothing actually happened to you. Don't be selfish, Angela needs him more than you do._

Her hands moved, her fingers combing into her hair and gripping it painfully as she touched her forehead to her knees. She wanted to cry, but knew if she did that Edward would come running to her and she couldn't be that selfish. She wasn't sure exactly when she had been brought to Edward's home, but did know that she had been here for almost two days now. She felt guilty that her nightmares had caused Charlie to lose enough sleep that he had asked someone else to look after her.

The first tear, borne of guilt and shame escaped her eye, followed closely by a second and a third. Before she knew it, she was sobbing as silently as possible, her tears cascading over her cheeks in a waterfall of devastation. She covered her face with her hands, did everything that she could think of to try to stop her tears but nothing worked. Bella gasped at the feel of the gentle pressure against her head as someone kissed her and looked up to find Carlisle sitting next to her on the bed.

She wanted to tell him to go to Angela, that she was fine and her friend needed him more. Instead, she felt her tears come faster as her body seemed to move without her consent, her arms wrapping around his waist as she buried her face in his chest and cried. Carlisle sighed as he held her and stroked her hair. He had smelled her tears and thought she was crying in her sleep until Jasper had told him of the emotions he was reading from Bella. Dipping his head to kiss her hair once more, he held her close as he did his best to soothe her.

"You are part of this family, too, Bella," he told her gently as he rubbed her back. "We will always be here for you. Asking for comfort is not being selfish," he promised her when she pulled back, the expression on her face telling of her embarrassment over her tears. "Come, lie back," he instructed as he stretched out on the bed next to her. "I have it on good authority that this is your favorite novel," he said as he enfolded her in his arms and brought his hands together to open the book he held.

Bella tucked herself against his side, her eyes blinking tiredly as he began reading to her. There was no light in the room, save the pale golden glow emanating from the hallway outside the half open door, but his enhanced vision saw the printed words perfectly. Her hand gripped his shirt as she let his voice soothe her back to sleep, the familiar words from Wuthering Heights taking her mind off her nightmare. He read through chapter one and was halfway through chapter two when he found her to be sleeping deeply against his side, her head pillowed on his chest. They were both waking almost every two to three hours and he wondered how long she would be able to sleep this time before her nightmares woke her.

Looking up at the feel of his son's presence, he watched Edward walk to the bed slowly. He didn't ask Carlisle to leave, never even hinted at it. Instead, Edward moved to the opposite side of the bed and climbed in behind Bella. It was the comfort of someone she considered to be a father figure that she was seeking and he wouldn't deny her that. He sat with his back against the headboard as he looked down at his love enfolded in his father's arms. He had read Jasper's thoughts, his brother's insights into Bella's emotions allowing him some ability to understand what she was thinking. There were times that he hated how silent her mind was to him and now was one of those times.

Carlisle turned his head, tipping his chin down just enough to kiss Bella's forehead. She felt tiny against him, her human warmth and softness a constant reminder of how exceedingly fragile she was. Had he known the effect that Angela's memories were having on her, he would have insisted that she stay with his family before now. Bella was his daughter, too and he regretted that in his diligent care of Angela he had somehow forgotten that fact. His arms tightened around her, his heart and mind telling him to hold her as close as possible to know without a doubt that she was safe with them. He couldn't help wondering if she had had similar nightmares after James' attack.

"Not so much," Edward responded to his father's thoughts, his voice too low for humans to hear. "Sometimes she would startle, wake with a gasp or a slight movement, but never anything to this extent. After James' attack neither of us was able to tolerate being away from each other for very long."

_Jasper spoke to me of her emotions. She believes herself to be selfish if she asks for comfort. _

"I know," Edward answered with a heavy sigh. "I wish I could read her mind, if only to know what she is thinking and how to help her."

Carlisle shushed Bella gently when she stirred against him, stroking his hand over her hair slowly a few times before tucking her hair behind her ear and resting his palm against her cheek. His thumb moved over her cheekbone delicately, smoothing back and forth slowly as he soothed her. He assured her that she was safe, promised her that she wasn't alone. He felt the gentle tug as her hand tightened around the fabric of his shirt and felt the corner of his lips turn up in the barest hint of a smile as he watched her sleep in his arms.

"No, please," Bella mumbled softly in her sleep.

"Shh, you're safe, Sweetheart," Carlisle promised her softly as Edward rested his hand on her head trying to offer her comfort as well.

"Her nightmares are constant," Edward said softly as he stroked her hair. "It has always been a strange combination of frustration and amusement that I have felt due to my inability to read her thoughts, but now I feel pain because I cannot see into her dreams to know how to help her."

"I don't need to tell either of you that she's terrified," Jasper said from the doorway, his body blocking the light from the hall. "But there is also a mix of confusion and sacrifice," he stepped forward slowly, his usually soft Texan accent made thick with the emotions he felt coming to him from both of the human girls. "Whatever she is seeing, whatever terror her nightmares are creating, she is willing to trade herself in order to stop it. It's the same emotions I read from her when we entered the ballet studio, before she knew we were there."

"Your influence isn't reaching her?" Edward questioned his brother as he read his thoughts.

"It's not reaching either of them. Their terror is too strong."

The knock at the front door drew their attention, their heads turning in the direction of it though none of them moved from their current positions. They heard Chief Swan's voice as he spoke with Esme; she thanked him gently, the door closing a few moments later. The sound of his cruiser starting and pulling out of the drive drew an unconscious sigh of relief from the three Cullen men. It wasn't that any of them didn't want Charlie's presence, but with the constant stress of the nightmares Angela and Bella were experiencing, the presence of a human who didn't know their secret only made matters that much more tense.

Esme ascended the stairs slowly, smiling down at the two new DVDs in her hand. Charlie had brought them over; telling her that he had asked Renee what brought Bella the most comfort when she was sick. He had looked rather rough and when she had asked to his health he had confessed that he had spent the last thirty-six hours asleep. She had assured him that it was no trouble for them, taking care of Bella as well as Angela. Carlisle was a doctor, she had reminded him, he was used to sleepless nights.

"Emmett," Esme stepped up to her son and accepted his embrace easily when he hugged her. "Get Angela and take her down stairs, please."

"Downstairs?" Emmett questioned.

"Rosalie and Alice are setting up the living room for you. Take her down, you'll see."

Esme stepped away from him then, moving to Edward's open door and smiled sadly at the picture made by her husband lying with Bella tucked against his side. Edward chuckled softly as he read his adoptive mother's thoughts and nodded. Looking to Carlisle, he told his father what Esme had planned and watched as his parents locked gazes, the love between them palpable. Carlisle moved slowly, gathering Bella into the cradle of his arms as he stood from the bed and walked to the door.

"Carlisle?" he looked down to see Bella's eyes half open, her brow furrowed in drowsy confusion.

"It's alright, little one," he promised as he kissed her forehead. "Your father brought something over that he thought might help you and Angela." He watched the emotions on her face, cuddling her closer against his chest as he descended the stairs. "Don't you worry about a thing. Charlie's alright, he's concerned about you as we all are, but he's willing to let us take care of you, especially since I'm a doctor. Don't ever be afraid to ask for the comfort you need, sweetheart."

"Give me my sister," Emmett said softly from his seat in the middle of the couch. "Hey, Bells," he greeted when Carlisle set her gently on the couch next to him.

Emmett wrapped his arm around Bella, pulling her close as she tucked herself against his right side; Angela already curled against his left. He rubbed his hand over her arm, kissing her hair as she settled against his chest with a yawn. He smiled up at Rosalie when she covered the three of them with a blanket as Alice slipped one of the DVDs into the player and turned on the large flat screen TV. Both of the girls were drowsy, their eyes open as they fought against the sleep that beckoned them. A song familiar to them both began playing; drawing their eyes to the TV even while their heads remained pillowed against Emmett's chest. A man's voice sounded as a storybook appeared on screen, the images and words moving as he began the introduction, narrating the tale of _Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day_.

Jasper sat down behind Angela, Alice seated in his lap and cuddled against his chest as Edward sat down behind Bella. Though the vampires watched the movie playing on the television, their true attention was focused on the human girls tucked against Emmett. Esme stood back, wrapped in her husband's arms as she looked at her family on the couch. The only one who wasn't sitting with them was Rosalie, her blond daughter in the kitchen. She could hear the rhythmic cuts of the knife against the wooden board as her daughter sliced vegetables. She knew her daughter well enough to know that it wasn't the act of cooking she was busying herself with, but rather the comfort of the repetitive movements. It was still difficult for Rosalie to allow her concern to show, her daughter hated to reveal her emotions. She was more like Bella and Angela than she realized.

"Carlisle," Esme looked up at him with concern heavy in her ochre eyes. "School starts again in less than a week. How can we send them in like this?"

"We don't have a choice," he said sadly. "If we keep them out it will look suspicious, even with a doctor's note for them both. What would I say? Exhaustion, malnutrition, stress? Perhaps the routine of school will help them. Without it they have had nothing to distract them from their nightmares, nothing to offer them an alternate focus."

Jasper's tense expression began to soften, his body beginning to relax back against the couch as Alice cuddled closer. The constant fear that blanketed his human sisters was releasing, their stress reducing as the movie played. Who knew that a cartoon bear would bring them such comfort? Alice turned her head, smiling up at him knowingly and he chuckled. Of course, he shook his head and offered her a lopsided grin, Alice had known.

**:::::**

Angela bit her lip as she took the mail from the box at the end of the drive. School started tomorrow and she finally felt ready for it. With the assistance of almost every classic Winnie the Pooh film they could find as well as other animated films, including Ferngully and The Last Unicorn, both she and Bella had finally been able to sleep without nightmares. Her brow furrowed as she looked down at a letter addressed to her, the paper feeling thick and somehow both familiar and strange.

Her name was written in a classic style, graceful curves and flowing lines, the stamp and postmark in the top right corner looking out of place. She didn't feel frightened of this letter; somehow the feel of the paper and the smell of the ink brought her a sense of comfort. She didn't think about her actions as she turned and sat down slowly on the curb by the mailbox, her focus locked on the letter in her hands as the other items fell into her lap. There was no envelope, but when she turned the folded paper around she found it to be sealed by a thick wax pressing, the image of a tree thick with leaves pressed into the dollop of red wax roughly the size of a half dollar.

She broke the seal carefully, keeping the wax dollop intact as she unfolded the tri-fold letter. There were two pages inside and she smiled at the handwriting. The paper was strangely comforting, the color somewhere between white and faded yellow, the thickness of it speaking of its old-style crafting. She bit her lip, her eyes looking down as she studied the handwriting before reading the words.

:::

_Dearest Miss Weber,_

_I do hope that this letter reaches you as I have sent it in such a fashion not seen to most in these modern times. Eleazar explained that it may come back to me, but I hope it reaches you instead. _

_I cannot tell you how many times I have been grateful to you in these past weeks. Had I not met you in that library so many months ago, my life would still be filled with the unbearable weight of loneliness and fear. You have brought me into the light, offered me a second chance that I never dreamed possible. You have given me everything and I fear that I have given you nothing in return._

_I am sorry that I ran from you all those months ago, the library was my safe haven, but your scent called to me. Eleazar tells me that you know of our kind intimately. How could you not, your family is nothing but…I'm not so certain that I should write the word in a letter, perhaps I shall just call those of my kind explorers, for that is in a sense the very truth of what we are, or at least those like myself and your family. There are, of course, dangerous explorers out there, those that would seek to do you harm. I am eternally grateful that you haven't met one yet. _

_Eleazar and Carmen have taken me in; Tanya and Kate welcoming me into their family. Though Irina is here, she has been more reluctant than the others to interact with me; even so, I am grateful for the family you have given to me. They are teaching me their ways, offering me a different way to live, a different…diet. They have told me of your plight, the hunter who seeks you. It took me quite a while to convince them to release the story to me as they feared that I would do something rash. Were I a different person, were I able to control my reaction to…how should I say this in a letter? A word that we could use, something that we would both understand of what it is that I am speaking of without fear of my letter falling into the wrong hands; they have of course told me about the…royal family who makes and enforces our laws. I wish not to bring their wrath so soon. _

_Chocolate, we shall call it chocolate for humans and…vanilla for animals. I do apologize for the comparison to ice cream, but it is the best way that I can think of to relate it in a manner you would understand. As I was saying previously, had I the ability to control my reaction to chocolate and not feel somehow ill after ingesting it, I would of course have left shortly after they revealed to me the hunter who has been pursuing you. As it is though, chocolate seems to have a rather adverse affect on me while vanilla…vanilla allows me both comfort and strength. _

_I pray that this doesn't disturb you. It has been so long since I have seen you, spoken with you and I forgot how easy it is to be myself with you, even if only through a letter. You bring me peace. Tanya and Eleazar will be beginning my instruction soon, they are going to teach me how to defend myself against other explorers – how to defend you. _

_I miss our conversations, few though that they were. Perhaps if you permit it, we may begin anew. I await your answer, Miss Weber. May all be well with you. _

_Sincerely yours,_

_Michael Patrick O'Malley _

_Newest member of the Denali Explorers_

:::

"Oh! Edward," Angela looked up from the letter in her hands to find him sitting next to her in the grass.

"You didn't come in," he said with a lopsided grin as he looked at her. "I got a bit worried."

"He wrote to me," she said as she bit her lip unable to hide her soft smile.

"So he did," Edward agreed easily as he stood and held out his hand to help her to her feet. "Ice cream, huh?" he teased as he accepted the other mail from her.

Angela giggled softly as she nodded, a light blush dusting her cheeks. Her hand reached up instinctively to adjust her glasses before she remembered that they weren't there. She had been wearing her contacts since the attack, she remembered, her hand falling to her side. Edward chuckled softly as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and tucked her against his side as they walked back to the house.

"Did you want to pick out new frames, or are you happy with your contacts for now?" he asked as the door opened, Esme standing aside as she allowed them entrance.

"I'm ok with the contacts," she admitted as she looked up at Esme.

"I know that look," Esme said with a smile as she took Angela's hand and led her into the kitchen. "Why don't you help me prepare dinner while we talk?"

"Ok," Angela agreed easily.

"He wrote her a letter," Edward explained to Carlisle and Jasper as they watched her disappear into the kitchen behind Esme.

"Michael?" Carlisle asked.

"Yes," Edward chuckled. "Alice," he looked at his sister as she breezed into the room, the Paris fashion show heavy in her mind and he knew that she was blocking him.

"Nope," she refused with a smile. "Some things are too good to share."

"Alice," Jasper drawled her name as she twirled into his arms and he dipped his head down to kiss her. "Whatever your vision is, I love the way it makes you feel."

"You're really not going to tell me?" Edward asked with disbelief and amusement.

"Nope," she giggled. "But don't worry. Angela will come to you for an explanation when the time comes."

"Edward?" Bella's soft voice came from behind them.

"Hey, sleepyhead," he greeted, appearing at Bella's side in an instant. "You slept almost the entire day."

"What time is it?" Bella asked as she descended the stairs tucked under his arm.

"Close to four o'clock," he kissed her temple. "How do you feel?"

"Still a bit tired," she said and blushed darkly when her stomach growled loudly.

"Let's get that monster fed," he chuckled and led her into the kitchen.

**:::::**

"Have you made a decision, brother?" Caius asked as he looked at Aro.

"The guards will be destroyed," Aro said with conviction.

"That much was almost a guarantee," Caius dismissed him. "I was speaking of Corin, Alec and Jane."

Aro gripped the new arm of his repaired throne firmly with caution. He didn't want to break it again, but the rage he felt would not dissipate. His façade was in place, he appeared his normal jovial self, but underneath he felt as though the blood he had recently fed was boiling within him. Corin, Alec and Jane were high ranking guards, chosen for their powers. They had always been loyal to him, but their deception and crimes against his wife made him hunger for their destruction.

"Don't tell me you need more time," Caius looked at him with apathy and disbelief. "Were it my wife the crimes were committed against, I would not hesitate to destroy them."

"Perhaps so, brother," Aro said as he watched members of his guard bring in the three men who had once guarded the wives. "But what of their service? I cannot make this decision lightly."

He stepped up from his throne with slow precise movements as the men held captive were forced to their knees before him. He cupped his hands around the first man's face, closing his crimson eyes against the flood of memories. The knowledge that this man had enjoyed the harm he brought to Suplicia was enough to leave Aro battling against his baser, more primitive instincts. The sound, a combination of slowly cracking glass and grinding stone brought him a measure of comfort as he ripped the head off of the former guard and dropped it to the floor.

He didn't realize until now that Felix had always been present for the executions, his faithful guard somehow seeming to lend him a measure of strength. When had he ever relied on anyone so much before, anyone without an active talent at least? He didn't understand how he had been unaware to his own growing need of the man's presence. Was it true, he wondered as he moved to the next man and repeated the process of reading the man's mind before removing his head. Did he rely on Felix as much as Suplicia did?

His touch upon the third, and last, man drew a furious growl from his throat as he found that this man was as sadistic as Caius could be though in a different and much more heinous manner. He looked up at the guards holding him and nodded only once. He wanted this one to fear his death, to feel the pain before he was killed. The guards ripped his arms from his body, the man screaming only seconds before Aro removed his head. Because of their nature, a vampire could experience a lifetime in only a few seconds and those last few seconds had been spent in agony and terror.

"Finish this," he commanded the guards as he returned to his throne.

"Brother?" Caius looked at Aro expectantly. "What of the others? Surely you are not waiting for Marcus to return before you decide. He has been gone for more than a week now. If he returns, it is not likely to be soon."

"We wait," Aro said as though speaking to a child. "This decision is too important to make in haste."

"Why do you hesitate?" Caius demanded, his anger palpable as he stared at Aro.

"They have transgressed against my wife, and in doing so they have transgressed against me, but," he paused as he moved to touch Caius' hand only for the man to move it out of reach. "They have not broken any of our mortal laws, they have abused their power and their station, but I must decide if that is deserving of death."

"How can you question it?"

"They are necessary; they have proved their usefulness to the Volturi time and again. I must be absolutely certain about the decision before I make it. Until the decision is made they will be kept below."

"In the dungeons?" Caius laughed mockingly. "Isn't that where we keep the humans who know about us before we decide whether to kill or change them? Surely you must be joking."

"I am not," Aro growled. "I will not be questioned in this matter again, Caius."

He left the room, his cloak fluttering behind him as he walked gracefully to the wide door. A decision of this importance felt wrong to be made without Marcus, he felt incomplete without him. They had been together, the three of them, for so long that even with Marcus' despairing disposition, he still valued the insight he would read from his brother's thoughts. He entered his study, closing himself behind the door as he removed his robe and sat before the large wood desk that was almost a thousand years ancient. Turning on the computer, he reached for his cell phone and dialed Marcus' phone once again as he waited for the computer to boot up.

"Marcus," he spoke slowly into the phone. "Brother, I know that you have answered, otherwise it would be your voicemail greeting me. Please speak to me."

"What would you have me say?" came the slow reply long moments later.

"Why did you leave?" Aro asked as he slid his finger along the touchpad and selected the video call program.

"Do you truly wish to know?"

"Of course, I do, Marcus! Otherwise I would not be calling you, I would simply have sent Demetri out after you instead!" Aro's voice had raised to the level that while being a normal volume for a human conversation felt close to shouting for him.

"I can count on one hand the number of times over the centuries that you have lost your temper," Marcus said slowly. "Has my leaving truly affected you so?"

"There are other matters as well, personal matters."

"Suplicia," Marcus said simply and Aro grew silent.

"You knew?" Aro demanded.

"Knew what?" Marcus asked as he sat on the bench along the pier and stared out at the ocean waters along Spain's coast. "I know nothing specific, only that something is wrong."

"How so?" Aro demanded.

"You as well as anyone know that there are times that I give myself over to my grief," Marcus said as he stood and walked down to the end of the pier, watching as the moonlight reflected off of the gentle waves. "There were times when I would come back to myself that I would find Suplicia tucked against my side. It wasn't often, but she seemed…unsettled. I assumed you two were having disagreements."

"No," Aro said and Marcus could hear the hard edge in the man's voice. "It is not something that I wish to discuss in detail over the phone, but suffice it to say, she was being…hurt without my knowledge."

Marcus remained silent as he digested that bit of news. Though he still felt his anger toward Aro for the death of Didyme, he was no longer as enraged as he had been when he had first read the journal. Resting his hand on the aged wood of the pier he stared out into the night, the ocean in front of him seeming to be endless, timeless and unchanging, much like he was. Suplicia was his friend and despite all of the fresh anger and grief he felt, Aro was his friend, too. Her death and his resulting despair had granted him a maturity he didn't believe he would have gained otherwise.

"What is the decision you have to make? Who is involved?" Marcus asked slowly.

"Jane, Alec and Corin."

Marcus took in a deep, unneeded breath and released it slowly. "The only advice I have to offer you, brother, is to speak with Felix. Their relationship is such that he should be consulted in this matter."

"How would you describe their relationship?" Aro asked slowly, his grip tightening slightly on the cell phone held to his ear as he stared at the computer screen in front of him.

"There is no one definition that I have to offer you. They are as close as lovers, but as trusting as siblings. He guards her and she turns to him for comfort and protection. In all of my interactions, I can promise you that they have never consummated their relationship, I would know that without having to bear witness to it."

"Felix is nothing if not honorable," Aro said with an amused sigh.

"A trait you have undervalued."

"Marcus," Aro opened the contact log and selected Felix's number. "Why did you leave?"

"Many reasons, one of which will be answered if you collect the book from my chambers. It should still be lying on my bed, provided that no one has taken it."

"A book?"

"_Your_ book," Marcus corrected. "Your personal account. I do not know how it came to be in my possession, simply that I came back to myself and it was in my hand."

"You're not coming back are you?" Aro asked as he pinched the bridge of his nose in an entirely human manner.

"I don't know, brother. At this point in time I can be certain of nothing. I will make myself available to you by phone, I will not deprive you of my counsel, but I will not return just yet."

"Be safe, Marcus. Be careful."

"I will, brother. The same to you."

Aro disconnected the call and looked at the computer screen for a long moment before telling the program to dial the highlighted number. He didn't have to wait long for the call to be answered, a soft smile coming to his lips when it was his wife's image that greeted him. He stared at her for a moment, letting the warmth of her image dispel his dark mood.

"How long it's been," Aro said as he looked her over. "You look different," he commented as he studied her face. "Younger."

"Younger?" she giggled and he chuckled in response. "It's amazing here, I wish I could take this…thing outside and show you, but it's connected to the wall."

"Laptops have power cords, my dear wife, but they also run on batteries," he chuckled easily. "Look in the bottom right corner; do you see a small image that looks like a battery with a cord next to it?"

"Ummm," she bit her lip, her brow furrowing in confusion. "Maybe," she said slowly, "what does a battery look like?"

Aro laughed at her innocent question, "I do miss you," he told her. "Tell me. Tell me about where you are, what it looks like."

She sighed with pleasure, a soft hum vibrating happily from her before she spoke. "There is sand everywhere, we are surrounded by beaches, but we are far secluded from the humans. We are near the water!" she suddenly said and he watched her bounce ever so slightly. "My favorite thing is to swim among these amazing creatures," her hands moved as though she were running them over the creature she was describing. "They are grey in color and friendly. They dance in the water and on top of it so freely! Felix," she called and turned to look back over her shoulder. "What are they called again?"

"Dolphins," came his disembodied voice.

"Yes! Dolphins! Oh they are so fun to play with," she said and Aro laughed at her exuberance. "But I met another creature, roughly the same size and shape. It wasn't friendly, it tried to attack me."

"You obviously got away," Aro said unnecessarily.

"Of course I did," she said as though insulted he would question her ability to care for herself. "After I fed on it. Oh don't look at me like that, I didn't realize how long it had been since I hunted and I was hungry. I brought it's carcass back to the shore and Felix is making me something from its teeth."

"What did you eat?" he asked in confusion and changed the focus of his eyes when he saw Felix walking toward the camera from another room.

"She ate a shark, Aro," Felix said with humor as he sat next to her on the couch. "Your tiny little wife ate a shark that was more than twice her size. You have no idea how amusing it was to watch her carry it up to the house…Suplicia," Felix turned his attention on her, "why don't you give Aro and I a few moments, ok?"

"Alright," she replied, her happiness becoming a bit subdued. "I think we could do with some fresh blossoms in here."

Felix watched her leave, closing the door behind her, before he returned his attention to the screen.

"Our diet here is mostly animal with a bit of human thrown in. We have to be careful as it seems we arrived in the off season and this place is less populated than I thought," Felix told Aro as he grew serious. "Will you tell me now what it is that you discovered?"

"Is she gone?" Aro asked, not liking Suplicia to be unguarded but also not wanting her to be in earshot for their conversation.

"Yes."

Aro began slowly, his demeanor changing to that of controlled anger as he told Felix what he had discovered. He assured him that the guards had been destroyed before revealing who had arranged for such a thing to take place. He stopped for a few moments, allowing Felix time to regain control as the man's growling was making it necessary for him to increase the volume of his voice to be heard properly.

"Corin arranged it, Jane and Alec made it possible?" Felix asked with rage and disbelief.

"Yes," Aro said with a heavy sigh full of anger and sorrow. "I have them secured in the dungeon under the watch of several guards, but I am at a loss for what to do. I have agonized over this decision since the moment of my discovery." Looking down as he swallowed his pride, Aro met Felix's eyes through the computer screen. "I seek your counsel. What would you have done with them?"

Felix took in a slow deep breath. "If they were anyone else, I would tell you to destroy them at once, but I know the importance of both their talents and their position within our guards. Let me think on it, this decision cannot be made in haste."

Aro chuckled darkly. "So far, you are the only one to understand that. Caius thinks that I should simply destroy them and be done with it."

"Caius would have any vampire with talent destroyed, except for Corin. He has always been jealous that he does not hold a talent of his own."

"So observant," Aro said as he looked at the man who guarded his wife. "Have you ever felt the same envy?"

"Nah," Felix's lips twisted in an amused lopsided grin. "I have what I need. My strength gives me power, and without an active talent, no one takes too much notice of me so I am allowed to observe and see what I need to. I was a scout, Aro," he reminded his maker. "And a highly respected soldier, with battle skills far superior to anyone else among my peers or superiors. Taking the time to observe those around me without being seen has allowed me the ability to know not only how someone will fight, but also who can be trusted and who can't. Anything more would be unnecessary."

Aro nodded silently and Felix looked up as the door of the small beach house opened. He couldn't hide the amusement on his face, or suppress the easy laughter that followed. Shaking his head as he stared at Suplicia, his eyes shone with merriment.

"Did you leave any flowers outside at all?" he asked as she stepped forward, her arms laden with the blossoms.

"Of course I did, I only gathered a few," she said as she sat next to him and looked down at the computer when she heard her husband's laughter. "What?"

"Suplicia, my dear," Aro chuckled at the sight she made. "How many flower necklaces are you wearing?"

"Just one made from each plant I found," she said as she took them off one by one. "Fifteen."

"Only fifteen," he mocked with humor. "Take care of her, Felix. I have matters to attend to."

Felix nodded once before the call was disconnected and Aro sat back against the chair behind him. Suplicia was happy, happier than he had seen her in more time than he cared to measure. She seemed carefree, relaxed and full of wonder, something he hadn't seen from her since their first decade of marriage. Her heart had first been haunted by the desire for a child of her own blood in the human manner and then again by Didyme's death. There had been a few centuries in between then and now when he had thought her to be happy, but then she had been darkened again when she was harmed maliciously by those who were supposed to protect her.

"What is the right choice?" he asked of no one as he turned to look at an ancient painting hung on the wall. "Oh my friend, were you still with me, it is your counsel I would be seeking. I have not seen nor heard from you since you left Volterra all those centuries ago. Dearest Carlisle, are you even still among us?"


	31. Chapter 29

Chapter 29

Angela bit her lip as she looked out the window of the car. Edward had wanted to drive her to school this morning, their first day of the senior year. He knew that she was perfectly capable of driving herself, her own car sitting in the Cullen garage, but she knew that his driving them was as much for her as it was for him. Her last day of school had ended in her kidnapping and he needed to know that she was safe. For Angela, she felt her breath catch in her throat, her eyes growing wider the closer they got to the school. She had thought she would be fine, but now as they pulled into the school's parking lot, she was glad that he had driven her.

"You'll be fine," Edward assured her as he reached out and took her hand. "It'll be alright, Sweetheart. I arranged your schedule so that you'll always be in class with either me, Alice or Bella. You won't be alone."

She nodded without looking at him, she couldn't look at him. The school seemed impossibly large, somehow menacing and when he parked his car she felt her heart start to race. She was fine; there was nothing to be afraid of. The attack happened because of a person, not a place. Her right hand, hidden between her leg and the door, clenched into a tight fist as she tried to control her reaction to the school.

"Don't do that," Edward reprimanded gently, drawing her attention.

"What?" she asked, her voice breathless and startled.

"Don't tell yourself not to be afraid. You have every right to be afraid. Alice and I will be here with you, so will Bella," he promised her and Angela jumped when Alice touched her shoulder from where she sat behind them in the backseat.

"It's ok, sweetie," Alice promised her.

"Where's Jasper?" she asked as she looked around for her blond brother.

"He graduated last year," Alice reminded her gently. "But don't worry, he'll be here to pick you up this afternoon…It will be alright," Alice said when Angela's breathing picked up speed again.

_She's terrified, Edward,_ Alice told him as they stepped out of the car.

"I know, but there's not a lot we can do," he answered her, his voice too low for Angela to hear.

"Angela," Alice's face suddenly brightened. "Go, over there," she pointed the girl to the tree line. "Trust me, it's a good thing."

Angela nodded silently and did as directed. She almost dropped her bag when she caught sight of Jasper, her hand tightening around the strap as she jogged toward him. She let it fall once she stopped in front of him and he wrapped her in his arms tightly. He shushed her gently, promising her that she was safe before he stepped back and took her right wrist. Her brow furrowed in confusion as she watched him wrap something around her wrist, his hands hiding whatever it was as he fastened it closed.

"I'll come for that this afternoon," he promised her and she looked down to see his leather wrist cuff with the Cullen crest attached to her arm. "Go on, you don't want to be late for class," he said and kissed her forehead.

He watched her turn around, her body freezing in place when she looked at the school. Focusing on her, he infused ribbons of calm and contentment to her. He wouldn't make her feel safe, that was something she would have to decide on her own, but he could at least make her calm. She turned back to him, nodding once as she offered him a grateful smile before she stepped back through the parking lot and smiled at the sight of her friends: Mike, Jessica, Eric and Ben standing by Tyler's van though the boy was nowhere in sight.

Tucking her hair nervously behind her ear, she frowned at the almost dark look on Jessica's face. Why didn't her friend seem happy to see her? She hadn't avoided Jessica, or at least she didn't think she had. Biting her lip as she stepped up to them, Eric was the only one to greet her, Jessica turning and walking away while Mike followed and Ben just stood silently by. She stopped, feeling unable to move forward and turned to Eric for an explanation.

"Eric?" Angela questioned him, the uncertainty heavy in her soft voice.

"She'll get over it," Eric said with a smile that she could tell was faked.

"Oh, hey Angela," Tyler greeted as he stepped around his van. "So is it true?"

"Is what true?" she asked and looked around for Edward, finding him standing just off to the side with Bella tucked under his arm and Alice resting a restraining hand on his shoulder.

"Rumor has it that Mr. Clemmons got fired because you and he were…well…you know," he stumbled over the words and Angela felt her fear return.

"He tried to kidnap me, Tyler," she said tightly, her voice trembling. "If you don't believe me just ask Chief Swan."

"Kidnap you?" Eric questioned her. "Why would he try to kidnap you?"

"I really don't want to talk about this," she said shaking her head as she stepped away.

She turned her head, searching for Edward again only to find that he was missing from where he had last stood. Her breathing increased until she looked to her left and found him standing off to the side, his hand held out to her. Her steps were quick, an almost jog, as she moved to join him and took his hand with a tight grip. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders when she was close enough, kissing her temple as he walked with her up the stone stairs, Bella holding his other hand. He took her to her first period class, offering her an encouraging smile and nodding for her to go in.

Alice was already seated inside, the pixie-like vampire nodding to the desk next to her. Angela breathed a sigh of relief as she stepped over to where Alice sat and took the desk next to her. Today was not going to be easy, she thought as she glanced at her vampire sister and tried to offer her a smile. The expression didn't reach her eyes, the chocolate depths still filled with fear and uncertainty. Rubbing her fingertips over the borrowed crest she wore on her wrist, Angela told herself that she was fine. She was safe, nothing would happen to her.

Alice reached across the aisle between them and took Angela's hand as the girl closed her eyes. Her warm fingers closed around Alice's hand tightly as she took in a deep breath and tried to search for something that would make her feel safe. The sound of the teacher's voice faded away, Alice's ice cold hand still held tightly in her own as the familiar room appeared around her. She smiled at the sight of the books, breathed in deeply the scent of ink and the ocean breeze from outside. She smiled when she saw Marcus standing by the window with his back turned to her and moved to go to him only to feel her hand shaken somewhat roughly, the action pulling her instantly from her dream sanctuary.

"What was that?" Alice fairly hissed at her and Angela shook her head as she looked at her with wide eyes. "We'll talk about it later," she said, releasing Angela's hand as the teacher began his lecture.

Propping her elbows on her desk and folding her hands together, Angela rested her cheek against the back of her right hand and touched her nose to Jasper's wrist cuff. She breathed in deeply of his scent, letting the sweetness comfort her as she listened to the lecture. It was almost like having him there with her, almost.

**:::::**

"Don't tell me you lost your crest, too?" Carlisle said as he studied Jasper and smiled when the southern vampire chuckled.

"No," he smiled as he stepped into his adopted father's open office. "I could feel Angela's upset. I met her outside the school a few minutes ago; she's wearing it for the day. I wanted her to feel safe."

Carlisle smiled and nodded, he could certainly understand that. He almost hated that he had to send Angela back to that school. As an educational institution, there was nothing wrong with it, but as the place where Angela had been attacked and abducted it made him nervous and edgy. He felt the sensation of calming warmth flood through him and smiled at Jasper as he looked down at his computer.

"There is something that I need to talk to you all about," Carlisle said as he looked up from his laptop. "I want to tell you first so that you'll be more prepared to help me with Angela."

"The trip to New York you're planning for this weekend?" Jasper asked and raised an eyebrow at the curiosity and surprise he felt coming from Carlisle. "Alice. You can't hide anything from her."

He nodded with a soft laugh. "Yes, the doctor there finally contacted me again. He has a patient that has a very similar medical history to Angela's. He has invited me to come to New York so that I may gain a better understanding of her condition. The problem is, I don't know how long I'll be there. It could be a few days or…"

"It could be a few months," Jasper finished for him. "More like five. Alice said she didn't see you and Esme returning before the end of January."

"That long?" Carlisle asked with wide eyes. "I don't like being away from her, but I need the answers this doctor and his study are sure to have."

"We'll take care of her," Jasper said with a chuckle. "Emmett and Rosalie are at that place in the mall, the one that she and Alice had those bears made for Angela's birthday. They're getting a couple more made."

"Me and Esme?" he asked with an amused grin.

Jasper nodded and chuckled. "She's having more good days," Jasper said in reference to Angela's migraines. "But when she does have a migraine, the pain is…it's almost unbearable and it lasts longer than before. I don't know how she stands it," he said as he looked at Carlisle.

"Neither do I," Carlisle sighed with displeasure. "If it weren't for the fact that her disappearance would be highly suspect, I wouldn't be waiting for graduation to change her. Her migraines are debilitating at best, pure torture at worst. That's why I'm going to New York; I need to understand how it is that these patients die from the migraines. Is it one migraine that's too severe for their systems to handle, or is it the cumulative effect of all the migraines over time? Without these answers, I feel blind."

"Just make sure you remember to call her while you're gone," Jasper reminded him. "She'll be upset if you don't."

"She is her Papa's girl," Esme said with a soft chuckle as she stepped into the room. "I just got off the phone with Janine. The house we own in Manhattan will be ready for us when we arrive. She's going to clean it today and make certain that the utilities are functioning."

"That's wonderful, thank you. I have the flight booked, we'll be leaving just after sunset here and should arrive well before dawn," Carlisle informed her. "I've made arrangements with the doctor; let him know that I may not always be able to be present at the hospital. He's willing to allow me to interview the patients and he does work at a teaching hospital so I will be able to look at their medical records. He's willing to share whatever information he has that will help me with Angela."

"I don't like leaving her," Esme said, her face taking on a serious and somber expression.

"Neither do I, but it is the only way."

**:::::**

"Hey, Angela, welcome back," Eric greeted her when she stepped into the high school's newspaper office.

She returned his greeting, her brow furrowed in confusion. He hadn't spoken to her since the parking lot this morning yet she shared three of her classes with him. Frowning at the white box placed in front of her, she shook her head in silent question.

"It arrived for you last week," the teacher in charge of the newspaper told her. "I was told it was perishable, so it's been in the fridge in here ever since."

"What is it?" Angela asked as she looked at the box and tried to determine its origins.

"Late birthday present is what I was told," Mr. Buckley told her. "At least that's what the courier said. He didn't have a name or return address or anything like that, just said that it was for you."

"Aren't you going to open it?" Eric asked her curiously when she continued to stare at the box.

"Not here," Angela said warily. "I'd rather open it at home. Mr. Buckley, did you have a focus for the first paper of the year, or was that something you wanted us to work out?"

"Actually, that's something I'm going to be leaving up to you, Angela. Think on it this week, by Friday, I want your ideas as to what you think the focus for the first edition should be and why."

Angela nodded to him, not surprised when he dismissed her and Eric a few moments later. The first newspaper meeting of the new school year was never more than a few minutes long. Just enough time to welcome people back and introduce the idea for the first edition paper. Making certain that her backpack was together, she hefted the bag onto her shoulder along with her purse and picked up the box. Waving goodbye to the teacher, she reached for the door and opened it.

While she was curious as to what was in the box, she was also a bit afraid of it. It wasn't shipped; her teacher had told her that it was sent by courier, which meant that it could come from anywhere and didn't require a postmark. She doubted that her parents had sent her anything; they'd never given her a gift before. She didn't think it would be something from Michael, he would've just sent it to her home at the Cullen manor. The only possibility left that she could think of was one that she didn't even want to consider.

She knew the moment that Edward had read her thoughts regarding the box she held, his brows furrowing in concern while his jaw tightened. He was worried about the same thing. Who was it from and why wasn't there a return address. Looking back down the hall when Mr. Buckley called her name, she waited while he came jogging up to her, a square envelope in his hand.

"This was on top of the box," he told her as he handed her the white envelope. "It must have fallen off."

"Thanks," she said took it from him.

_Can we wait till we get home?_ She asked him, meeting his dark hazel gaze, her lip caught between her teeth. _I don't want to open this here._

"Of course," he assured her gently and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "Alice is already home and Bella drove her truck today," he told her as they walked to the front doors of the school.

It was possible, Angela thought as she stared down at the box, that she could be overreacting. What if it really was just an innocent gift? She looked up when Edward squeezed her shoulders, tried to smile when he kissed her hair, but she couldn't hide her fear. He led her out to his car and Angela felt her fear dissipate as a peaceful calm settled over her. Her expression brightened, her eyes scanning the lot as she looked for the person she knew was there.

Edward chuckled, "He's waiting for us by the car," he told her.

Edward smiled as he donned his sunglasses. He knew that she wanted to hand him her things and run to Jasper, but he also knew that she wouldn't. Angela wasn't the kind of person to ask someone else to carry anything for her, even if it was only for a few moments. She also wouldn't leave him to run to someone else for worry that he would think she was telling him she liked the other person better. He knew better than anyone how her mind worked. She was selfless, kind, and so trusting. Her heart was open to those around her, the light she held within her spirit drawing everyone to her and just like a sun, people would orbit around her though she was blind to this fact.

He dropped his arm from around her shoulders when they came closer to his Volvo. He chuckled as he watched her skip ahead to hug Jasper, his brother leaning against the hood of the car. He could feel the warmth and love that Angela felt, his brow quirking when he felt the gratitude and acceptance. The last two emotions, he realized, were Jasper's. Whereas the rest of his family always knew that he struggled with his control, his thirst for human blood, Angela never doubted him. She trusted him, believed in him wholeheartedly, something Edward couldn't say that anyone else did. They all trusted Jasper, yes, that much was true. But they all knew he struggled as well and would watch him carefully at times, Angela never did that.

"What's in the box?" Jasper asked and felt Angela's fear and uncertainty resurface. "Edward?" he turned his eyes on his brother.

"We don't know," Edward told him, his voice kept below the range of human hearing. "It just appeared at the school for her."

"Let's get you home," Jasper told her with a smile. "Edward still has to figure out a way to convince Bella to come over for her party tomorrow night."

Edward simply shook his head and rolled his eyes as he ushered them into the car.

**:::::**

Jasper's lips twisted up in a lopsided grin as he stood from the couch and moved into the kitchen. Hunger was something he felt as easily as any other emotion simply because it was an emotion, or at least part of one. Removing one of the green apples from the large bowl of fruit on the counter, he set it on the cutting board and turned to the fridge. He took two handfuls of the fresh strawberries and set them next to the apple before he gathered a knife and a small bowl. In the beginning, he had disregarded the feeling of Angela's hunger until he learned that she wouldn't ask for food. He felt his family's thirst just as easily.

Slicing the apple into quarters, he cut away the cores and sliced each section smaller until he had made the four sections into sixteen. Placing the apple into the bowl, he took up the strawberries. It had always been difficult to find a balance between the hunger he felt from his family members and his own, it tested his strength every moment, but through helping Angela with her migraines he had been forced to hunt more frequently. While his hunger remained continuously satiated, the hunger he felt from the rest of his family would still test him at moments, especially when the others went too long between feeding.

He had grown used to Bella's scent, he thought as he smirked and removed the canister of whipped cream from the fridge. Shaking the tin bottle, he removed the plastic cap and sprayed the sweet white fluff onto the top of the bowl of fruit, not a lot, but just enough to be a bit of a treat. He was able to be closer to Bella and her tantalizing scent, but it wasn't without difficulty. At least once a day, he would disappear for an hour or so, just long enough to be free of the emotions of everyone else for awhile and catch a rabbit for himself. The small amount of blood was little more than a snack, but it offered him the ability to help Angela more as well as greater control, something that was being tested again.

His family hadn't hunted in almost a week, and while normally that wouldn't be an issue for him, it was the pull of Bella's blood on Edward that he felt the most. The thirst for blood was something that he couldn't block out, no matter how much he tried to. He had an entire box of meditation CDs and books in the room he shared with Alice. He had tried that after Edward had first brought Bella home, but the techniques proved useless. Lifting the bowl into his hands, he stepped out into the living room and handed the bowl to Angela while kissing the top of her head.

Angela looked up with a curious expression and he could feel her desire to ask the question that he was certain was burning in her mind. After all, this wasn't the first time he had brought her food without her having asked for it before and she had been living with them for almost six months now. He heard the front door open and took in a deep breath, smelling Bella's scent fill the air as she walked into the house. Her heartbeat grew closer as she came toward them, but he was surprised that Edward wasn't with her.

"How do you always know?" Angela asked after dipping a strawberry slice into her whipped cream. "Is it Alice?"

"No," he chuckled as he watched Angela nibble on an apple slice. "Hunger is an emotion; I feel it as clearly as anything else."

"If you feel my hunger," she said, glancing up as Bella stepped into the room "Do you feel theirs too?" she asked in reference to his family.

"Yes," he answered simply.

"Wow, Jasper," Bella looked at him with wide eyes as she moved to the couch and sat next to Angela. "You've got have the greatest control among them then."

"What do you mean?" he asked as he sat down on the edge of the coffee table when it became clear that this wouldn't be a short chat but a full conversation instead.

"Well, look at you," Bella said with amazement. "You haven't been on an animal diet that long, but you feel all of their hunger plus your own. That's got to be hard. You must feel thirsty all the time."

"I'd hardly say that I have the greatest control," Jasper denied her compliment as he looked down at his hands.

His fight against the pull of human blood was a constant struggle, especially Bella's blood. It called to Edward like a siren's song and while his brother had learned to resist her blood, Jasper himself was still struggling constantly against it. Though Edward had learned control, that didn't make the pull of the girl's blood any less powerful, nor did it make the scent of her blood any less sweet. It was a constant struggle for Jasper and there were times when he felt as though he had no control at all.

"Jasper," Bella reached out and took his hand. "Look at you right now," she said as she kept her grip tight so he wouldn't pull away. "The others aren't here right now, except for Carlisle and Esme, but you don't seem to be in pain around me. When the others are here though, you seem…tense."

He narrowed his eyes in confusion as he tried to puzzle together what she was saying. Control over the pull of human blood was something that he struggled with daily on a near moment-by-moment basis. Angela was easier to be around, the hypnotic pull of her emotions was far stronger to him than the scent of her blood, but resisting his thirst was still a struggle. Looking up at Bella, he met her gaze and gave a slight nod, the question written on his face.

"I trust you, Jasper," she said sincerely, able to feel Angela watching them curiously though she never took her eyes off the southern gentleman in front of her.

He took her hand that he held between both of his, turning it over to expose the inside of her wrist to him. He could feel Carlisle's curiosity, his caution as well as the man stepped into the room from his office. He raised Bella's wrist slowly, her scent stronger the closer he lifted her arm to his face. He closed his eyes, knowing that he was tempting fate rather dangerously, and took in a deep breath. Although he felt his venom pool in his mouth, he felt tempered, controlled. Her blood called to him yes, but he had the power to resist her. He pressed his lips against the soft, delicate skin of her wrist, felt the blood pumping through her veins and breathed in once more.

Jasper let Bella's wrist drop slowly as he lowered his hands to his lap. She had been close enough to bite, close enough that he felt her pulse against his lips, but he was able to resist her. He looked back at Carlisle over his shoulder, confusion furrowing his brows at the pride he felt emanating from the man in direction to him. Carlisle was proud of him? For what? He nodded to Bella once before standing from the coffee table and ruffling Angela's hair as he stepped away from the living room. He needed to leave for a little bit, wanted to catch at least an adolescent deer before he did something more reckless than what he had just done with Bella and tested his control even further.

"Edward called," Carlisle said as Jasper stepped toward him. "Chief Swan received a bit of information that he wanted to share with Emmett before Bella's party tomorrow night, they should be home soon. Rosalie and Alice are picking up the new bears from the mall."

Jasper nodded quietly as he placed his hand on the doorknob. "I should only be an hour."

"Jasper," Carlisle spoke his name and nodded to his newest adopted son.

"I'm tempting fate. Whether or not she has the faith in me that she does, I shouldn't have taken that risk. I'll be back," he said as he disappeared out of the door.

Carlisle sighed softly. He was proud of the control Jasper had shown with his actions. He had never known that his son felt their hunger; it certainly explained why he seemed more restless when they all went so long without hunting. Though he wished that Jasper had revealed this information to him before, he understood that his newest son still felt a measure of shame for his lack of control. But it wasn't just his own hunger Jasper was fighting against, it was his entire family's, he couldn't imagine how stressful that must be for him. He looked back at the door as Edward stepped through with Alice and Rosalie close behind him. Meeting his eyes, he shared with his telepathic son what he had witnessed between Jasper and Bella as well as the new information learned.

"Everyone's?" Edward asked with wide disbelieving eyes. "He feels everyone's hunger?"

"Yes," Carlisle nodded once.

"Has Angela opened her box yet?" Edward asked his father only to read confusion from the man's thoughts. "I'll take that as a no," he said and explained the box she had been given at school.

"She put it in the fridge," Alice said as returned from Carlisle's office. "I set the bears on your desk for you. You can give them to Angela when you have your talk with her. I don't think she's made a decision about whether to open it yet or not. I keep focusing on the box in my visions instead of her, but I can't see anything yet."

**:::::**

Angela carried her empty bowl into the kitchen; her steps slow as she eyed the stainless steel fridge warily. Moving to the sink and turning on the water, she rinsed the fruit juices and bits of whipped cream from the bowl before applying soap and washing the dish carefully. Drying the bowl slowly, her bottom lip caught tightly between her teeth, she stared at the appliance that held the box she had been given. She was conflicted, at once both curious as to what was inside and unwilling to open it for fear that it would be from her attacker. Her curiosity was nagging at her, even as something within her told her not to open it. Taking a deep steadying breath as she tucked the bowl away into the cupboard, Angela moved to the fridge and carefully removed the box from inside.

_Don't be a coward_, she told herself as she lifted the envelope from on top and slowly opened it. There was a flat heavy card inside and when she pulled it out, she found it to be a postcard. She studied the glossy picture, trying to determine where the mountains in the photograph were from. Her parents always sent her postcards, never inside of envelopes though and she turned the card over, her eyes growing wide as she froze in place when she read the words.

::

_Everything that is to happen is because of your actions, Angela._

_Know that you have no one to blame but yourself for what is to come._

::

Her hands shook as she reached out for the box and undid the ribbon and tape holding it closed. Even as her mind screamed at her not to open it, she felt as though she had to know what was inside. At first she only saw a DVD, her brow furrowing as she picked it up and lifted it from the box to set it on the counter. Turning her attention back to the contents of the box, she sifted through the paper threads until her hand found something malleable that was wrapped in plastic. Lifting her hand out of the box, she studied the red object wrapped in plastic as she tried to determine what it was.

Her eyes widened, her fingers flexing as she dropped the object back into the box as though it had burned her. A heart. He had sent her a heart, a real human heart. She felt frozen, unable to move as all thoughts in her mind ceased while her migraine screamed to life inside her brain. She was deaf to the sound of the growls filling the room from Emmett and Edward, her family having come at her silent call for protection. The back door opened behind her, Jasper appearing at her side in a blur of motion as he studied her face before wrapping her in his arms.

Carlisle clenched his jaw, grinding his teeth together as he stepped up to the box and looked inside. Wrapped in shrink form plastic were a set of human eyes and a human heart. This man had killed someone, a child he surmised from the size of the heart, and sent the pieces of his kill to Angela. He didn't need Jasper's talent to feel the rage in the room, the emotion was palpable, the collective desire of his family to hunt this man down was no longer anywhere near the ability to be controlled.

"Emmett, after Bella's party tomorrow night I want you and Rosalie to follow whatever lead Charlie has been made privy to. Find this man, stop him," Carlisle issued the order to his son. "Don't kill him unless it comes to that, but make certain that he is…taken to the proper authorities."

Emmett nodded silently as Rosalie snarled darkly. He knew she disagreed with Carlisle's order not to kill this man, but he also knew that she would follow his word. That Carlisle had issued the order at all had taken a great deal difficulty on his father's part and he knew that. The blond doctor was never one to issue a hunt, in fact through all of the threats made to their family, the threats made against first Bella and then Angela were the only ones to drive him to the madness of a fight. The words Carlisle had spoken to him after the end of his newborn year came back to Emmett as though they were being spoken again: _The only thing that I will ever ask of you, Emmett, is that you protect your family. _

"I've called Charlie," Esme said as she glanced back at Bella, the girl hidden behind her family as they tried to shield her from the gruesome sight. "He should be here soon."

Carlisle nodded silently as he repacked the box. He didn't worry about touching the objects, because of what they were; his family didn't have any oils in their skin which meant that they left no fingerprints behind. Closing the box after reading the card, he braced his hands on the counter and fought hard to reign in his normally infallible temper. Standing up straight, he turned and looked at Jasper before he looked at Angela. Her face was buried in her brother's shoulder, her arms folded against his chest as she clutched his shirt in her hands.

He wanted this over, Carlisle thought as he looked around the room. He wanted this man caught and held accountable for what he had done to Angela and everyone else. If he were a different person, if he didn't have the control that he did and the compassion he was blessed with that helped him to stay calm, he may not have simply asked Emmett to capture the man. He may have issued a kill order. He watched Edward shake his head, the motion almost unseen.

"You're not that kind of person," he told Carlisle emphatically. "Jasper and even I are, and to some extent so is Rosalie, but you're not and for that I'm grateful."

Carlisle nodded silently. He picked up the box from the counter and walked back through the house when he heard the sound of Charlie's cruiser coming up the lane. He didn't want Angela to have to go through another interrogation by the FBI agents, gentle though the woman was, one time was enough. He met Charlie outside, Emmett and Edward following beside him. Edward told Charlie how the box had come to be in Angela's possession and Carlisle told Charlie that he had been the one to open it when Angela had confessed her discomfort over the odd appearance of the box.

"I didn't want her to see what was inside," he lied to Charlie. "I had Esme call you as soon as we saw the contents."

"I can understand that," Charlie said with stiff nod. "I thought Angela's torment was over," he said with a shake of his head. "This guy's trail was found up near Soothe, British Columbia. As bad as it to say, I thought he moved on to someone else."

"He did," Carlisle said, his normally steady tone dark. "There is a child's heart and eyes in that box."

"Dr. Cullen," Charlie clenched his jaw, his nervousness showing. "I hate to ask this of you, your family has already been so wonderful," he began hesitantly. "But I need to get it to the FBI crime lab and do what I can to get in touch with the agents working this case. I don't know when I'll be home tonight and although she's doing a lot better, I don't want Bella to be alone."

"Worry nothing of it, Charlie," Carlisle assured him. "I wouldn't feel comfortable with her being alone either. She is always welcome here."

"Thank you," he said before stepping back to his cruiser and climbing into the car.

"Soothe, British Columbia," Emmett said with a nod as the police chief drove away. "It at least gives Rosie and I a place to start. We'll find him," he promised Carlisle with a dark scowl.

**:::::**

Marcus paced restlessly in his suite as he waited for this new cruise ship to leave the Port of Cadiz in Spain. This trip was set to take him as far as the Bahamas. He would have to be careful not to exit his cabin at all during the day once they arrived at the islands. He would also have to spend time in the city they docked at, at least two weeks according to the travel arrangements that he had made, before the next cruise ship came. The ship departing the Bahamas would take him to Alaska, but only after a month's time.

He hadn't seen Angela since that night when he had listened to her stories of abuse. He had done what he could to try and contact her, but his letters continued to go unanswered. He could only assume that she was unable to reach him for one reason or another, but still her absence unsettled him. He needed to see her, needed to hold her and be certain that she was safe. He wanted to hear her voice, see her eyes light up as they did whenever he told her about the times he had lived through.

Looking down at his cell phone, he saw the icon at the top that told him he had a voicemail. He tossed the device on the bed with a sigh. He wouldn't be able to check his messages at all for a long while; his phone received no signal on these ships. Brow furrowing as he remembered bits of information that he had only half listened to when he boarded, Marcus moved to the phone by the bed and picked up the receiver.

"Buenos Noches," a woman greeted him happily.

"Good evening," he spoke in smooth Spanish, his dialect formal and cultured. "I remember being told that I could purchase a phone that would be able to make calls while at sea."

"Of course, of course," she said and he could hear the woman typing. "Do you wish to have a satellite phone that you can call from anywhere, or a cell phone that uses the ship's private tower?"

"Would the satellite phone be mine to keep or would I have to return it at the end of the voyage?" he asked as he considered the options.

"Yours to keep, senor," she answered easily. "If you have used a satellite phone before, I could have one delivered to your room, if not I recommend that you come to the desk so that we may give you proper instruction on how to operate it."

"I will be down shortly," he promised.

"The name to reserve it?"

"Marcus Volturi," he answered.

He replaced the receiver and took two stacks of cash in hand. The Euros equaled ten thousand dollars, and although he was fairly certain that no phone could cost quite that much, he preferred to be prepared. Exiting the room, he looked around him finding nothing but shadows and artificial light. Night was upon them and for once he didn't have to worry about anyone seeing his skin. He moved through the ship easily, his steps graceful and smooth. It was nearly an hour later that he finally returned to his cabin with the newly activated satellite phone in hand. Dialing the number for his voicemail box as he stood in front of the window, he almost laughed at the message Aro had left him.

"_Caius is getting on my last nerve. How is it that I didn't feel as annoyed by him when you were present? I have consulted Felix as you have recommended, but he has asked for proper time to consider this matter before supplying me with an answer. My mind keeps taking me back to those days in the end of the eighteenth century. I miss him, Marcus. His mind was the only one that I ever felt invasive entering. Even when I touched him, I would block my talent, I wanted to hear his words, not see his thoughts. I find myself longing for his counsel once more, needing to hear his voice as he speaks his thoughts. Do you think it is even possible that he is still alive? He always seemed too gentle for this life."_

Marcus deleted the message from his inbox with a sigh and a gentle twist of his lips. Aro often used him as a confidant. He was someone that Aro could speak his thoughts to and not worry about rumors being spread around or the information being placed in the wrong hands. Neither of them needed to hear the name spoken to know who it was Aro was referring to; there was only one vampire that had ever remained so heavy in the ancient man's thoughts. The one vampire that held no powers at all, but somehow still seemed to frighten Caius with his gentleness and compassion.

Dialing Aro's personal cell number into the phone, Marcus waited for him to answer as he stared out at the open ocean. So caught in his thoughts was he, that Aro's voice didn't penetrate his mind until the man was ready to disconnect the call. He spoke his name quickly, uttering a soft apology for his distraction and asked that Aro hold while he looked up the actual number to his new phone.

"You wanted to be rid of all ties to us, brother?" Aro asked with guarded uncertainty after Marcus had supplied him the new number.

"Not at all, Aro. My phone doesn't work where I am, this is a satellite phone, I have been assured that it will work anywhere," Marcus assured him gently and heard Aro gasp. "What?"

"Your voice is different," he said slowly. "You sound almost…alive. What has changed?"

"Something that I do not fully understand yet myself, brother. Did you find the book I spoke of when last we talked?"

"Yes," Aro said, his voice nearly silent and Marcus swore he could almost hear Aro rubbing his forehead. "I never wanted you to find out that way."

"Be reasonable," he said his voice taking on a harder edge. "You never wanted me to find out at all. All we wanted was a life outside of the Volturi. I may never fully forgive you for this transgression, but we have been together too long for me to turn away from you because of it. I am not petty or malicious like Caius."

"No," Aro said with sad amusement. "No, you are much more like _him_," he said with affection. "You are compassionate, mature, and wise. Though you have been in your own purgatory for so long, I worried that I would never see those traits from you again."

"As I recall, you never fully valued those traits. At least not in me," Marcus told him, his voice even and emotionless. "You valued them in your _Stregoni Benefici_," he said with a sigh. "The relationship you two held was quite…complicated. I often feared what would happen when he left Volterra."

"It was not without difficult that I said my goodbyes to him that night so long ago," Aro said with a sigh. "Where are you, brother? What are those sounds?"

"I am on a…cruise," Marcus answered, unable to keep the humor out of his voice.

"A cruise?" Aro repeated and Marcus could see the man's face in his mind, the expression a mix of disbelief and intrigued humor. "Will you tell me your final destination?"

"Not yet, I do still need time to myself," Marcus said. "But I do offer you this bit of advice: watch Caius carefully. He remains loyal to the Volturi, but he is always plotting. I do not believe that he has ever been satisfied in his position."

"I will," Aro said, the sound of computer beeping carrying over the line. "I must go, brother. Enjoy your cruise."

Marcus disconnected the call and set the larger phone down on the desk. His attention returned to the dark water beyond his window.

"Where are you, Angela?" he asked aloud though he knew he would receive no answer. "Are you safe?"

**:::::**

"Alice?" Angela stood in the open doorway of her sister's bedroom, her lip caught between her teeth as she looked for the girl in question.

"Behind you," Alice giggled before her expression grew concerned. "Are you alright?"

Angela nodded quietly as she looked down, her brow furrowing as she tried to think of how best to voice the question that continued to turn in her mind. Following Alice to her bed and smiling when she bid her to sit down as she gathered her hairbrush, Angela let herself relax into the feel of Alice running her hands through her hair as she removed the clips holding it back from her face.

"You know it's so hard," Alice mused aloud as she began at the tips of Angela's long dark hair, brushing out the few tangles made during the day. "I'm so used to knowing what people are going to ask me or what decisions that they are going to make, but with you I'm almost blind. I hope it doesn't stay that way once you're one of us."

"Sometimes…sometimes it's hard to be confident that I will be one of you," Angela confessed her fears softly. "I know that what I have here is so much different, but I'm so used to…to not being wanted that sometimes it's hard to believe that I am."

"You are wanted," Alice told her, her soft voice full of emotion. "We want you with us very much. You are part of this family and you always will be," she promised as she brushed Angela's hair in long slow strokes. "There's been something you've wanted to ask me all day," she observed as she tipped Angela's head back slightly to reach the roots as she dragged the brush gently through her dark chocolate masses.

"Do you remember in class this morning," she began slowly. "When were holding hands? You were…upset by something. What upset you?" she asked slowly.

Alice sighed softly behind her and set the brush aside as she reached for the comb next to her. Gathering a portion of Angela's hair in her hands, she began to gently fold it into a loose French braid. She knew what Angela was talking about, but wasn't certain if it was a vision of hers or something that she had seen from Angela's mind. Ever since her attack, Angela had been working harder at trying to project to Alice and it didn't escape the vampire's notice that every time she was able to successfully call someone to her, or project what she saw to her that Angela's migraines would also occur.

"I saw something," Alice told her slowly. "I don't know what it means, but I saw you standing in a room. The floors were red, somewhere between a wine color and crimson. There were floor pillows and a couch that seemed to be from the late eighteenth or early nineteenth century, possibly younger."

"There were books lining the walls," Angela interrupted, a smile clear in her voice as she finished describing the room, "a desk in one corner and a window at the end. There was a man standing with his back turned, he had long dark hair. You saw my…my sanctuary. I go there sometimes, I used to dream about it a lot, but the Toradol kind of makes it difficult to – what?" she asked when Alice appeared in front of her and grasped her shoulders.

"You've been there before?" she asked her, her dark hazel eyes searching Angela's for an answer. "You've seen that man before?"

"Yes," Angela answered, nervous at Alice's change in demeanor. "He's my friend. I don't know if he's more than a dream, but whenever I go there, we talk. Alice? Alice what's wrong?"

"Come with me," Alice said, taking her hand and dragging her off the bed.

Carlisle looked up from his desk to see Alice leading Angela into his office, the girl's hand clasped tightly in hers as she ignored him completely and led her to a painting on the wall. It was his memoir of his time with the Volturi, the painting showing him, Aro, Marcus and Caius standing on a balcony together. His brow furrowed as he watched Alice place her hands on Angela's arms and move the girl to stand in front of the painting.

"Does he look familiar to you?" Alice demanded of her and Carlisle stood from his desk when he saw Alice pointing to Marcus.

"That's my friend," he heard Angela answer and felt his eyes flare wide when she reached out her hand to almost touch the man's face. "We talk, or we did. He's nice, Alice, I don't understand why you're so upset."

"Angela," Carlisle stepped up behind them, casting Alice a silencing stare as he held his hand out to his human daughter. "How do you know Marcus?" he asked her as he led her to the couch and sat down beside her.

"I don't…I don't really know," she said, biting her lip and shrugging her shoulders. "He just…he appeared to me, in my dreams. It was always the same place. He would talk with me. I always thought he was a dream."

"When did you first see him?" he asked her as he tried his best to soothe away her nervousness that Alice's actions and tone of voice had inspired.

"In Seattle," she told him and blushed slightly. "Do you remember when Uncle Mer…Eleazar," she corrected herself, "told me about his friend from Greece?" Carlisle nodded and she continued. "The first time I saw him was that night," she told him and described her first meeting with Marcus to him. "He's always been really gentle and kind of sweet, like all of you."

"Marcus is from a very old family," Carlisle told her as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and tucked her into his side as he sat back against the couch. "They are called the Volturi."

He took his time, keeping his voice gentle as he explained to her who the Volturi were and what purpose they served. He told her of his time spent with them in the late eighteenth century and his friend Aro. He listened intently as she described her dreams to him, what actions she had taken with Marcus and what they spoke of. Carlisle sighed and looked up to the ceiling, unable to stifle the soft chuckle that spoke of his amusement. She promised him that she hadn't told Marcus anything about them, or that she was living with vampires at all.

"It's not my story to tell," she promised Carlisle. "Besides, he always seemed so sad. I thought if he told me why he was sad then maybe he wouldn't hurt so much anymore."

Carlisle kissed her temple and rested his cheek on her hair. Out of all of his family, Angela would be the one to meet Marcus, he mused silently. She would heal the ancient man without ever knowing she was doing so and without ever thinking to ask anything in return. He met Edward's eyes, his son's jaw tight with concern while his eyes were filled with uncertainty. Keeping his voice too low for Angela to hear, he asked what was troubling his son.

"Alice's visions," Edward said, keeping his voice low as well. "She hasn't been able to make sense of the pieces before now, but with this new information from Angela…Marcus is coming here. She doesn't know when and she doesn't know how, but she does know that he will end up here in Forks."

_We must not jump to any conclusions, Edward. If we try too hard to protect her from him then it will appear as though we are preparing for battle. When he comes, we will take all the caution necessary. I'll talk with him myself; see why it is that he has come to Forks. We will make our plans after that._

Edward nodded and though Carlisle could see the reluctance in his son's face, he knew that Edward would abide his wishes. Bella's birthday party was tomorrow night and he wanted the evening to be perfect for the girl. Kissing Angela's hair and smiling when he found her to have fallen asleep in his arms, Carlisle gathered her up and carried her to her bedroom. Whatever may lie ahead, they would meet it as a family.

**:::::**

_A/N: The next chapter begins the New Moon section of this story._


	32. Chapter 30 New Moon

Chapter 30

(New Moon begins)

Angela shook her head in amusement and bit her lip as she looked at Esme. She was fairly certain that Bella was going to freak when she saw the elaborate way in which Alice had decorated the house for her birthday. It wouldn't surprise her in the least if her friend simply turned around and walked right back out the door once she got a glimpse inside. There was no build up, no fun day out at an amusement park with the boys to warm Bella up for the party. No, there had only been the routine of school followed by the excuse of needing to complete her homework before Edward picked her up for the party. A task that Edward had less than an hour to complete.

Her eyes widened when she saw Alice gather a few bags in her hands before she stepped outside. She couldn't possibly be decorating the outside of the house too. Did she actually want Bella to come inside for the party? Looking over her shoulder when she heard Edward's deep chuckles she made a point to look around the room before turning her wide eyes back on him. He laughed harder, tipping his head back as he stepped across the room toward her and wrapped her in his arms. She returned his embrace easily; taking pleasure in every touch she was given by her family, but still mock scowled at him when he ruffled her hair before moving away.

"Reining Alice in is like trying to rope a tornado," Edward told her with a wink. "It just doesn't happen."

Angela giggled at the comment and shook her head. Moving into the kitchen, she asked Esme if there was anything that she could help with and accepted the stack of clear glass plates with a smile. She followed behind her adopted vampire mother as the woman carried the two-tiered pink frosted cake into the living room and set it on the table. The room was decorated in much the same fashion as it had been for Angela's birthday, but where the colors used for her party had been dark and classically elegant; the colors for Bella were light and airy. It was the subtle use of color that expressed the differences in their personalities, Angela thought as she looked at the fragile and light lengths of champagne and pink cloths that were decorating the stairs and table.

Striking a match on the side of the small box, Angela held the burning stick out to light one of the many candles surrounded by water that the other table held. There were twenty glass bowls on the table, each contained a small off-white, pale pink, or deep red candle and was surrounded by flower petals. It was beautiful, absolutely striking. So captured by her thoughts was Angela, that she didn't notice the fire of the match drawing closer to her fingers, but she felt it when the flame stung against her skin. Gasping with a small squeaking noise, Angela shook her hand to put out the flame before dropping the stick and putting the edge of her burnt finger into her mouth.

"Let me see," Carlisle said with a bit of amusement as he took Angela's hand from her mouth and looked at the edges of reddened flesh by her index finger and thumb. "It doesn't look too bad, just a little singed."

She blushed at her own foolishness, sighing gratefully when Carlisle closed his cool fingers over her burnt skin. His icy touch dulled the pain of the burn instantly, and it was gone completely a moment later.

"Better?" he asked with a knowing grin.

Angela nodded. "I think Alice is going to scare away Bella," she stage-whispered to him when the vampire in question skipped back in the front door.

"I will not, she will love it," Alice assured her with a giggle and a wink. "No one throws a party better than I do."

Carlisle chuckled lightly, shaking his head as he rolled his eyes in amusement. His daughter loved parties, but more than the party, she loved decorating for it. He knew that there was still an hour yet until Bella was due to arrive, his son having left a half hour ago to pick her up from her house. It would take Edward at least that long to convince her to come, and truly only ten minutes to drive her back here. Unless, of course, Edward would be driving Bella's truck, the ancient vehicle could not travel over eighty miles an hour.

"Everything's set up," Alice said excitedly as she clapped her hands and twirled around once.

Biting her lip as she frowned in confusion, Angela looked at Jasper. He was standing at the top landing of the stairs and didn't look to be coming any closer to them. Studying him, Angela tried to beckon him closer with her emotions, calling for him to come closer as only she could. His eyes turned on her and she was surprised to see that his eyes that had been a bright sun gold only a few hours ago were almost brown now. She didn't understand.

Looking around the room she tried to find her answer. Carlisle's eyes, as always were a bright gold, so were Esme's, though her golden eyes were slightly darker, more of a honey tone. Emmett was standing off to the side talking with Rosalie. The couple had been quiet to the point of secretive since she opened the box yesterday and each time they looked at her their expressions became guarded and tense, no matter how they tried to smile for her benefit. Something was wrong. Emmett turned his eyes toward her, his lips lifting up in a lopsided smile and she noticed then that his eyes were almost black and so were Rosalie's.

Thinking back to the conversation that she and Bella had with Jasper yesterday, she realized that while Jasper was continuously hunting and Carlisle always seemed sated and in control, none of the others had left to hunt in close to two weeks. More like three weeks, she told herself as she thought back over the nightmares that both she and Bella had been experiencing. She gasped as her eyes turned back to Jasper. He wasn't the one that was hungry, it was his family that was and he was feeling every bit of it. Biting her lip as she frowned deeply in concentration, Angela began to wonder, if she could project certain things, could she block others?

Closing her eyes, she tried to think of what hunger must feel like and focused on Jasper. If she could gather the feeling of hunger and move it away, could she make him stop feeling it? She opened her eyes when she felt a cool hand cup her cheek and looked up into Jasper's eyes.

"I know what you're trying to do," he told her and kissed her forehead. "It's not working though," he told her with a pained smile. "Believe me; I've tried everything over the years. Nothing blocks out hunger," he told her quietly. "I just have to stay back is all. It'll be alright."

Angela nodded quietly, and Jasper hugged her when he felt the sorrow in her emotions. She was sad that she wasn't able to help him. For everything else that she had discovered she could do, she couldn't do this. He smiled at her before moving back to stand next to the post at the bottom of the stairs. His newest sister was an enigma, a beautiful mystery. She would willing help anyone without any thought to herself, but when someone else found out that she was hurting or in trouble and tried to do the same for her, Angela felt guilty. He would do anything to see her stand with confidence and grace and he knew that his family felt the same.

"She's here!" Alice clapped her hands excitedly and Angela shook her head in question.

Five minutes later Angela heard the sound of Bella's truck rumbling up the drive and laughed softly at Alice's growing excitement. Edward's laughter sounded before he even walked in the door and Angela blushed darkly. The image had only appeared in her mind for a quick second, but she wasn't certain if he was laughing at her mental image of Alice dressed in a Tigger costume or not as his eyes were focused on Bella. She had the same little blue camera in her hand that she had this morning at school and Angela laughed when Alice took the device from her to snap a picture while Carlisle and Esme moved up to hug the girl.

It was clear to everyone that Bella was uncomfortable with the display that Alice had put on and Carlisle even apologized, telling her that they weren't able to rein Alice in. Chuckling at her vampire sister's bouncing steps, Angela moved up to hug Bella and heard the camera shutter snap again.

"If it helps," Angela whispered in Bella's ear, "just imagine Alice dressed in a Tigger costume."

Bella quirked her brows at Angela before turning her eyes on Alice and chuckling with amusement. It didn't take much to see the image and Bella wondered just what Alice would do with the tail. Alice smiled widely, her perfect white teeth sparkling in the candlelight when she saw Bella laughing. Announcing quite happily that she knew Bella would enjoy the party; she didn't understand Edward's growing amusement.

"Here, open this," Alice said as she held a box wrapped in silver paper to Bella as Emmett disappeared out the door.

Angela watched Bella shake the present lightly, her brow furrowing before she carefully pulled back the paper. Her expression grew even more confused as she stared at the box beneath the paper. Angela chuckled softly, knowing that Bella more than likely had absolutely no idea what it was. She watched her friend open the box, knowing already that it was empty inside, and saw her eyes widen in her puzzlement.

"Um…thanks?" she said only for Jasper to laugh.

"It's a radio for your truck, Emmett's installing it right now so that you can't take it back," the southern vampire told her.

"All done," Emmett said as he reappeared inside the house and moved to stand beside Rosalie. "Finally, a decent sound system for that piece of - "

"Don't hate the truck," Bella said, shaking her head as she grinned at Emmett.

"Here," Rosalie held out a thin flat box to Bella. "Alice picked it out."

Bella accepted the shining package with a shy smile as she bit her lip. Rosalie was a lot better toward her recently, but she was still stand off-ish and more than once it intimidated her. Slipping her finger beneath the paper to open it, she hissed when the edge of the paper sliced through the delicate flesh of her finger. Dark red blood immediately rose to the surface, all the vampires in the room hissing except for one…

Jasper snarled, unable to control his reaction to the collective hunger of the vampires around him and the tantalizing scent of Bella's fresh blood. He couldn't stop himself from moving forward, couldn't think beyond the need to taste her blood, to drain her if only to relieve himself of the thirst burning through him with merciless abandon.

Everything happened so quickly even as time itself seemed to slow. Angela saw Bella cut her finger, heard the reaction from the vampires around her and saw Jasper move. She didn't think about anything except getting Jasper to stop. This wasn't his fault; it wasn't his lack of control that caused him to lose control. She had to stop him, but didn't know how and did the only thing she could think of as her migraine screamed to a white-hot burn inside her brain.

Edward and Alice reacted instantaneously. He moved to guard Bella, his arm moving out to throw her back as Alice turned to stare wide-eyed at her husband. He was nearly within arm's reach of Edward when they both watched him fall to the floor as though an impossibly heavy weight had landed on him. He was groaning, gripping his head as he was caught between cries of pain and snarls of hunger. Emmett and Rosalie caught him easily; hauling him outside, but only after realizing that the move Edward had thought about making had already been done.

Bella was on the floor, the table that had been decorated with glass bowls and floating candles left in nothing but shards around her. Her arm was bleeding, glass cut into her skin as Edward was crouched next to her in a guarded position. Angela stared with wide eyes when she realized exactly what it was she had done. She hadn't held him to the ground, she hadn't immobilized Jasper, she thought with horror. She had thrown one of the worst migraines she had ever felt onto him. She had purposefully hurt her brother. Her eyes moved slowly, her brown orbs impossibly wide as she saw the blood covering Bella's arms and heard Alice and Esme apologizing before they fled the house. She had done this. She had hurt her family.

Neither Edward nor Carlisle noticed Angela flee the room, their attention instead focused on Bella. Carlisle was careful as he lifted Bella into his arms and carried her into the kitchen while Edward moved with vampiric speed to collect his father's medical bag.

"How are you doing, Sweetheart?" Carlisle asked Bella as he carefully began extracting the shards of glass from her wound.

"I'm ok," Bella said as she focused on his face instead of what he was doing. "Edward, stop please," she said when he growled softly and moved closer. "Go, ok? I'm fine."

"You're not fine," Edward argued as he looked at her blood.

"Edward," Carlisle spoke his son's name, intervening on Bella's behalf when he sensed her discomfort. "You should go, find Jasper, I'm certain he's upset and you're the only one he would listen to right now. Go," he commanded softly.

"Edward, please," Bella said as she met his eyes. "It's not his fault, please let him know I'm not upset."

Grinding his teeth against the anger of being ganged up on and the desire not to leave Bella's side, he finally nodded once before disappearing from the house. Bella clenched her jaw as she closed her eyes, fighting against the nausea and dizziness inspired by the sight and smell of her own blood. Looking at Carlisle's face, she focused on his angelic perfection, the way his blond hair glowed a soft gold in the warm light of the kitchen lamp.

"How is this so easy for you?" she asked him curiously. "Why aren't you affected by my blood like they are?"

Carlisle took in a deep breath and smiled. "Years and years practice," he told her as he met her eyes for a few seconds. "Does it still hurt?" he asked as he set the last piece of glass into the bowl and gently probed her wound.

"No," she laughed only to groan when she made the mistake of looking at her arm. "It's numb, I can feel the soft tugs, but there's no pain."

"Are you certain?" he asked, having heard her groan.

"Yes," she laughed at herself, "I just have to remember not to look at it. Blood and I don't exactly get along, remember?"

Carlisle chuckled easily at her, his smile comforting her as she asked him about his past. It had always made her curious why he struggled so hard against the pull of human blood. She knew his story, Edward having told it to her long ago, but she wanted Carlisle's own thoughts on it. They talked at length while he carefully disinfected and stitched her wound before applying an iodine rub to help the skin heal. Wrapping her arm in white gauze, he taped the bandage closed and kissed her forehead after announcing that he was done.

Bella looked up as Edward reappeared in the kitchen. His face was tense, his eyes guarded and Bella felt the ground disappear beneath her feet. He was in front of her in an instant, wrapping his arms around her and kissing her forehead. Leading her out to her truck silently, he climbed behind the wheel and drove them through the town back to her house. Her hands were as cold as his; he noticed and caught the look of guarded fear in her eyes. It was the same look she had when he had told her it would better for her to go to Jacksonville after James had attacked her.

"Believe me, I thought about it a million times tonight," he told her as he pulled into her driveway and shut off the engine. "But I won't do that. At least that's what I keep telling myself…Charlie's still up," he told her as he held open her door and helped her down from the cab of the truck. "He wants to talk to you."

"Will you stay tonight?" she asked, her voice fearful and trembling.

"Not tonight," he cupped her cheek and kissed her lips softly. "I still need to find Jasper and we all need to hunt. Remember the conversation that you and Jasper had yesterday?" he waited for her to nod before he continued. "Carlisle is the only other one besides Jasper who's fed recently. It's been more than two weeks for the rest of us. If we hadn't learned that he could feel our hunger, I would be highly inclined to leave Forks, to leave you to ensure your safety. As it is, this entire night could have been prevented if we had hunted."

"Edward?" her voice shook as she looked at him and he silenced her with a kiss.

"You won't see me for the next couple of days, but only because we all need to hunt. I will come back Bella."

"But the others won't?" she asked him, sensing the underlying implication.

"Rosalie and Emmett already had flights booked for later tonight, about two hours from now," he said glancing at his watch. "They're heading up to Canada to track down Angela's stalker. Day after tomorrow, Carlisle and Esme are leaving for New York to talk with that doctor about Angela's migraines. They haven't told her yet. They were planning to earlier, but were caught up in Alice's whirlwind of decorating madness."

"Angela," Bella said her friend's name slowly as she thought back over the events of that evening. "Edward, I didn't see her after they took Jasper outside. I didn't see her at all after."

"I doubt she left the house," he assured her. "Carlisle's there with her, he'll look after her," he promised Bella. "You should go," he told her with one final kiss. "Your dad's about to come outside."

He watched her walk up the steps and disappear into the house before he blended into the shadows and disappeared into the woods. He absently wondered how differently this night would have ended if Angela hadn't been made part of their family. It was Angela who had questioned his ability to instinctively know whenever she was hungry and it was Angela who had been able to get his brother to reveal that he felt his entire family's thirst and not just his own. He was absolutely certain that if he hadn't had that new piece of information, he would've done whatever was necessary, including convincing his family to leave Forks in order to ensure Bella's safety. He felt more grateful for Angela's presence than ever before.

**:::::**

Carlisle took great care to wipe down all of his instruments and the table with alcohol before setting fire to the bowl filled with bloody gauze and glass shards. Moving into the living room, he tended to the shattered glass on the floor first, cleaning the area and scrubbing away any and all traces of Bella's blood from the table and carpeting. He shook his head in amusement when he found the cake to be in pristine condition, completely untouched by the events and lifted it to put it back in the fridge. Making certain that the living room was restored to order, he carefully folded the lengths of fabric that Alice had used for decorations and set them on the high shelf in the hall closet.

Looking around the room, his brow furrowed as he tried to determine what seemed so off. The living room was put back together, no traces of the party to be found. Shaking his head, he stepped into the kitchen and looked around. Aside from the too strong smell of antiseptics and alcohol, there was nothing out of the ordinary. So what was it that was unsettling him?

"Angela," he whispered the girl's name when he realized that she was nowhere in sight.

Carlisle moved quickly, scanning both the kitchen and living room before moving upstairs. He closed his eyes, opened his ears and senses completely, but couldn't find any trace of her scent or the sound of her heartbeat. Where was she? How had she suddenly disappeared? He continued his trek upstairs only to come to a stop in front of her bedroom door. He couldn't sense her inside, but something told him that she would be in there anyway.

Carlisle gripped the brass knob, twisting it silently before pushing the door open. Nothing was out of place; the room looked no different than it had when she had come home from school that afternoon. Her window stood open, the slight breeze making the curtains flutter and dance. He knew that she wouldn't be reckless enough to jump out of the window, but felt compelled to step forward and look at the ground below anyway. Shaking his head as he stepped back, he looked at her bed only to find it empty. His gold eyes were wide, his unease growing exponentially until his gaze came to rest on her closet door. His brow furrowed in confusion. The door to her closet was closed. She always left it open.

As worried as he was, something within him told him to use extreme caution and he stepped forward slowly. His hand closed over the handle on her closet door, and he gasped as he stared at the closed wood door. The closet itself was large enough to be considered a small room almost, but that wasn't what upset him. No, when he touched the doorknob he swore he could almost _feel_ Angela, her despair, her shame, her fear. Breathing in deeply, Carlisle was still disturbed by the fact that he couldn't smell her or hear her heartbeat.

He opened the door slowly and found himself frozen in place by the sight that greeted him. She was seated on the floor in the left hand corner as far away from the door as possible. Her body was folded down into a tight ball, her arms wrapped around her legs as her face remained buried in her knees. He was crouched in front of her in an instant. His hand moved toward her, his fingers brushing her hair back so that he could see any part of her face. He called to her, spoke her name, smoothed his hand over her hair but nothing worked to gain her attention.

Shaking his head, his face slack in a dumbfounded expression, he closed his eyes and clenched his jaw against his worry. Carlisle did the only thing he could do; he lifted her huddled form into his arms and held her tightly in his lap. Tucking her head beneath his chin, he rocked her slowly and talked to her softly as he did what he could to comfort her. He had never wanted her to be this afraid of his family. He never wanted her to bear witness to the bloodlust or feeding frenzy and was concerned that they had frightened her beyond the ability to comfort her. He kissed her hair as he rocked her, stilling when the first of her broken whimpers sounded and her words came to him.

"I hurt him," she whimpered, her voice so soft that Carlisle wondered if she was aware she was speaking. "I hurt Jasper. I hurt Jasper."

He moved them quickly, carrying her out into bedroom and sitting her down on the side of her bed as he knelt in front of her. He took her hand in his, his other hand reaching up to cup her cheek. He tilted her head gently to look into her face, but she wouldn't meet his eyes.

"Angela," he spoke to her hoping to draw her attention. "Angela, look at me. Come on, baby girl, look at me."

She was slow to respond, her brown eyes rolling slowly up to meet his gaze and he nearly pulled back at the emotions held in her dark brown depths. He moved forward, kissing her forehead as he thought back over the events of the evening. They hadn't had to restrain Jasper, he remembered with a furrowed brow. He had to be hauled outside, yes, but they hadn't had to restrain him to stop him from hurting Bella. He had fallen, been seemingly pinned to the ground.

"Angela," he called to her again as he sat back, cupping her face between both hands as he did what he could to keep her attention locked on him. "What do you mean 'you hurt Jasper'?" he asked her gently, his voice smooth and calm.

"He…he was hungry, the others hadn't fed," she whimpered, the shame and fear in her eyes growing deeper until the emotions were almost palpable. "I…I didn't want anyone to get hurt," she spoke slowly, her voice trembling around gasping breaths. "I just wanted him to stop," she said, her voice growing softer with each word she spoke. "I thought; if I could just make him fall, keep him from moving…I didn't mean to hurt him. I didn't know that would happen," she whimpered. "I didn't know I would throw my migraine at him. I didn't want to hurt him. I'm sorry, s-s-so sorry."

"Shh," Carlisle soothed her as he stared at her with disbelief. "Hush, Sweetheart."

He lifted her into his arms, sat down on the bed and held her in his lap once more. He soothed her, rubbing her back as he rocked her. He released a deep breath he wasn't aware he'd been holding when her scent started to fill the room again. Her heart beat sounded in his ears once more, the sound little more than a whisper at first until her fear had calmed enough that the sound of the organ was once again thumping a steady, albeit furious, rhythm in his vampire ears. He held her tightly, comforted as she seemed to return to him and he realized that she had hidden herself away out of fear that they would be mad at her for stopping Jasper.

He needed to speak with Eleazar, he needed to understand what these two new developments meant, but more than that, he needed to comfort his distraught daughter first. Standing from her bed with the girl cradled in his arms, he carried her out of the room and down the stairs into his office. Kissing her forehead as he sat down at his desk, he kept one arm wrapped around her as he reached for the light, almost grey colored leather journal that he had began keeping with regards to Angela alone.

:::

_September 13, 2009_

_Tonight was Bella's eighteenth birthday party. None of us had foreseen what would happen tonight, not even Alice. Bella cut her finger while opening a present, the injury in and of itself minor, but her blood was spilled and the effect was instantaneous and violent. _

_Jasper has been keeping his hunger continuously sated in order to help Angela more effectively with her migraines, but still he lunged for her, the scent of her blood calling forth the desire to hunt. It was only through a conversation I overhead him have yesterday with both Angela and Bella that I came to understand that Jasper, who struggles everyday against the pull of human blood, feels everyone's hunger and not just his own. I watched him take Bella's hand yesterday during their conversation, he breathed in deeply of her scent and even had his lips touched to the inside of her wrist, but his control was flawless. Tonight, he had barely any control at all and I understand why – though I have hunted recently, no one else in my family aside from Jasper has. He was feeling everyone's thirst tonight and he was not the only who Bella's blood called to, but he was the only one who reacted to it with need and hunger. _

_Angela, and this part I am only barely beginning to understand as her growing abilities are still mind boggling to me, stopped him. Jasper didn't have to be restrained or thrown back, instead he was pinned to the ground, unable to move until Emmett and Rosalie dragged him outside. It was after I treated Bella's wounds and Edward drove her home that I came to understand Angela's part in this evening's events. _

_My poor daughter was terrified, hiding in the back of her closet. She was afraid that I – that we all – would be mad with her for hurting Jasper and in her fear I can only assume that she was praying to be unseen. Her scent was completely masked from me; I couldn't even hear her heart beating. The soothing tone of her heart beat is something that I have grown used to over these past months; I hear it before she even walks in the front door, but tonight it was hidden from me. It took me nearly an hour to calm her fear enough that she stopped trying to hide and I have no words to describe the relief I felt when both her scent and heartbeat returned to me. _

_She confessed to me then that she had hurt Jasper._

:::

"Shh," he soothed Angela as he set his pen down in the trench between the pages. "It's alright, little one, you're safe. Papa's here," he promised her and stroked her hair as he held her tightly. "I've got you. Shh."

She whimpered once more, sniffling in her sleep before turning her head to bury her face in his shoulder, her hands fisted tightly in his shirt. Kissing her hair, he reached out for his pen once more and picked it up, returning his attention to his journal as he resumed writing.

:::

_Angela told me that her only thought had been to stop Jasper. She hadn't wanted anyone to get hurt and thought if she could keep him from moving, than everything would be alright. What she hadn't realized at the time, was that in doing so, she was throwing her migraine at him completely. Jasper fell to the floor before he was able to reach Edward or Bella, he was immobilized by the force of her migraine and the knowledge that she had hurt not just anyone, but a member of her own family, horrified her beyond measure. _

_She is sitting in my lap now as I write this and while she is sleeping, I fear her reaction when she wakes. She has always been upset by the fact that Jasper can feel her migraines that he has to feel them in order to help her with her pain. The fact that she used the pain of her migraine to stop him, I fear, will only make her afraid of herself. Angela is a very gentle girl, with an incredibly kind and open heart. More than ever before, I hate that I must leave her shortly, but I have little choice. The doctor in New York studying patients with migraines similar to Angela's has offered me the chance to come to his hospital and work with him to gain a better understanding of how to help Angela. This opportunity may never come again and if I want to help her than I have no choice but to go. _

_I must speak with Eleazar regarding what has happened tonight, but before I do, I must tend to my daughter. I must do what I can before Esme and I leave to ensure that she is not left in this broken state. I fear though, that no matter what actions or efforts are taken on my part, it is only Jasper that she will listen to. The others have gone out to hunt to satiate their own hunger and hopefully prevent any other occurrences such as what happened earlier tonight. Emmett and Rosalie will not be returning home after they hunt, they have tickets waiting for them at the airport and their flight is set to leave in…fifteen minutes from now. I can only imagine the effect their absences will have on Angela now. I pray that Edward and Alice are able to convince Jasper to return once they have all hunted. If he does not return…_

:::

Carlisle set his pen down, unable to finish his last thought in writing. He looked at the far right side of his desk, the thin white cardboard box that he had moved to edge to be out of the way. He had planned to wait until tomorrow to give the new bears to Angela, but her upset called to him to give her at least one of the new stuffed animals now. Catching the edge of the box lid with his finger, he dragged the lightweight box closer until he was able to open it. Reaching inside, he took out one of the bears and set in on the desk in front of him.

The sight of the stuffed creature made him laugh softly. The bear's fur was a light white-golden color, the eyes bright butterscotch. Standing fifteen inches tall, even as the bear itself was made to always be sitting, he shook his head at the sight of it. Just as with her brother bears this one had fangs; but unlike the others it did not wear a cape. Instead, this bear was dressed in a white doctor's coat and had a blue rubber toy stethoscope hanging over its shoulders. He pulled on the coat gently, smoothing out the edge of the left lapel when he caught sight of the silver-blue embroidery.

"Papa Bear," he read the embroidered name aloud. "Well, how about that," he said softly as he lifted the stuffed animal and tucked it gently into Angela's arms, the girl asleep on his lap.

**:::::**

"Jasper, please," Alice pleaded with her love as he continued to run through the forests. "Please stop! Talk to me!"

She knew that they were well into Canada now, they had to be for how long and fast they'd been running. As soon as Emmett had released him, Jasper had taken off running north as fast as possible. He hadn't stopped once, hadn't slowed down or answered her when she had called out to him. Suddenly though, he did stop, turning to face her as she looked at him with wide eyes.

"I could've hurt her, Alice!" his voice low, but his tone fierce and angry. "I could've hurt them both!"

"But you didn't!" she told him as she stepped up to him and framed his face with her hands. "You didn't hurt anyone, Jasper. Please, she needs you, they both do."

"I can't," he stepped away from her as he shook his head. "I can't risk it. My control…I've been lucky before now. I could've killed them," he said, his voice full of the horror he felt at himself.

Alice sobbed when he spun around and took off running again. He wasn't able to suppress his talent, the emotions he felt flooding her. He was so ashamed of himself, horrified by what he had done and terrified that it could have been worse. She tried to search her visions as she ran after him, but she couldn't see anything. He hadn't decided where he was going; he was simply running blindly in an effort get as far away as possible. She wouldn't leave him, she refused to leave him or even let him get out of her sight. Giving chase, she ran as fast as she could, pushing herself beyond any speed that she had used before.

_Please let them be alright,_ she prayed in reference to her family. If she could get him to go to Denali than they would at least be among familiar faces. The only thing she was absolutely certain of was that she couldn't let him leave the country; if he did she feared he would never return.

**:::::**

"Will you calm down," Rosalie hissed at Emmett as they waited in line to board the plane. "I don't like leaving tonight anymore than you do, but we have to go."

"I'm not mad at Jasper," he answered her, their voices below the range of human hearing. "That's not why I'm upset."

"I know," she told him sadly. "It's Angela. I don't want to leave her anymore than you do, but we have to find her stalker, stop him before he hurts someone else or decides to have another go at her. This was already planned for tonight. We would have been leaving regardless of whether or not Bella had been hurt."

"We should hunt as soon as we get there," he said, speaking more to himself than to her. "I got barely more than a snack and I know you're hungry, too."

"Tickets please," the woman by the terminal gate said and Emmett handed over both his and Rosalie's. "Thank you, Sir. Enjoy your flight."

He walked down the corridor with Rosalie, their hands clasped tightly together as they both offered and took strength from the other. He found their seats easily enough, sitting down with her and tucking her against his side as they waited for the other passengers to board. He hated leaving his family like this, Bella had been hurt and he was fairly certain that Angela was terrified. He could almost feel her call, but this time it was different. The normal tug that he felt from her was pulling at him as much as it was pushing him away. He didn't understand the feeling at all, but he planned to call them both as soon as they landed. He needed to be certain his little sisters were alright.

Rosalie turned his head, her hand cupping his cheek and leaned closer to kiss his lips. She normally wasn't one to make such an intimate display in crowded close quarters like these, but it was the only thing that she knew of to calm Emmett down. Her mouth moved against his, coaxing him gently to respond as she flicked her tongue out against his lips. She felt his hand comb into her hair, holding her close as he tilted his head to the side and kissed her back, deepening their embrace. Dropping one hand to her lap, she made certain that her seatbelt was fastened before checking his. Satisfied that they were secured and wouldn't be interrupted, she continued to kiss him, determined to remain joined as they were throughout the flight.

"I love you," he whispered against her lips.

"I love you," she told him, resting her forehead against his. "It will be alright," she promised him. "You'll see. Now kiss me."

**:::::**

"Hey, Bells, I uh – oh! Sorry," Charlie stuttered embarrassed to find that Bella was changing into her pajama top when he walked in. "The door was open," he explained, "I – what happened to your arm?"

"A classic me moment," she said as she turned around, her clothing in place. "I fell into the table and decided to see if my skin was tougher than a glass bowl."

"Oh, Bells," he couldn't suppress the soft chuckle. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, Carlisle stitched me up, I'm fine. I can't believe I did that," she said and sighed at the look on his face. "Go ahead, Dad, it's ok to laugh."

Charlie shook his head, chuckling as he stepped closer to her and ruffled her hair. Bella was always falling over or tripping on something. He couldn't help but laugh as he remembered that just a few days ago he had watched her pull open the front door only to hit herself in the face with it. Her clumsiness was as worrisome as it was amusing.

"Maybe I should get you one of those giant bubbles that people live in," he offered her only to jump back when she smacked him with her pillow. "I'm going, I'm going," he promised quickly, his hands raised in defense as he backed out of her room. "Goodnight, Bells."

"Goodnight, Dad."

Bella shook her head as Charlie pulled her bedroom door closed behind him when he left. It wasn't hard at all to shrug off an injury, hell last year she had been able to blame a broken leg and four broken ribs on her clumsiness. Granted, she had been attacked by a vampire intent on killing her, but her father didn't need to know that. Falling back to lie on her bed, she stared at her ceiling and waited for the sound of her father's soft snores to begin. Reaching for her phone as soon as they began, she dialed Carlisle's phone.

"Bella, dear, are you alright?" his smooth voice asked in place of a greeting. "How is your arm?"

"I'm ok," she assured him with a smile even though she knew he couldn't see it. "It's still pretty numb actually. I was calling to see how Angela was; I couldn't remember seeing her after everything that happened. Is she ok?"

Carlisle's sigh was telling, the sound of sadness in his tone unnerving her. Biting her lip as she waited for him to answer, Bella felt her brow crease with worry.

"She's frightened," he said after a long moment. "I fear though that Jasper is the only one she will listen to, after all it was her migraine that stopped him from hurting you. I haven't heard from either him or Alice."

"Do they have their phones with them?" she asked him.

"Alice always does," he said with a soft chuckle that was tinted with sadness. "She has an application on her phone that alerts her to the newest fashion news and trends."

"Of course she does," Bella laughed softly and rolled her eyes. "Would it be alright if I came over tomorrow?"

"Of course, dear," he assured her immediately. "You are always welcome here with us. Our home is your home as well. Never doubt that."

"Thanks," Bella said softly only to be silenced by a yawn.

"Go to sleep, little one," he told her with a soft chuckle. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"M'night, Carlisle," she said as she turned onto her side and pulled the covers up to her chin.

"Goodnight, Bella."

Carlisle set his cell phone down on his desk and looked at the sleeping girl in his arms. Kissing her forehead, he stood from the chair and carried her up to his bedroom. Normally he would simply lay beside her in her own bed, but tonight he thought she would need the familiar scents of him and Esme surrounding her. Laying her down on the bed, he removed her shoes and the clip from her hair before lying her back on the pillows. Covering her with the blankets, he moved to the bookshelf by the window and selected a title from the collection of classic literature Esme had compiled over the years. He returned to her side, sitting down with his back against the headboard as he held the book and watched her sleep.

"You will always be my daughter and their sister," he promised her softly, "no matter what happens. We love you, Sweetheart, never forget that."


	33. Chapter 31

Chapter 31

There had never been a single moment of his immortal existence in which he wasn't constantly struggling against the almost primal call of his thirst. When he had been with Maria, his thirst was something he hadn't had to worry about controlling, there wasn't a reason to. She had always told him to take what he wanted, eat to his fill and worry about nothing else but the pleasure of the blood. With Maria, he had been a monster and his memories of that time were ones he wished he could forget. But vampires couldn't forget, they could never forget.

Jasper looked down at his hands only to find them shaking and clenched them tightly into fists. He had left Maria because he had wanted more, wanted something better. He didn't want to be clouded by rage and thirst and fear anymore, he wanted…he wanted to be good. Jasper's face twisted with the grief and shame he felt as he huffed a short laugh at himself. He wanted to be the man he had been while he was human. He wanted to be honorable and gentle, someone who inspired trust not fear. He had wandered aimlessly for a decade trying to remember that man, trying to be that man again. And then, he met Alice.

Alice had been his saving grace. He felt gentle delicate fingers comb into his hair and looked up into the golden eyes of his love. She was kneeling in front of him and leaned close to kiss his full lips. He lifted his hands, cupping her porcelain face as he returned her kiss. He kept hold of her as he leaned back to lie in the leaves and grass, pulling her to lie on top of him. She broke the kiss and he stared up at her, running his hand through her short black hair as he looked into her eyes and let her emotions fill his heart. She had taught him how to live on animal blood; she had given him his second chance.

He took in a shaking breath, feeling unsteady. Hours earlier, she had held him while he sobbed against her, the thick forest hiding them away while the sun illuminated small patches of their skin through the canopy of the trees. He had never been properly trained how to control his thirst, his ability to feel the hunger of other vampires only making it that much more difficult for him to do so. He had never told his family, or even Alice, that he could feel their hunger. He was too afraid that they would turn him away if they knew and Alice, she was happy with them.

He knew that he was the one putting them all in danger. The family had been forced to move three times while he was with them because of his lack of control. More than once he had considered leaving them, if only to save them, but he would never make Alice choose. She was happy with them, falling easily into the role of a daughter to Carlisle and Esme, a sister to the others. He could still remember her almost hyper delight when she had discovered that Edward could read her thoughts. She had welcomed their brother into her mind and it had crafted a bond between them as close as twins.

Edward. His brother had been a mass of dark emotions, full of angst and a loneliness that could only be solved by finding his mate. He had been that way for almost a century, and then as luck would have it, his brother found his mate. Jasper felt his breath shuddering as it passed his parted lips; he could feel his body beginning to tremble as a new wave of grief passed through him. Edward had found his mate in a shy little human girl who didn't think she was worthy of Edward, let alone his family. There had been ups and downs, namely James, but Edward had changed.

His brother had changed, almost overnight. Edward had become happy, carefree, and the love that shined through him because of Bella was almost blinding. Jasper closed his eyes, clenching his jaw as he felt Alice lie down over him to wrap her arms around his shoulders as she held him. As if their family hadn't already been made complete, then Emmett had found himself partnered with Angela Weber, a girl who needed their family in a way that no one else ever had. Alice had been the one to bring her home and their lives had been forever changed.

"Oh, Jazz," Alice mourned his grief, holding him close while he sobbed silently, tearlessly.

He had broken them. He had ruined everything that Carlisle had created and in doing so, he had taken away not only his brother's happiness, but Angela's as well. He would never be anything more than a monster, an uncontrolled beast that wasn't worthy of a house let alone a family. He almost wished that Alice hadn't found him all those years ago, that she had made her way to the Cullens alone instead. He had taken away her family, too. His wife, his beautiful wife lost everything because he lacked the control to resist one little paper cut.

He couldn't go back. There was no way they would welcome him back into the family. He looked down at his wrist only to sob harder and closed his eyes, letting his head fall back to lie on the leaves and grass. He didn't even have his crest anymore; he had left it on Angela. He had planned to take his family crest back once they had gotten her a new one. His eyes opened as he took in a shaking breath, Alice still wore hers on that tiny flimsy ribbon around her neck. Delicate and elegant, just like her.

"No," Alice told him before he could speak the words. "I won't go back without you, Jasper. I won't leave you here alone."

Jasper laughed harshly, humorlessly as his self recrimination and grief colored the sound. It didn't matter that they were mates, he thought, how could she stay with a monster like him? She deserved better, she deserved someone who had some measure of control over themselves. He was nothing.

"Let me talk to him, Alice," Edward said softly, not surprised that Jasper seemed ignorant to his presence.

Edward had been tracking them from the moment he left Bella last night. He had found them this morning but had stayed back and listened to his brother's thoughts for the past few hours. He needed to understand what was going through Jasper's mind and now that he did… His brother's thoughts were as self destructive as Angela's could be. He stepped closer slowly, crouching down next to Jasper as he waited for his brother take notice of his presence.

_How bad is it?_ Jasper asked Edward through his thoughts, not bothering to look at him as he sat up, he knees bent and his arms hanging down over them.

"It could've been worse," Edward said softly as he looked at Jasper. "No one's mad at you. Not even Bella."

Jasper chuckled and shook his head, unable to stop the force of tearless sobs. Of course Bella wasn't mad at him, he thought with a shake of his head. That girl wouldn't know how to be mad at anyone. Hell, she had nearly been crushed by a van and she hadn't ever been mad at the driver. Edward chuckled and Jasper turned his head to look at him, finally meeting his eyes if only to find out what his brother found to be so funny.

"Bella can get mad," he told his brother, answering the confused bend of his brow. "She's been mad at me before. She was mad at James."

"She was not mad at James," Jasper scoffed. "She was afraid of him, afraid for her mother and willing to sacrifice herself, but she wasn't ever mad at him."

"Carlisle called me," Edward told his brother as he finally moved from his crouching position to sit down next to Jasper. "Angela's pretty upset."

The sobs that had almost calmed resurfaced and Jasper shook his head. Of course Angela was upset. Angela had every right to be upset. He had turned into an uncontrolled monster in front of her. He doubted she would ever feel safe around him again.

"That's not why she's upset," Edward said. "She's afraid that you hate her."

"_What?_" Jasper's eyes were wide, his disbelief mixing with his grief. "Why the hell would she think that?"

"Do you remember what stopped you from attacking Bella?" Edward asked him and waited while Jasper thought it over.

He remembered very clearly the scent of Bella's blood, the burning thirst that raged inside of him. He remembered lunging forward…only to fall. His brow quirked in a mix of confusion and contemplation as he let himself relive the memories from the night before. He remembered pain. Searing, blinding, earth-shattering pain. He remembered being unable to move even as his thirst demanded he take the spilled blood. His lips parted, his face falling slack with disbelief as he turned his head and looked up at Edward.

"Yeah," Edward nodded. "Carlisle told me that Angela's only thought was to stop you from hurting anyone because it wasn't your fault. He said that she had meant to make you immobile, but didn't realize that in doing so she was throwing her migraine on you. You know how upset it's always made her that you feel her pain."

Jasper couldn't think beyond the revelation Edward had made, the words echoing and repeating inside his mind. Angela had stopped him. Angela was afraid that he hated her.

"Carlisle said that he was lucky to get that much. She's not talking, Jasper. He doesn't think she'll listen to anyone but you," Edward told him.

"I can't," Jasper shook his head, standing up from the earth in one swift smooth movement. "I can't go back, not until I have more control."

"It wasn't just your thirst you were battling," Edward reminded him as he stood as well, watching as Jasper began to pace. "We wouldn't have turned you away if you had told us that you can feel our hunger. We would have tried to help you," he assured his brother.

"I'm a danger to them," he said, Bella's and Angela's faces swimming in his mind. "I can't go back yet."

"Then we'll go to Denali," Alice said as she stepped forward. "Let us at least be with family while you work out what you need to."

"Denali?" Jasper laughed harshly.

"They won't turn you away, Jasper," Edward assured him. "Eleazar can help you, so can Tanya. If you can't come back to us, than at least be with family, but promise me one thing."

_What's that?_

"Call Angela once you get back into an area where you have cell service," he said. "Maybe she'll listen to you over the phone."

Jasper nodded and looked around as he tried to assess where they were. How close were they? Would he need to run another day, two days?

"Three hours," Alice said as she twisted her lips to the side in a sheepish grin. "I kind of kept maneuvering us towards there," she said with a shrug.

"My thanks, ma'am," he said with a sad chuckle, the southern gentleman rising from the ashes of his grief.

"You'll take care of Angela?" Alice asked Edward as she took Jasper's arm. "Don't leave them," she warned. "Bella would fall to pieces and Angela…"

"I won't leave them," he promised. "I'm heading back now; I just wanted to find you both first."

Alice nodded, releasing Japer's arm to skip up to her brother. Edward chuckled softly as he returned her hug and bent down just enough for her to kiss his cheek. Lips curling up to the side in a lopsided grin, he reached out and ruffled her hair. His chuckle sounded again when she turned disapproving eyes on him.

"I only let you do that because it's already messed up, but don't get any ideas," she told him through narrowed eyes.

"Wouldn't dream of it," he laughed.

Edward watched his siblings dart off to the west, letting his eyes follow them for as long as he could before they disappeared. He pulled his cell phone from his pocket, looking down at the screen only to curse when he saw the date on the digital display. Carlisle and Esme would be leaving for New York tonight, he only hoped he could get back before they left. He didn't want Angela to be alone, not for a single moment.

**:::::**

Carlisle pursed his lips and turned his head to look at Esme. She shook her head sadly, the movement slow. He sighed softly before pulling in a slow breath and taking the caramel colored bear from the box on his desk. Kneeling down in front of the couch in his office, he looked up at Angela and stared into her dark eyes. Her silence was deafening. He had no idea if she had heard his words or not, she would look at them yes, but her expression never changed. He didn't realize before now how very much he had come to rely on Edward and Jasper when speaking with her.

"Sweetheart," he watched her eyes, hoping for some kind of response. "Do you understand?"

Angela stared at him, seeing little more than a ghost of his image, her mind telling her that they were already gone. She had woken up that morning terrified of her memories from the night before and had run into Alice and Jasper's room. She had wanted it to be a nightmare, just her mind playing tricks on her, but their absence was all the answer she needed. She really had hurt Jasper and now both he and Alice were gone. She had looked for Emmett and Rosalie, called out in her thoughts for Edward, but the house remained silent. Not just one, but all of her vampire siblings were gone.

She looked down, her gaze falling to the bear Carlisle was holding out to her. She heard him sigh, even as her mind told him that he wasn't really there and watched as he tucked the bear into her arm. The fur was a soft caramel color, the eyes a warm honey gold just like all the others. This one was larger than the others, the same size as the white-gold doctor bear that she had woken up holding. Decorated with fangs and dressed in an apricot colored sundress, this bear had the name 'Mama Bear' embroidered in crimson thread over its heart.

"She won't eat," Esme said sadly, fighting against the pull of her worry and grief.

"I can cancel the other ticket," Carlisle offered for the third time that day. "You can stay here with her."

"I don't want you there alone. This is going to be hard enough to leave her with Edward and Bella; I don't want you to be alone. I just wish we knew what she was thinking. Knew how to help her," Esme said as she trembled.

Angela looked down at the bears in her arms, her expression never changing, her eyes never seeming to be aware of anything around her. The house was empty; her normally full and noisy house was empty and quiet. She had seen the suitcases by the door, knew that Carlisle and Esme were leaving too before they had told her. She had done this. She had broken their family. They never should have taken her in, if they hadn't their family wouldn't be in tatters.

Carlisle backed away, watching as she stood from the couch and moved silently out of his office. She hadn't spoken a single word, not since last night when she had told him what she had done to stop Jasper. Looking up at the knock at the front door, Carlisle hugged Esme close, kissing her before stepping away. He smiled sadly when he saw Bella standing outside; he was so used to her coming into the house with Edward that he didn't realize she wouldn't simply walk in if his son wasn't there. He greeted her softly, wrapping her in his arms and hugging her tightly, smiling into her shoulder when she returned his embrace.

"Dad followed behind me," she told him when Carlisle released her to step into the house. "He should be here soon; he said he had some news about the box."

Carlisle nodded quietly, watching as Esme hugged Bella before his attention turned back out the front door. He heard Charlie's cruiser before he saw it appear around the bend of the trees. He waited for the man to park his car and exit the vehicle before nodding in greeting. Charlie retuned his nod, his expression somber and exhausted as he stepped up to the house, shaking Carlisle's hand before walking inside.

"How's Angela doing?" Charlie asked as he stood with Carlisle inside the front door.

"Not well," Carlisle said, letting Chief Swan assume her upset was due entirely to the box rather than discussing the events of the night before.

"I didn't think she would be," he looked down at his shoes and blew out a heavy breath before meeting Carlisle's eyes. "The lab came back on the box. The heart and eyes belonged to a little girl that was found murdered up in British Columbia just outside of Soothe. There was no doubt in the Feds minds that McGinnis is the one who did this, even before Angela opened that box."

Carlisle shook his head in question, able to sense the police chief's nervousness.

"Their initials matched up perfectly," he explained. "Angela Marie Warner. Angela Michelle Weber."

"He killed a child because of her name?" Carlisle asked, his voice trembling with the anger he felt.

"They were pretty certain he would have killed someone else just as easily, but believe he was…sending a message," Charlie answered slowly, his eyes full of anger and grief for the life lost. "Did any of you play that disc?" Charlie asked after a long moment.

"No, why?" Carlisle asked, his brow furrowed.

"He…taped himself killing the child. The entire time he was talking to Angela – our Angela, describing what it felt like to take the child's life and how she could've prevented it."

Carlisle felt dangerously close to losing control, something he could never remember feeling before. Clenching his fists tightly in order to fight back his temper, he searched for something else to talk with the human police chief about. His eyes moved, his gaze resting on the packed luggage standing just out of Charlie's range of vision. Closing his eyes before meeting Charlie's gaze once more, he fought for a sense of calm he didn't feel.

"Esme and I will be leaving for New York tonight," he told the chief slowly. "Believe me when I tell you that I don't want to go, but I need to. There is a doctor there who is working with patients like Angela. He has invited me to come look over the studies he has as well as meet with a patient whose history of migraines is very similar to Angela's."

"And Angela?" Charlie asked in concern.

"She will be staying here along with the rest of our children. Emmett, Rosalie and Jasper are touring the colleges that they've been accepted to before they make their final decision," he said surprised at just how easy the lies rolled off his tongue. "Edward and Alice are out of town at the moment, but should be returning later today."

"Angela's welcome to stay with Bells and I if she needs to," Charlie offered before Carlisle could ask. "How long will you be gone?"

"I don't know. Right now, Toradol is the only medication that works to combat her migraines, but the doctor in New York is using a few other medications that are still going through FDA trials. I need to know if one of them might help her better." Carlisle sighed as he looked down.

"Carlisle," he met the man's gold eyes. "We'll take care of her."

"Thank you, Charlie."

"As Renee always used to say: 'it takes a village'."

Carlisle chuckled. "Yes, it does."

**:::::**

"You are a most welcomed sight," Marcus said as he turned away from the window. "I have felt your absence deeply, my dear," he said as he stepped forward and embraced Angela before kissing her forehead.

She remained silent, burying her face in his chest as she hugged him tightly. He returned her embrace, petting her hair as he took comfort in her warmth and scent. He felt her hands fist around his shirt, her hands trembling as she held them tightly to his back. The trace scent of salt in the air told him what he needed to know and he lifted her easily into his arms. Carrying her over to the couch, he sat down and held her in his lap as she cried.

Ducking his chin, he kissed her hair and rubbed her back as he held her. His arms tightened around her when she turned her head so that she could cuddle against him, her head nestled in the crook of his shoulder. He wasn't certain if it was his mind that had produced it or hers, but was thankful for the sudden presence of the light blanket and reached out for it. Kissing her hair as he covered her with the soft cloth, he held her close.

"Would you like to hear more about Greece?" he asked her softly, knowing that she disliked talking about things that hurt or upset her.

She nodded, curling herself closer to him if that was possible, and moving her left hand up to fist loosely around his shirt. He held her in the cradle of his arms, resting his cheek on her hair as he began to tell her about the world he had spent his adult years in before he was turned.

**:::::**

Suplicia jerked forward, ducking down and charged at the man as fast as she could. She cried out in surprise when he not only evaded her, but caught her as well and lifted her up in the air. She kicked out, trying to catch him, trying to make him lose his hold on her, but he restrained her easily. She tried to remember the move he taught her, but her mind blanked, the fear of being caught overwhelming her.

"Calm down, songbird," Felix whispered in her ear when he brought her back against his chest, his hold unbreakable as her feet dangled around his knees. "Remember what I taught you."

He held her with only one hand wrapped around her throat. The hold wasn't tight, but his hand was perfectly molded around her. She told him that she wanted to learn how to fight, but now that they were actually fighting, she was nervous. He had taught her a few moves, one of which for escaping the hold he currently had her in, but she was having trouble remembering it.

"Right arm," he told her, hoping to remind her.

"Right arm," she repeated, her voice trembling. "Right arm," she repeated with more confidence. "Up and over," she said as she moved her arm, folding her elbow down over his arm that held her. "Elbow down and turn," she completed the move, and fell gracefully to land in the sand.

"Good work, songbird," he praised. "Your charges are too obvious, you need to remember to dodge and evade. Straight lines are no good."

"We run?" she asked, watching as his stance changed ever so slightly.

"We run," he nodded and smiled as she smiled. "But, today will be different," he told her, his eyes mischievous. "Today, you're going to have to keep up with me and follow me. Every step, every turn, every twist. If you lose step with me than I will begin chasing you and if I catch you…"

"You wouldn't," she said backing away even as she began to laugh.

"Oh, I would. It'll teach you to keep up with me."

"But it's…you shouldn't do that to a lady."

Felix threw his head back and laughed. "There is no 'lady' when one is being taught how to fight. It takes you hours to get all the mud out of your hair and it serves my purposes well. You don't want to be thrown in the mud pools than you learn faster how to fight and how to evade."

"I had to talk to Aro two days ago covered in mud!" she complained, pushing against his arm. "I will not be thrown in the mud pools again."

"Then keep up with me little songbird, and if you can't do that, than evade me. Don't let me catch you."

"Felix!" she shouted when he sped away from her at top speed. "Damn you, I will catch you!"

The sand kicked up beneath her feet as she darted after him. She absolutely refused to be thrown into the mud pools again. She was glad she was a vampire and didn't need to breathe. The pools were deep, the mud thick and it had taken her almost ten minutes to fight her way to the surface. Vampire speed and strength didn't matter against the suction and depth of the mud. In the end, Felix had had to reach into the mud and pull her out. She had thought that running back to their hut would've made the mud fall off, but in the end it had only served to dry it faster and she had felt as though she were covered in concrete.

Racing into the trees, jumping to her left and vaulting off a large tree to give her more speed, she ran after Felix. She would not be thrown in the mud today. She refused to be thrown in the mud again.

**:::::**

Carlisle closed the trunk of his Mercedes, resting his hands on the painted metal of the car as he dropped his head and closed his eyes. Angela was still unresponsive. She would look at him, Esme or Bella, but they all knew that she wasn't seeing them; her gaze was vacant at best. She would walk through the house, could be directed into a room or place by a guiding hand in the small of her back, but she never spoke and never responded to their voices. Esme had tried everything to get her to eat, including trying to feed the girl herself, but nothing worked. Glancing at his watch, he sighed. He had less than twenty minutes before they had to leave for the airport. He didn't want to leave her, especially not in this condition.

He planned to change her, yes, but the fact remained that he couldn't do so until graduation and that was still ten months away. Her migraines were unpredictable and growing stronger with each one that she experienced. He needed to understand why the other patients had died from them. Was there a common denominator for those that had died from their migraines, or was it different for each person? What happened when they died? Did everything stop, or did their hearts remaining beating? He needed the answers. If the final fatal migraine stopped the heart than even his venom wouldn't be able to change anything, but if the migraine only affected the brain and left the heart beating there might still be a chance. Provided that she made it to graduation without incident, he and Esme had made the decision to change Angela around Christmas, a kind of holiday gift to her.

Turning back to the house, he watched as Esme walked out carrying her purse and coat. He nodded to her as she passed behind him and opened the front passenger door to drop the items inside. She remained silent as she closed the door and came back to his side, wrapping her arms around his waist and pressing her cheek against his chest as he held her. Carlisle held her tightly, kissing her hair and rubbing her back.

"We could take her with us," Esme said, "they have schools in New York."

"I've thought about that several times," he told her as he turned and walked back up to the house with his arm wrapped around her waist. "A restraining order is one thing, but if her parents were to decide to come at us for taking her out of state…We have no legal standing and it would take too long to get the papers made. Aside from all of that, we don't know what affect a new environment would have on her. She may retreat further into her mind than she has already."

"Where is Edward?" Esme asked as her husband held the door open for her. "Maybe he can reach her."

Carlisle sighed. "I highly doubt that anyone other than Jasper will be able to reach her right now."

He closed the door behind them as he followed Esme into their house. Following Angela's scent up the stairs and down the hall, he turned into the open doorway of Alice and Jasper's bedroom. Leaning against the doorframe, he looked at Angela. She was lying on her side in their bed, her 'Jasper' bear hugged in her arms. Her new bears, the stuffed representations of he and Esme, were sitting behind her against the pillows on the left side of the bed. His expression of sadness grew more pronounced when he saw the familiar leather wrist cuff that was still wrapped around her right forearm. Jasper had told him that he planned to let her wear it until they had a new crest made for her, but no one had foreseen the events of last night.

Stepping into the room, he walked up to the bed and sat down by her side. Her head was resting on the pillow, her face turned toward him even though she didn't seem to know he was there. Folding his body down over hers, he kissed her temple and ran his hand down over her hair. He could smell Jasper's scent heavy on the pillow she was using, knew that his adopted son used this side of the bed when he and Alice chose to relax or be together.

"I love you, Sweetheart," he told Angela, able to feel Esme's presence in the open doorway behind him. "I will call you before we board the plane and again after we land. I will call you every day, I promise you that."

"We have to go," Esme told him as she stepped into the room and came to his side. "I love you too, baby girl," she promised Angela, kissing the tips of her fingers before touching the girl's forehead. "Bella's downstairs," she told her hoping that Angela could hear her on some level. "She's going to stay here with you tonight."

"I'll take care of her," Edward promised as he appeared in the open window. "I'm sorry it took me so long, they were almost to Denali when I found them."

"Will he return?" Carlisle asked as he stood from the bed.

"In time," Edward assured them both with a slow nod. "He doesn't see what happened as him having to battle all of our hunger for Bella's blood, he only sees it as him losing control. He's blaming himself, just like he did back in eighty-five when he lost control then."

"If we had known," Esme's voice trailed off.

"I know," Edward closed the wall of glass behind him when rain began to fall. "He's always been ashamed of himself though, of the person that he was back in the beginning, of what he did in his first near-century of this life. I listened to his thoughts for awhile…he's so afraid of us. Alice has her cell phone, perhaps when you two land in New York?"

"I'll call her as soon as we are able to speak freely," Carlisle assured his son.

"You two need to go," Edward said before glancing at Angela. "I'll take care of her, I promise."

Carlisle nodded once before turning to leave the room as Esme left his side to hug Edward.

"I love you, too, Mom," Edward told her as he returned her hug. "Go on."

Removing his cell phone from his pocket when the device began to vibrate, he opened the text message from Alice, his expression reluctant at the request she had made. He shook his head, his fingers moving over the keys to reply to her message only for a new one to come in. Opening it and reading the words, he sighed as he opened the options menu inside the message and called her instead.

"I don't think it's a good idea," Edward told her in lieu of greeting.

"He needs to see her, Edward. He needs to see how this is affecting her," Alice insisted. "He doesn't understand what I've been able to see through watching you and Carlisle. He thinks she's just refusing to speak; he doesn't understand that she's catatonic."

Edward sighed, clenching his jaw as he thought of an alternative. "I'll make you a deal," he began only for her to cut him off.

"It's perfect. I'm certain Eleazar has a laptop around here. Just let me make certain he's got the video chat program we use downloaded and then I'll call you."

"Alice…"

"Look, I know you think I'm wrong about this, but he needs to see her and maybe if she can see his face then maybe, just maybe it will help her."

"There's nothing, Alice. There are no thoughts; there aren't even any fragments of broken memories going through her mind right now. She's simply not there," he told her trying to make his sister understand.

"Edward," her voice lost its steadfast certainty, her tone growing sad and resigned. "We have to try. For them both."

Alright," he sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'm going to – "

"I know," Alice said before he could finish. "Just make sure you don't neglect her. Bella's not as strong as you think; Jasper's told me more than once that she doesn't have enough faith in herself."

"I won't neglect her, Alice," he promised her. "Wouldn't be a bad idea if you called her, too."

"Email," she said with her usual bubbly voice. "Bella and I will stay in touch through email. I've already seen it."

"Of course you have," he chuckled. "Alright, Tigger," he used Angela's new favorite nickname for Alice, "let me see Bella home and then we'll chat."

"Don't keep me waiting."

"Wouldn't dream of it," he promised before disconnecting the call.

Edward turned around, so used to using his talent to know where his family members were that he was surprised to see Bella standing in the open doorway. She was biting her lip, her gaze locked on Angela as she stared at her friend. Holding his hand out for her to take when she looked up at him, he waited patiently while she walked toward him slowly. Drawing her into the circle of his arms when she placed her palm in his, he held Bella close, stroking her hair as he rested his chin on top of her head.

"I've never seen her like this," Bella said, her pained voice little more than a whisper.

"I have, to an extent, but nothing this severe," he told her and rubbed her back as he held her. "She got really quite after the incident with Lauren and then again for a little while after she found out that her condition was worse than she believed. But both times she was quiet, reserved, but never catatonic as she is now."

"What do we do?" Bella asked, turning her head up to look at him.

"I don't know," Edward shook his head and dropped a kiss to her lips. "Right now we're all just playing it by ear. Seeing what works and what doesn't. We'll take care of her, I promise you that."

Bella nodded silently, moving out of the circle of his arms. She had heard the tail end of his call with Alice and was fairly certain that he knew she had as well. As much as she wanted to stay, not only to assure herself that he wouldn't leave, but to help Angela as well, she knew that she couldn't. She looked back at Edward, feeling her heart constrict with pain and uncertainty as she watched him sit next to Angela on the bed and speak to her softly. She loved him more than anything in this life, but it still didn't make sense to her that he loved her back. She felt as though she had nothing to offer him and the more she looked at the photo of them that Alice had taken on her birthday, the more she was struck silent by the contrast between them.

Edward was beautiful, his entire family was beautiful. They were graceful and elegant. He could easily have anyone he wanted and for reasons she didn't understand, he wanted her. Half of the time when she wore a dress, usually by Alice's insistence, she felt as though she was doing little more than playing dress up. She was a square peg trying to be fit into a round hole and she knew that no matter how much she wanted to, she didn't belong. She looked up as he stepped toward her and tried to offer him a smile when he wrapped his arm around her waist.

"Let me drive you home," he offered her. "It's raining pretty hard out there, I wouldn't want you to get into an accident."

Nodding quietly, Bella handed over her keys without making any fuss and though Edward found it a little odd, he thought perhaps it was her worry for her friend that made her so agreeable. He led her out to her truck, holding the umbrella over her head as they jogged through the heavy downpour. She was silent the entire drive to her home and he wished he knew what she was thinking about. Her expression didn't help him much to decipher her thoughts, her face clouded by worry and sadness.

"Will you tell me what you're thinking?" he requested of her as he turned off the engine and sat in the cab with her in her father's driveway.

"What if they don't come back?" she answered him as she met his eyes.

"They will," he assured her and though he knew that there was more to her worry than that, he felt reluctant to push her further. "You're going to close your window tonight, aren't you?"

She didn't speak, but she did nod quietly, her gaze averted. He sighed, but he didn't argue with her, knowing that it would serve no purpose to do so.

"How long will you keep it closed?" he asked as he removed the keys from the ignition and handed them to her.

"I don't know," she answered honestly.

"I love you, Bella," he told her as he took her face in his hands and touched her lips with his in a slow, chaste kiss. "Don't forget that."

"I love you, too."

He opened the door, ghosting around the front of the truck to hold her door open while she stepped out of the cab. She reached for the umbrella he held and he let her take it, watching as she walked up to the front door quietly. He knew that there was something else that was bothering her, something that was haunting her thoughts enough to darken her brown eyes, but he also knew that whatever it was, she wouldn't tell him. He wondered if it was those thoughts that she was able hide from him so easily that Esme was referring to when she had told him that sometimes a girl just needed her mother.

He waited for the door to close before he turned and disappeared into the woods. Too fast to be seen, he ran back to his house and was changed into dry clothes. The drive had taken almost twenty minutes in the rain, but his journey back on foot had taken him less than five. Stepping out of his room, he walked back to Jasper and Alice's room only to find it empty. Brow furrowing he moved down the hall, checking first her bedroom as well as her closet before walking downstairs. His smile was sad when he found her curled up in Carlisle's desk chair, her new 'Papa Bear' enfolded in her arms along with her 'Jasper' bear.

Stepping up to the chair, he turned it toward him and lifted her easily into his arms. Carrying her out of the room, he walked through the house and into the library. Sitting down with Angela cradled in his lap, he reached for the mouse and shook his head with amusement when the video chat program signaled him that he was receiving a call.

"Hi, Alice," he greeted his sister when her face appeared on the screen.

"Hi, Edward," she said and he watched her eyes scan to the side, unable to hide her grief when she saw Angela. "Hi, Angela," she said, her voice a little louder than before as she tried to gain the girl's attention.

"She not speaking to anyone," he told her when the girl in his arms remained quiet. "She's not responding to anything."

"How's Bella doing?" she asked.

"I'm not really sure," he said, raising his eyebrows in a facial shrug, his brooding countenance reappearing. "I know she's upset about more than just Angela, but she isn't talking so much. I think she's blaming herself for what happened, too, but I don't know for sure."

"She closed her window," Alice told him, worry clouding her golden eyes.

"I know," Edward said and looked down at Angela when she moved against him. "Did you want up, Sweetheart?" he asked her and loosened his arms.

He wasn't surprised that she remained quiet; she didn't even meet his gaze. She did move just enough to curl closer against him though, burying her face in one of the bears she held. He kissed her hair, holding her close as he tightened his arms around her once more. Lips pursed in sadness, he looked up at Alice.

"We can't even get her to eat anything. She doesn't seem to be aware of anything," he told Alice. "Where's Jasper?"

"Coming out of the shower in a few seconds," she said and he could see the door open behind her. "I knew if he saw me make this call, he wouldn't stay."

"Covert Ops, Alice?" Edward chuckled as he watched his brother walk into the room behind her, his hair dripping water onto the shirt he wore. "Hey, Jazz," he greeted his brother, watching as his brother's expression registered surprise, before disapproval and then finally resignation.

"Hey, Edward," he greeted, his southern accent colored by his emotions. "Is that Angela?" he asked as he stepped closer to the computer.

"Yeah," Edward sighed and looked down on the girl in his arms. "Talk to her, Jazz. Maybe you'll get a response from her; no one else has been able to."

"Tell her you're not mad, Jasper," Alice coached gently.

"Why would I be mad at her?" he asked before turning his attention on the computer. "Angela? Little one, can you hear me?" he asked as he took Alice's seat in the chair when she stood and moved away from the computer. "Sweetheart, it's Jasper," he said after a long moment. "Is she asleep?" he asked Edward when she failed to respond.

"No," Edward said after glancing down at her face. "She's…for lack of a better word, she's catatonic. She's not responding to anyone or anything." Edward sighed at the expression on his brother's face, not needing to read his thoughts to understand what he was thinking. "She's not afraid of _you_, Jasper," Edward told him. "She's afraid of herself. She hurt you, Jasper. It's not something that she has ever or would ever want to do."

"I can't risk coming back until I have better control," he argued before Edward could ask him to return. "I can't risk something like that happening again."

"Jasper," Edward shook his head.

"No, Edward," Jasper reached toward the computer. "Not this time. I can't just come running back right away. I can't risk hurting Angela or Bella. I'm sorry."

The screen went blank and Edward sighed. He looked down at Angela and tucked her hair behind her ear. Her eyes were half lidded, telling him that she was nearing sleep. Kissing her forehead, he stood from the chair and left the library. He carried her through the house and upstairs. He stood in the hall, holding her in his arms as indecision left him immobile. Cradling her higher against his chest, he carried her into Alice and Jasper's bedroom, laying her down on the bed and tucking her beneath the covers before moving through the house to gather the rest of her bears. Returning to her side, he laid down behind her and tucked the three remaining bears around her.

"Sleep well, baby girl," he said as he wrapped his arms around her. "Your big brother's here."


	34. Chapter 32

Chapter 32

Bella closed the front door quietly behind her and dropped her backpack to the floor next to it. Lifting her hand to tuck her hair behind her ear, she took a deep breath and stepped forward into the living room. She had been prepared to smile or talk with Charlie if he wanted to, but was grateful to find him asleep on the couch instead, the television remote in his hand. Shaking her head, she crossed behind the couch and moved up the stairs slowly.

She felt old, terribly old. Her heart hurt, her head hurt and more than anything she just wanted to cry. Seeing Angela in the state she was in only solidified her belief that she was doing the right thing in keeping her window closed. As much as she needed Edward, she felt that Angela needed him more. She knew that if she left her window open, there was a good possibility that Edward would come be with her once Angela was asleep. A large part of her wanted that, needed to be held by him, but an even bigger part knew that she had to deny him.

She could still remember the nightmares, the vivid images that her mind played for her while she was asleep. They were gone now, thanks to Carlisle, Emmett and healthy dose of animated films, but what if Angela's nightmares came back? Hers had been bad enough; she couldn't imagine how much worse Angela's must have been. Tending to her needs before closing herself inside her bedroom, Bella changed into her sleep clothes and sat on the side of her bed.

Tomorrow was Sunday. Tomorrow, as early as she could, she would go over to Edward's house and she would help him with Angela. She knew how exhausting it could be taking care of someone in her condition; after all, Bella had personal experience with that. She could still remember how frightening it was when Renee had dipped into a similar state after Ben had left her, before she had met Phil. Bella hadn't had anyone to help her, she had been left alone to take care of her mother by herself. Although it had only lasted a week, those seven days would be burned into her memory forever.

Sniffling, Bella frowned and lifted her hand to her face. When did she start crying, she wondered as she wiped away her tears. How was she not aware of her tears? Was she crying with Edward? Blowing out a heavy breath, she reached for her journal and the pen that sat beside it. Curling up with her back against the headboard, she propped the journal on her bent knees and opened it to a clean page.

_September 17, 2009_

_I can't remember ever having hurt this much before, emotionally that is. Even after James, when my leg and ribs were broken, I don't remember there being pain this…deep before. I love Edward so much, but I feel as though I have only proven to him why we are a bad idea. Four days ago it was my birthday and Alice threw me a party. Four days ago, my eternal clumsiness caused me to bleed. Four days ago…four days ago, I broke his family. _

_There are so many things that I should've done differently that night to prevent what happened, but it doesn't matter now. Jasper is gone, Alice has gone with him. I don't know where they are or if they will ever return. Carlisle and Esme left today for New York, a trip they had already had planned, but the reason behind their absence doesn't make it hurt any less considering the circumstances. Emmett and Rosalie are gone as well. I know that Edward said that they will most likely be the first ones to return, but there is nothing to dull the pain of their absence. _

_Angela is in a near catatonic state. She moves around, walks from place to place and can go to the bathroom on her own, but she doesn't speak, doesn't seem to be aware of anyone around her and won't eat. I swear, earlier today when I saw Esme try to get her to eat a bit of fruit, it was like Angela didn't know she was there or that there was anything in front of her. She's just…gone. I remember how mom was after Ben, but this…this is so much worse. Angela's state isn't due to a romantic break up, she's…god, it feels like the world is falling down around her. _

Bella pulled back from her journal, looking down at the page when two more tear drops appeared on the paper. She wanted to write more, but she couldn't. Her tears were filling her eyes so much that she was nearly blinded by them and the more they fell on the journal, the more the ink on the page began to run and blend together distorting the words or erasing them completely. Giving up on writing, she put the pen between the pages and folded the journal closed before setting it aside on her nightstand.

Lifting a pillow into her lap, she buried her face in the soft cotton case covering it as she cried. It felt to her as though the world was beginning to spin out of control and she didn't even know how to begin to stop it. She had cried from anger or stress before, but these tears were so much different. These tears were full of pain, heartache and the self-destructive thoughts that told her she was to blame for everything that happened. Sniffling as she lifted her face from her pillow, she tried to determine what the soft sound was that she kept hearing. Looking around the room, her eyes came to rest on her desk and she saw her phone moving as it vibrated, the soft melody of the ringtone turned to its lowest level.

"Hello," she answered the call, her voice soggy as she returned to her bed.

"Bella?" Esme's soft voice only seemed to make her tears return. "Oh, Sweetheart, what's wrong?"

Bella curled up on her side, pulling the covers over her as she tucked her pillows beneath her head and held the phone to her ear. Why did it feel that the comfort of Esme's voice was only making her heart ache that much stronger?

"It's just us girls," she promised Bella softly. "Carlisle left to go out for a little bit of a walk. Tell me what's wrong, sweetheart?"

"Ev-everything," Bella stammered out, unable to stop her tears.

Esme clucked tongue, making a few soft cooing sounds to the distraught girl on the phone as she did her best to offer her comfort. Moving into the living room and sitting down on the couch, Esme curled up against the arm of the wide, plush sofa and leaned against the corner as she listened to Bella's tears. It broke her heart that she couldn't be there for both of her human daughters, but she wouldn't have been able to forgive herself if she had sent Carlisle here alone.

"I'd like for you to be able to think of as a second mother," she told Bella and heard the girl laugh through her tears.

"You are a mother, Esme," Bella told her quietly. "Renee's my mom, but she wasn't really a mother."

"Explain that to me," she requested as she closed her eyes, allowing her sensitive vampire ears more clarity as she focused on the sound of Bella's voice.

"She could never cook, at all," Bella laughed even as she cried, the conversation beginning to soothe her. "She even made Chef Boyardee inedible and all you do is heat up what's in the can. I always did the cooking. She would laugh and play with me, but I made all the shopping lists and reminded her when we needed to get stuff."

Esme chuckled softly, the sound bringing Bella a measure of comfort as she burrowed deeper beneath the covers. Her eyes were closed, sleep beckoning to her and before she knew she was speaking the words, she was confessing her fears to Esme the way a daughter would to her mother. She was crying softly as she told her how much it didn't make sense for Edward to love her. She truly hadn't realized that she was speaking aloud and telling Esme her fears of inadequacy until the woman clucked her tongue and shushed her gently.

"Oh, Sweetheart," Esme mourned Bella's heartache and looked up at the feel of Carlisle's presence in the room.

"Angela?" he asked softly as he stepped closer to her.

"Bella," she answered, her voice below the range of human hearing.

Carlisle nodded, his lips curling up in a sad lopsided smile. Stepping up to the couch, he bent down and kissed Esme's hair. Keeping his voice low, he told her that he would be in his study. They both knew that he would be able to hear every word spoken by both Esme and Bella, but the separation would give the feeling of privacy. Esme watched her husband walk away, knowing that he would be respectful of their conversation and try to focus his mind on something else in an effort to tune out their words.

"Sweetheart, I want you to listen to me, ok?" Esme said her voice gentle and soothing. "You are a beautiful girl and we are lucky to have you as a part of our family. Edward loves you very much and so do we all. Carlisle and I plan to come back at least once a month if we are able, to see both you and Angela. So in October, you and I will set aside a day to just have to ourselves, alright? Just a mother daughter day, we can talk and do whatever you like."

"Promise?" Bella asked and Esme smiled softly, knowing that the human girl was inches away from sleep.

"I promise," she assured her. "Now, why don't you get some sleep, ok?"

Bella hummed her agreement and Esme lowered her phone when the call disconnected. Standing up from her seat on the couch, she tucked her phone back into her pants pocket and went in search of her husband. It didn't take her long to find him, his blonde head bowed over a thick file that lay open on his desk. Leaning against the doorframe she smiled at the picture he made. He was beautiful, strong, compassionate and so full of love. Her smile widened when he looked up at her and held out his hand for her to take.

Carlisle watched as Esme walked closer to him, her steps soundless as she moved across the hardwood floor. Her palm was warm and soft when she placed her hand in his. Her touch was something he would never grow tired of. He knew that to humans they felt as cold as ice and hard as marble, but to each other and to other vampires, their skin was soft and supple. It was always a comfort to feel her near, the radiance of her passion and love filling empty spaces with a warmth so divine that it oftentimes left him speechless. When she came to stop by his side, he turned his chair toward her and pulled her gently down to sit in his lap. He combed his hands into her hair, the soft caramel tresses feeling to be made of silk as they filled his hands and cascaded over his skin.

He met her lips, kissing her chastely at first before deepening the embrace as he spoke to her of his love. Her tongue danced alongside his, sweeping through his mouth and tracing the sharpness of his deadly incisors. Pulling back to trace wet, open mouthed kisses down her neck, he cupped her head in one hand while the other held her waist.

"I love you," he whispered to her reverently as he pulled back to look into her eyes, darkened to nearly black with her awakened desire.

"And I love you," she told him, tracing the lines of his face with her fingertips.

"How's Bella?" he asked her as he wrapped his arms around her waist and she tucked herself against his chest.

"She's alright," Esme said softly, her eyes returning to gold as her passion calmed, "or she will be. It's just doubts, my love," she told Carlisle when he turned his concerned gaze on her, "doubts that every girl in love for the first time feels. I don't know that she necessarily meant to tell me, but I'm certain that she feels better for having done so. I doubt she would've spoken with Renee about her fears. It sounds to me as though she spent most of her time growing up taking care of her mother instead of the other way around."

"Jasper's often said that she doesn't see herself right," he mused only to make a sound of surprise when Esme pinched him.

"Much like someone else I know," she told him with a pointed stare. "There are times that even you forget all that you have to offer the world, my love. You forget your goodness," she told him and kissed his lips. "Your compassion," she kissed him again. "Your beauty," another kiss, "both inside and out," her lips met his again and he held her to him.

Carlisle stood up from his chair, holding his wife tightly in his arms as he walked out of his office and to the stairs. He pressed his lips against hers, nudging her mouth open to slide his tongue inside as he deepened the kiss. She gasped against him, his teeth nibbling delicately at her flesh as he walked up the stairs with her.

"Why, Mrs. Cullen, I do believe you're trying to seduce me," he said breathlessly as he carried her into their bedroom.

"Mmm, would I do a thing like that?" she purred, smiling at him through the fringe of her lashes as she lowered her mouth to his neck and sucked upon his skin as she nibbled gently.

Carlisle gasped as her teeth grazed against him. He stepped closer to the bed, falling over her on the mattress when his knees hit the side of the bed frame. Esme grasped the front of his shirt, pulling him closer to her as her eyes burned black with the passion she felt. She lifted up off the pillows, her arm wrapping around his neck as she claimed his lips with a heady moan.

"I love you, Esme Cullen," Carlisle whispered against her lips.

"From now until forever," she answered, repeating their private wedding vows. "I will love you always, Carlisle Cullen."

**:::::**

"Shh, it's alright baby girl," Edward whispered to the girl sleeping in his arms when she whimpered. "It's alright, Angela, I'm right here."

"I'm sorry, Jasper," she whimpered in her sleep, her voice only loud enough to be heard by her vampire brother.

"Oh, baby girl, he's not mad," Edward promised her as he rubbed her back.

She had moved during her sleep, turning over so that she was facing him and had curled against his chest. He bowed his head over her, kissing her hair as he pulled his cell phone from his pocket. He dialed Alice's phone, not surprised when she answered before the end of the first ring. He didn't have to say anything, his psychic sister already knowing his reason for calling. Jasper's voice sounded a short moment later and he was glad to hear more confidence in his brother's voice than had been there earlier that day.

"Hey, Jazz," Edward returned his brother's greeting. "No, it's not that. Angela's been talking in her sleep. She's still asleep, but she keeps apologizing to you. I'm going to put you on speaker, would you talk to her?"

"What would I say?" Jasper asked, Angela's soft whimper carrying over the line to him.

"Anything, Jasper," Edward said, as he set the phone down on the pillow behind Angela's head. "Tell her stories; read her a book, anything. Just let her hear your voice."

"Hey, Little One," Jasper's voice filled the room, his smooth voice rich and soothing. "I'm not mad at you, I promise. I just need to work out a few things before I come home. I need to have better control. I'm not angry or upset; I promise you that, Sweetheart."

"Keep going, Jasper," Edward said softly when his brother remained quiet. "I think it's helping."

"Well, you've heard my human stories, little one," he said after a moment, his voice thoughtful. "How about I tell you how I met Alice?" he said and met his wife's smiling eyes.

Pulling Alice down to sit in his lap, Jasper looked around at the forest surrounding the home of the Denali coven. He chuckled when Alice took the phone from him, putting the call on speaker while she held the phone in her lap. Jasper smiled, kissing her forehead as he scooted back further on the boulder he was sitting upon and folded his legs beneath her to sit cross legged.

"It was nineteen-forty-eight," he began, his voice affectionate and gaining a bit of his southern accent as he looked down into Alice's bright gold eyes. "I had separated from my friends, Peter and Charlotte, that I had been traveling with. I was felling rather lost and more than a bit lonely, you see, little one, my friends were mates. Their closeness, the love they shared was something that I longed for, but something that I ultimately believed was out of my reach."

"I wasn't always the man that I am now," he continued his story, smiling as Alice reached up to tuck his hair behind his ear. "I don't know that I truly believed myself to be deserving of a love like that. Then one day, as I was traveling through Philadelphia, I wandered into a little diner. I'm not ever sure what I was doing there," he chuckled softly as he looked down at Alice. "But there, sitting on a stool at the counter, was this beautiful creature. She was directly in front of me, sitting with her back against the counter as she waited for me. Little did I know that she had seen me coming."

"You kept me waiting long enough," Alice's voice sounded over the phone and Edward chuckled softly.

"My apologies, ma'am," Jasper said, winking at his wife as he gave her a lopsided grin. "Alice's eyes were already gold when I met her. She had seen the family we would join and knew that they fed on animals. She had the strength to convert herself to that diet without needing anyone's help."

"It was my visions," Alice said, reaching her hand up to cup his cheek. "They've never led me astray."

"She took my hand and in the same moment, my heart," Jasper said as he took in a deep breath. "She gave me something that I couldn't remember having felt before – hope."

"I led him out of the diner, to someplace that we could talk more freely," Alice said as she combed her fingers through his hair, enjoying the feeling of his silken locks against her skin. "I told him of my vision, and how long I'd been waiting for him."

"She brought me peace and warmth," Jasper said, his eyes never breaking their locked gaze. "I opened myself to her and her emotions flooded me with the sweetest feelings I'd ever known. She saved me, healed me."

"Loved you," Alice said as she smiled. "You completed me."

"And you taught me how to live. I only existed before I met you."

"Alright you two," Edward broke in with a soft chuckle. "Angela's calm and sleeping peacefully again. Go…do whatever it is you're about to do."

Alice giggled and told Edward she loved him and to give Angela their love before disconnecting the call. Pulling on Jasper's hand, she led him away from the boulder, her eyes darkening with each step, her intention clear in her every movement. Jasper smiled as she flooded him with her love and desire. He let her drag him into the woods, the sunlight falling upon them through the canopy of the trees, patches of their skin glittering as they fell into one another.

**:::::**

Angela smiled as she opened her eyes, the familiar rich reds of the floor and walls greeting her as the smell of the ink and the brine of the ocean soothed her. Her heart still hurt, but this room, this place in her dreams brought her a great sense of comfort. Nothing could hurt her here, she was safe here. Stepping over to the desk, she found three letters bound with the sapphire ribbons and gathered them in her hands as she stepped over to the couch and sat down. Marcus wasn't here, but that was alright.

She stretched out; lying against the arm of the couch with two pillows propped behind her and crossed her feet on the far cushion. The pain of losing her family still hurt her, but it wasn't as painful here as it was when she was awake. If she could, she would stay here forever. Slipping the ribbon off one of the letters, she unrolled the parchment and ran her fingertips over the writing before reading the words.

:::

_Angela,_

_Dear one, are you well? It has been days since I have seen you here, but I still remember your last time here vividly. You couldn't hear me or see me, but I could both hear and see you. You held my hand so tightly as you spoke, your words, the story of the abuse you suffered angered me. I wish only to help you and as I have not seen you since that day, since learning of the torment you have endured, I have left my home in Italy. I am coming to you, little one. I wish to see you, if only to know that you are safe. _

_There are those who would not wish to see me go and I fear that they may follow. I do not know when I will arrive in the colonies; I have chosen to take a series of cruises in order to get to you. My only thought is to keep you safe, I do not wish for any who may follow me to find you. I do hope that you are safe, my dear. Though I have never spoken so aloud, I do wonder why it is that you are not afraid of me. I am most certain that you know what it is that I am, yet you are not afraid. _

:::

"Why would I be afraid of you," she spoke aloud, running her fingertips over his words, delighting in the structure of his handwriting. "Papa took me into his family and you are just like them, except your eyes are different."

"Different?" Marcus questioned and met her wide eyes when she looked up to find him standing behind her. "How are my eyes different?" he asked as she sat up and he moved to sit next to her.

"Your eyes are red," she answered softly, slowly. "Their eyes are gold."

She wasn't certain if she should be talking with him about this, but this place here with Marcus, this room meant safety from her torment of the waking world. In this place fear and pain didn't exist, or at least she could allow herself to believe that. She leaned against him when he wrapped his arm around her shoulders, her hand moving up instinctively to fist in his shirt.

"I saw you," she told him softly with a small grin, "in my house. You were in a painting that Papa has."

"A painting?" he questioned, turning his face to look at her. "Describe it to me," he requested and kissed her hair.

"You, another man with dark hair and third man with hair so blonde it's almost white are standing on a balcony made of stone or marble. Papa's standing off to the side behind you."

Marcus' mind worked quickly, his suspicions growing as he thought over what she was describing. If what she was saying was true than he had a fairly good idea of whom her 'Papa' was but it couldn't be. He remembered the gentle man that had fascinated Aro and become someone that he himself considered to be a close friend. That man was gentle, compassionate, he found violence to be abhorrent and his diet was odd. There was no way the _Stregoni Benefici _could still be alive, was there?

"Angela, my dear," Marcus began slowly, "what is your Papa's name?"

"I don't know if I should tell you," she said softly after a long moment, her head bowed and her lip clasped between her teeth.

"Why not?" Marcus asked as he tipped her face up with a finger beneath her chin.

"Papa told me that you're part of an old family, that you keep the laws of your people. I don't want to bring him any trouble."

"I promise you that no harm will come to your family from me," he assured her, tucking her hair behind her ears as he framed her face with his hands. "Tell me his name," he implored her once again.

"Papa's name is Carlisle…Carlisle Cullen."

**:::::**

"Angela," Edward called to her again, tapping his hand gently against her cheek. "Come on, Sweetheart, wake up."

"Edward," Bella's voice shook as she looked at him from where she knelt on the bed next to him. "Why isn't she waking up?"

"I don't know," he said with wide eyes. "It's after three in the afternoon," he said to himself as he looked at his watch. "I thought she was just tired when she didn't wake up by noon, but this isn't…this isn't normal. Stay with her while I call Carlisle. This is out of my range of expertise."

"Angela, come on, sweetie," Bella called to her friend and shook her arm. "Please wake up. _Please_."

**:::::**

"I knew your Papa long ago," Marcus told Angela, after a long moment of silence. "I am pleased to know that he is still alive."

"Of course Papa's still alive," Angela laughed, only to frown at the strange tugging sensation she felt.

"Are you alright?" Marcus asked her softly, concern furrowing his brow.

"I don't know," she said softly, standing from the couch and looking around the room. "It feels like something's tugging at me," she said with a confused shake of her head.

"Someone is trying to wake you," he told her. "I have felt it before myself when someone has tried to pull me from this place."

"I don't want to go," she shook her head. "I want to stay here with you."

"You can always come back," he promised her, gliding across the room to enfold her in his arms. "I will always be here for you, my dear. But I am certain your family is worried. We have been here for a long time."

"But I just got here," she argued as she tried to resist the pull.

"Time passes differently here," he told her and kissed her forehead. "You never feel it passing. What seems to be only a few minutes here, is hours out there. You must go, my Angela. I will be here when you return."

"No, Marcus!" she cried out as the tugging grew too strong to fight and she felt herself being pulled away. "Marcus!"

**:::::**

_Marcus! _No, she didn't want to be here. She didn't want to be awake.

Edward's head snapped to the side, his eyes riveted on Angela when he heard the name she screamed in her thoughts. Her eyes were open, half-lidded and just the same as yesterday, they took in nothing around her.

"She's awake," he told Carlisle. "I'll call you when I know more about what happened."

"Alright, son," Carlisle agreed with a relieved sigh. "Make sure she's taking her Toradol. In this state we may never know whether she's experiencing a migraine or not; if you can't get her to swallow the pill, than use the syringe."

"I will. I'll call you later."

Edward disconnected the call and dropped the phone back into his pocket as he returned to the bed. He had spent almost an hour on the phone with Carlisle, doing everything his father instructed in order to rouse her from sleep. Sitting next to her on the bed, he looked over Angela to offer Bella a comforting smile. Looking down at Angela, he tucked her hair behind her ear and bent low over her to kiss her forehead.

"Oh, no you don't," Edward said when she looked to be falling asleep again. "Come on," he said as he gently wrapped one hand around her arm and the other around her waist. "Up you get," he directed as he helped her to her feet. "That's it, little one," he praised when she began walking, following his gentle nudge as he held one hand in the small of her back and walked her to the bathroom. "Bella, would you go in with her and make certain she has help if she needs it."

"Don't worry, I've got this," she said with a half smile as she helped Angela into the bathroom and shut the door.

Edward shook his head as he moved down stairs and took his phone from his pocket as it began to ring. He chuckled at the sight of Alice's picture on the screen and answered the call as he moved to the fridge.

"What is it?" she asked with worry, having felt his need to call her in her vision.

"I don't know for sure," Edward said as he began taking things out to make dinner for both Bella and Angela. "I couldn't wake her at all and when I finally did, she was calling Marcus' name in her thoughts. You said you could see her dreamscape. What do you remember of it?"

"I only saw it for a second," Alice said. "It was…like a library, but a private one. There was nothing frightening or disturbing about it, aside from the fact that I saw Marcus there. I don't know how these things work, Edward. Let me talk with Eleazar. He might have some insights. How long was she asleep?"

"Bella and I were just able to wake her about ten minutes ago. She fell asleep before ten o'clock last night."

"That long?" he could hear the upset and disbelief in his sister's voice. "Let me talk with Eleazar. One of us will call you back."

"Ok," he said and lowered the phone when the call disconnected.

He closed his eyes as he braced his hands against the counter. Dropping his head, he gave himself a few moments to forget his stresses as he heard the water for a bath begin to run. Bella had come over early, only a few minutes after eight. The scent of salt had been light on her, but clear enough for him to know that she had been crying either sometime that morning or the night before. He could still remember the feeling of her trembling when he had wrapped his arms around her. He knew that a human wouldn't have felt the trembling that vibrated through her muscles, minute though it was, but he had.

Looking down, feeling weak for what he was about to do, he couldn't stop himself from reaching for his phone. Hitting the number four on his speed dial, he waited and listened to the digital ring. He smiled sadly at the sound of her voice, knowing that she may not necessarily understand his request, but that she would follow through with it anyway. It was either this solution, or surrender himself to his own breakdown.

"Hey, Rose," Edward returned his sister's greeting. "I need you to do something for me."

"Yeah, what's that?" Rosalie asked and he could hear Emmett's voice in the background along with the rumbling of a car engine.

"Piss me off."

"What?" she asked dumbfounded by his request.

"Piss me off, Rose," he repeated.

"_Give me that,"_ he heard Emmett say before the rustling sound as the phone changed hands. "What's going on, Edward?"

"Will you put Rosalie back on?" he asked instead.

"Not until you tell me what's going on. Why do you sound so tired?" his brother asked him with a distracted tone that told him he was driving.

Edward sighed as he dropped his head again and pinched the bridge of his nose. He didn't want to have to explain this to Emmett. His siblings were supposed to be hunting down Angela's stalker. All he needed was a kick-start, something to give him a little more energy and a little more focus until he felt comfortable enough to go for a real hunt. Rosalie pushing his buttons always did that for him and that was why he had called her. Now, instead of having her piss him off, he was being interrogated.

"Emmett - "

"Don't fucking stall me, _Eddie_," he growled using the nickname he knew his brother hated. "What is going on? How's Angela?" Edward's silence was all the answer he needed. "I can send Rose home."

"_Emmett!"_ Edward heard his sister hiss at her husband in the background. _"Either one of us doing this alone is crazy and stupid because we both know that we would kill this guy. That's why Carlisle sent us together. Let me talk to him."_

"Just let Rose piss me off and then go find that guy," Edward ground out. "The faster you find him, the faster you come home."

"I'm not going to do that for you," Rosalie said as she took the phone again. "I'm not going to piss you off, but I am going to tell you that you're a damn idiot for not hunting like you need to. Leave Angela with Alice or Bella and then _go hunting_. It's a sad day when I'm your voice of reason."

"Rose – "

"Don't you 'Rose' me, go hunting."

He let his hand drop when the call disconnected and stood up slowly before tucking the device back into his pocket. She had purposefully not even gotten him anywhere close to annoyed, let alone angry. She wouldn't give him the kick start he needed; she was forcing him to hunt. He didn't want to leave Angela or Bella, but at this point he was out of options. Putting the pan into the oven, he set the timer and prayed to whoever was listening for the strength to leave them long enough to hunt. He hated leaving them, leaving Angela especially in the state she was in, but he would do anything to help them, even if that meant leaving them for a little while.

**:::::**

Angela blinked slowly against the brightness of the light and the desire to return to her dreaming world. Being awake hurt, all of her fears and doubts were that much more powerful when she was awake. Her family was in tatters and she had no one but herself to blame. Her eyes scanned over to the side, seeing the tub filling with water, but not seeing Bella standing against the counter. She stood up slowly, moving from her seat on the closed toilet to the bathtub. She knelt down slowly, trying to understand why the water was running. She couldn't remember having started the bath. She felt a touch on her shoulder, but it felt removed as though she were feeling it from a distance.

Bella's brow furrowed in concern as she helped Angela up to her feet and bit her lip when she realized that she would need to help her friend undress. The memories of doing this for Renee came back to her and she felt as though she were nine years old again. She felt that same old fear, the certainty that if she didn't put her own needs aside and help Angela than everything would fall to ruins. She held Angela's hand as the girl stepped into the bathtub and reached down to turn off the taps as her friend settled down in the water.

She could feel her hands shaking as she reached out for the natural sponge bath scrubber that hung from the faucet by the cotton cord. She knew she was crying; she could feel the tears slipping down her cheeks. Dipping the sponge in the bath, she rung the excess water out before applying a bit of the shower gel and squeezing it repeatedly to build a fine lather. Biting her lip to keep her tears silent, Bella rubbed the soapy sponge over Angela's shoulders and arms.

"Bella?"

She gasped at the sound of Angela's whisper. It was the first time she had spoken in days.

"I'm here, Angela," Bella assured her quietly as she helped her friend bathe.

"Where's Alice?"

"She's not here," she answered her friend. Angela's voice sounded distant, but at least she was speaking. "She and Jasper went away for a little while."

Angela didn't speak again after that, her friend returning to her state of silence. Bella moved to kneel beside the tub and lifted a hand to tip her friend's face up to see her eyes. There was nothing in her vacant stare; it was as though Angela had just hidden herself away. She couldn't blame her, not one bit. This world was cruel and painful, especially to Angela. She had been abused by her parents, constantly suffered from debilitating migraines, and was being hunted and tormented relentlessly by a stalker. The only good thing in her life was the Cullens and now even they were gone, except for Edward.

"They're coming back, Angela," Bella promised her friend. "They didn't abandon you. They wouldn't do that. They're coming back."

Bella moved back behind her friend, helping her scoot forward as she tipped her back to wash her hair. She bit her lip once more against the sting of her tears. She had spoken the words, given Angela the reassurances she needed, but in some ways she felt as though she'd been abandoned, too. She may have understood their reasons for leaving and held the knowledge that their collective absences were only temporary, but that didn't make it any easier to take.

She felt weak, in some manner pathetic and thought once more that Edward deserved someone better than her. Rinsing the shampoo from Angela's hair, she helped her friend sit up once more. She reached out for the bottle of conditioner, but her hand was shaking so much that she was afraid she would drop the bottle if she tried to pick it up. The band-aid on her right index finger seemed to be mocking her, telling her that she had caused this rift, she had broken Edward's family and in doing so, she had broken Angela.

She clapped her hand over her mouth when a sob broke from her and she bit down on the inside of her cheek to silence her cries. She couldn't do that. She couldn't break down here. Taking in a series of quick deep breaths, she silently told herself that she was fine. _Don't cry, don't cry. Edward needs you. Angela needs you. You can cry when you get home. Tears in the shower don't count._ She kept repeating the thoughts in her mind like a mantra until she felt in control of her emotions once more.

Raising wet hands, dripping with sudsy water from the bath to her face, Bella wiped away her tears and scrubbed at her face. Nodding to herself as she tucked her hair behind her ears, she moved to the side of the tub and reached down to release the drain. It didn't take her long to help Angela from the bath. All she had to do was wrap the towel around her friend before the girl took over and began drying herself. Basic tasks she could do, but for the most part, she just wasn't there.

She didn't touch her hair, but she was able to dress herself and for that Bella was grateful. Standing behind her friend, she gathered her hair in the damp towel and squeezed the water from her dripping locks. Once she felt that Angela's hair had been dried enough, she hung the bath towel over the towel bar on the wall and helped her friend back to her bedroom.

"We have school tomorrow," she told Angela softly, searching for anything to talk about. "Maybe the routine will help, you know, take your mind off things."

Bella sat Angela down on the side of her bed and gathered her friend's brush and comb before returning to sit behind her. Reaching forward, she gathered Angela's hair back over her shoulders and began to slowly pull the comb through the ends of her hair. She continued to talk about school and the two classes they shared as she worked her way slowly up, combing the knots and moisture from Angela's hair until she was able to drag the comb from root to tip without it getting caught along the way. She didn't know how long she had been combing her friend's hair when Edward's voice sounded from the doorway and he walked inside the room to stand next to her.

"How's she doing?" Edward asked as he dropped a kiss to Bella's hair.

"Pretty much just like before," Bella said as she continued the repetitive motion of combing Angela's hair. "She talked a little bit in the bath, asked where Alice was. She got quiet after that. I don't know if she knew she was speaking or not."

"She'll be ok," he told her, trying to soothe her worries. "Maybe you should stay here tonight," Edward offered when Bella remained silent.

"Charlie would never go for that. Not with Carlisle and Esme being away," Bella said as she took in a deep slow breath. "I'll be alright, Edward. Besides if I stay here, who's going to make sure that Charlie eats?"

"Bella," his voice sounded pained, as though he was mourning her name.

She watched as he knelt down beside the bed, his hand resting on her knee as he looked up at her. She felt her eyes grow wide, even as she bit down on the inside of her cheek. She didn't know if she could handle the compassion and love that was in his eyes, she felt as though it would break her and turned her attention back on Angela's hair. If he continued to look at her like that she was fairly certain that she would give in, or cry and she wasn't sure which option was worse.

"Please look at me," he begged her as he lifted his hand to cup her cheek.

His hand was cool and smooth against her skin, hard as steel but smooth and gentle. She turned her eyes slowly back to him and knew that her emotions had betrayed her when his eyes narrowed in sympathy, his brows furrowing in concern as he stood and lifted her to sit in his lap. He wrapped Bella in his arms, holding her as tight as he dared and kissed her hair. He knew that Jasper's absence was affecting Bella as well, but he also knew that Bella wouldn't say anything. He reached out with one hand, brushing his hand over Angela's hair and waiting for the silent and unconscious move he knew would happen.

He continued petting her hair until she began to move and watched as Angela turned slowly. Her gaze held no awareness, but she moved back on the bed, tucking herself under the arm he held out to her and folding herself against his side. He could hear the silent whimpers from Bella, the sounds that were too low for a human to hear, but told him of her fight against her tears. He held the girls against him, Bella on his lap and Angela against side, hoping to offer them some kind of comfort while he took comfort from them as well.

He knew that he needed to hunt. He had caught a few deer on his way to find Alice and Jasper, but it wasn't nearly enough. The blood from the adolescent animals had served as little more than a snack and it had been weeks since he had last hunted properly. He would need to leave them in order to hunt, but couldn't stand the thought of being gone from them, no matter if he left them under Charlie's care or not. If he had thought once about calling Eleazar and Carmen to come and help him, he had thought of it a hundred times. But he couldn't do that either. He knew that Tanya and Kate would gladly help Jasper and Alice on their own, but Michael was only just beginning to trust them, he didn't want to chance what would happen if he called them away.

"Bella," Edward said after long moments of silence. "After dinner, I'm going to take you and Angela back to your house."

"You need to hunt," Bella said as she looked into his eyes. "They're not gold, but they're not black either. You haven't fed enough."

"You've learned to read me far too easily, little human," he joked and kissed her forehead. "Come on," he said when the timer sounded from downstairs. "I may not be quite as gifted a chef as Esme or Carlisle, but I can make a pretty mean lasagna."

Bella laughed softly and stood from his lap. They kept Angela between them as they walked down the stairs and through the house. She ate slowly, watching as Edward tried to get Angela to eat, but only managed to get a few bites past her lips. She wasn't refusing to eat; so much as she didn't seem to know that it was there. Pressing her lips together in a thin line, Bella worried what would happen if they didn't get her to eat soon. Angela had already lost the few pounds she had been able to gain because of the nightmares, if she lost anymore…

"You ready?" Edward asked as he watched Bella set her plate in the sink and run the water over it. "Don't worry about the dishes; I'll take care of them before I go hunting."

"Are you sure?" Bella asked as she looked at the plate and fork.

"I'm sure. Come on, let me get you two home," he said and slung Angela's backpack over his shoulder. "I put a few outfits in her bag for you. It's not much, but you shouldn't need much more than a couple days' worth."

"Don't worry, Edward, I'll take care of her," Bella promised as he led her out to her truck. "Just take your time ok? Don't come back before you're fully sated."

"That could be three or four days, Bella," he told her with a shake of his head as he climbed behind the wheel.

"Then take three or four days," Bella insisted as she kept her arm wrapped around Angela while he drove through the night darkened streets. "Don't neglect yourself. I can take care of her for a few days."

"I'm worried about you, too," he told her as he tightened his grip on the steering wheel. "I don't like leaving you, especially with everyone else gone."

"Edward," the tone of Bella's voice drew his eyes to hers. "Take the time you need to hunt properly. I can take care of her. I've done it before," she said and regretted the admission as soon as it left her lips.

"Angela's never been like this before," he said with confused bend of his brow.

"No, that's…that's not what I meant. Just leave it alone," she said quickly, her voice quiet when he opened his mouth to ask about what she meant.

"Bella," he turned his attention on her as he pulled into her driveway and shut off the engine.

"Just leave it alone," she said again as she moved to open her door. "Edward, please," she said, unable to look at him when his cool hand covered hers.

She couldn't talk about that time with Renee. She had never talked about it with anyone. It was a week, seven days, in the grand scheme of things it was nothing, but the memory still had the power to break her. She closed her eyes as she turned her face away and heard him sigh softly. She knew he wasn't pleased with her refusal to expand on what she'd inadvertently said, but she couldn't talk about it. She didn't think he would understand, she wasn't completely sure that she understood it herself.

He was out of the cab and standing inside her open car door before she had the time to register his movement from the truck. Charlie's car wasn't in the driveway, it was Sunday night, he wouldn't be home for another hour or two at least. She stepped down from the truck slowly, letting him help her and felt Edward kiss her hair before he handed her Angela's bag. She watched as he reached in and lifted Angela from the leather seat, carrying her in his arms as he followed Bella up to her house.

He led the way up to her bedroom and waited as Bella pulled the blankets back on her bed. He laid her down on the right side of the bed and covered Angela with the sheets and quilt before sitting beside her. Kissing her forehead and promising to return as quickly as he could, he stood and stepped toward Bella. He enfolded her in arms, cupped her cheek in his palm and kissed her lips slowly. Touching his forehead to hers, he promised her that he would come back soon before telling her that they would talk more when he came home. The look in his eyes made it clear just what he wanted to talk about, but he was gone before she could try to dissuade him from the topic.

Shaking her head slowly, Bella walked to her closet and took out clothes to change into for sleeping. She thought about simply changing and climbing into the bed beside Angela, she was so tired, but her emotions were rioting inside her and her heart was twisting painfully. She needed the sanctuary of the shower, the way the water hid her tears and the sound could cover her sobs. She was too close to breaking down to not cry and knew that she couldn't break down in front of Angela. As unaware as the girl seemed to be, the last thing Bella wanted anyone to see was her crying.

She barely made it into the bathroom before her tears started flowing. Reaching for the faucet and turning on the shower as hot as it would go, she found herself sobbing. Her hands were shaking so much that it was difficult to undress, but as soon as she got her clothes off, she climbed inside the shower and pulled the curtain closed. She didn't have the will to stand and instead found herself sitting on the bottom of the tub as the water rained down on her, soaking her through to the bone. With her knees pulled up to her chest, she rocked back and forth slowly as she gave herself over to her tears and let the sound of the water hide her upset from any witness.

Her upset was powerful, clawing at her like some kind of monster until she felt her stomach churning painfully. Ripping the shower curtain back, she opened the toilet and leaned over it as her stomach emptied itself over and over again. She laughed harshly, humorlessly as she flushed the toilet, the shower turning cold as she looked up and let the water wash her face before she stepped out and turned off the faucet. This was the last thing she needed, but she knew there would be no stopping it. Her choices now were limited to eating and facing the later sickness or simply choosing to skip eating all together.

Drying herself and dressing slowly before scrubbing her teeth and using the potent mint mouthwash, Bella gathered her discarded clothes and returned to her bedroom. She was exhausted, but for reasons she couldn't name or understand, she felt completely unable to sleep. Stepping over to her desk, she turned on her computer and waited for her email program to load. Rubbing her hand over her face, she saw the new email from Alice and opened the message. She read through the note, her vision blurring the words as she fought against the pull of sleep. Her eyes closed against her will without her truly knowing what the email said and she was asleep moments later folded over her desk.

It was nearly an hour later when Charlie opened the bedroom door to check on Bella and found Angela asleep in his daughter's bed. His eyes glanced over to the desk and he found Bella folded down over the top of her keyboard in a position that looked more than a little uncomfortable. His steps were as quiet as possible as he walked over to his daughter and lifted her gently from the chair. Carrying her back to the bed, he laid her down next to Angela and covered her with the blankets. Kissing them both on their foreheads, he walked back to the door and pulled it closed behind him as he left the room. Why did it feel to him as though things were only going to get worse?


	35. Chapter 33

Chapter 33

Angela blinked in the darkness, the stillness of the night denying her the ability to sleep. She hated these moments, few and far between that they were, the lucidity of thought brought with it the pain of all that had happened. Sitting up in the bed she was sharing with Bella, she padded silently to the chair sitting in front of the window and sat down slowly. She had been here with Bella in her friend's house for three days now. Three very long and trying days.

She went to school. She sat in the classrooms until the bell rang signaling her to change location, but she never spoke, never interacted with anyone. Their absence felt stronger at school. Alice and Edward were no longer sitting next to her in the three classes they shared and the science teacher had decided to make Lauren Mallory her lab partner instead of Bella or even Jessica. Lauren made everything worse and no matter how much she tried to shut out the girl's hateful words, her voice still broke through.

"_Rumor has it that all the Cullens left town," _Lauren's voice broke through her thoughts, her words from the day before repeating through her mind. _"I guess you aren't that good after all. Then again, you got Mr. Clemmons fired. What, Angela, are you trying to destroy everyone's life?"_

Pulling her feet up off the floor, Angela wrapped her arms around her legs and buried her face in her knees. Even Edward was gone. She didn't know when it had happened, she honestly wasn't even sure what the date was, all she knew was that she had woken up in Bella's bed and hadn't seen Edward since. All she wanted to do was fall asleep, go back to that place in her dreams where Marcus was, but she couldn't seem to get there. The past three days at school had forced her out of her disconnected state.

She was still silent, she didn't think she could talk if she tried, but she was more aware of the world around her than before. The only thing that she knew for certain was that she had hurt Jasper. She had intentionally and maliciously hurt him. It didn't matter that she hadn't meant to throw her migraine on him or that she had only been trying to stop him from hurting Bella, the affect was still the same. She had hurt him and because of it he and his family had left her. But not just her; her head turned to the side, her eyes coming to rest on Bella's sleeping form. She had hurt Bella, too. By hurting Jasper, by making his family leave, she had hurt Bella.

Her nose wrinkled in disgust when her eyes caught sight of the small plate of crackers on Bella's desk. She couldn't stand the sight or smell of food. It made her feel sick just to think about eating anything. Everything her parents had told her was true, wasn't it? She was worthless. She didn't deserve anything good because in the end, she would only end up ruining it anyway. She stood slowly from the chair, carefully. All of her movements were slowed down now and not just because she felt distanced from everything, but because she had learned that if she moved too fast she would fall down.

Angela turned and stepped around the chair, her socked feet brushing across the carpeted floor. Her eyes fell on the small closet and while it wouldn't be the first time that she had shut herself away inside Bella's closet, the space seemed to mock her. She walked quietly, her steps slow and silent as she made her way into the hall and then down the stairs. She didn't think twice about walking out of the front door, in fact, she didn't remember actually making the decision to leave the house. It seemed to her that she had just been sitting in the chair in front of Bella's window a few seconds ago and now she was outside of her house.

Crossing her arms over her chest, her fists tucked beneath her arms, Angela walked slowly through the grass with her head bowed. Everything hurt. Being awake hurt the most. When she was awake it felt to her that her bones were shattering, turning to nothing more than powder inside her body. Her muscles ached with every move. Even her eyes burned and her head throbbed. Not for the first time, she thought that she shouldn't have fought back; she should've just let that man take her. If she had then the Cullens would've been fine, their family would've been left intact and Bella wouldn't be suffering the loss of her boyfriend. It was unfair; everyone's life was in ruins because of her. Why hadn't she just let that man kill her?

She didn't know where she was going; she simply kept putting one foot in front of the other. It was dark, almost black as pitch, but she didn't care. Light, dark, midday or dusk, it made no difference to her anymore. She began to feel that familiar disconnection begin to set in again, the way she no longer felt the ground beneath her feet as she walked and how the cold air no longer affected her, it was almost soothing. She felt removed as though her mind had separated from her body and she was grateful for the numbness that came as a result of it.

Although her eyes were open, she wasn't seeing the world in front of her. She didn't feel the uneven ground or the sharpness of the twigs and rocks as she stepped into the woods surrounding Bella's house. Her steps continued unstopped, unseen as she walked further. The leaves were wet with dew and she slipped more than a few times, but always managed to catch herself with little or no difficulty. She could feel sleep pulling at her again, tugging her down deeper into the darkness and the last time she tripped she fell to the ground. She was blind to the forest around her as she pulled her legs to her chest, curling up as she let her eyes close and gave into the sleep beckoning her.

**:::::**

Charlie's mouth opened in a wide jaw-popping yawn as he walked down the stairs intent to get a drink from the kitchen. Moving his top lip from side to side, he finally gave up the battle and raised his hand to scratch his mustache. His movements paused, his hand stilling halfway to his face as his eyes grew wide to see the front door was standing open. His eyes scanned the around the bottom floor, nothing in the living room was out of place and the only light on was the hallway light he had turned on before coming downstairs. Turning and jogging back up the stairs, he paused outside of Bella's open door to make certain the girls were alright.

"Angela," he whispered her name when he found the girl to be missing.

He moved through Bella's room, checking her closet before walking back out into the hall. He had just been in the bathroom and knew that she wasn't in there. Jogging back downstairs, he checked the kitchen and then finally moved to the front door. Taking his police issued cell phone from his coat pocket; he dialed Carlisle's cell phone by memory without having to look at the keypad as he stepped outside. There was no sign of forced entry, no scratches or anything around the deadbolt of doorknob to indicate that the locks had been picked.

"Hey, Carlisle," Charlie returned the man's greeting. "I'm sorry to call so late, I know it's even later where you are."

"Think nothing of it, Charlie," Carlisle's smooth voice was soothing. "What's going on?"

"Does Angela sleepwalk?" he asked as he walked around the front of the house and looked down the street in both directions.

"Not that I've seen, why?" Carlisle asked and Charlie could hear Esme's voice in the background. "Is Angela with you?"

"She has been for a few days now. I woke up a few minutes ago and the front door was open. Angela was gone but there was no indication of a struggle or forced entry. Hold on," he said as his eyes caught sight of something in the grass. "What is that?" he said to himself as walked closer to the side of his house.

"Charlie?" Carlisle's voice was alarmed. "Angela's missing?"

"Yeah," Charlie said as he stood up from his crouched position. "I found footprints in the mud. It looks like she might've wandered into the forest. Let me get a search team together and I'll call you back as soon as I find her."

"Please do," Carlisle said his voice smooth, but tight with worry. "Call Edward, he's always been pretty good about finding her."

"Will do. I promise that I'll call as soon as I know anything," he said before disconnecting the call. "Time to round up the boys," he said to himself before jogging back inside to get dressed.

**:::::**

Bella wasn't sure what had woken her, but as she sat up in bed two things became painfully clear. One, Angela was not in the bed with her and two; she could hear Charlie talking to people outside. Throwing the covers, Bella sprang from her bed only to stub her tow on the night table. Cursing under her breath as she half ran-half limped to her closet, she threw on a pair of jeans and a shirt before running downstairs in her socked feet. Her mouth fell open to see the spread that was on the side of her house. Charlie's cruiser was parked with the headlights on and he was looking at something on top of it while surrounded by several men from the reservation.

"Dad?" Bella felt lucky that she didn't trip when she ran toward him. "Dad, where's Angela?"

"That's what we're trying to find out, Bells," Charlie said as he held his arm out for her and brought her against his side for a one-armed hug. "I woke up about three hours ago to get a drink. Your bedroom door was open and so was the front door. Nothing was wrecked or out of place and you were still sleeping which told me she was probably sleepwalking."

"Has there been any sign of her, anything?" Bella asked with wide eyes, feeling panic begin to twist her stomach and make her tremble.

"No," Charlie sighed. "I called the Cullen's place, but I didn't get anything. I thought Edward was still here."

Harry Clearwater turned his head sharply to look at Charlie. As far as he knew, all of the Cullens were gone. What was Edward still doing here? He saw the concern on Bella's face and watched her bite her lip. He kept his face neutral while inwardly he felt amused. If the girl's reaction was anything to go by, then Edward was gone too.

"He's still around, but he can sleep pretty heavy. I should call Carlisle," Bella said as she shook her head and felt oddly numb.

"I already did," Charlie assured her as he hugged her close and kissed her hair.

"Why?" Harry asked, his tone suspicious. "Why call Carlisle?"

"The Cullens pretty much adopted Angela," Charlie told his friend, watching the older man's eyes widen. "He's in New York right now trying to get more information on her condition."

"They what?" Harry nearly shouted.

"She was being abused, Harry," his glare telling the man to be reasonable before he looked back down at the map again. "Her parents were abusing her pretty badly. The Cullens found out and took her in," Charlie didn't look up from the map as he said the words, but he could feel the man's disproval. "They're good people and they've treated her with nothing but kindness and love. She feels safe with them."

"They're not _good people_, Charlie," Harry insisted only to pull back at the almost growl that sounded from the police chief.

"I don't care what kind of beef you have with them, not you nor will anyone else ever convince me that they're bad. If you knew what I knew, Harry…" he trailed off as he stared at the Quileute man. "I trust them with Angela the same as I do with Bella. Now let's just worry about finding Angela."

"Charlie! Bella!" Edward's voice sounded from the street as he came jogging from the end of the long line of cars in the driveway. "I came as soon as I got the message. What happened? Where's Angela?" he asked, eyeing the collection of men from the tribe with caution.

"I don't know, Edward," Charlie said as he stepped away from the car with the map in his hands. "I found what looked to be a trail heading into the woods. I think she was sleepwalking."

"Charlie!" Jacob Black called out and turned to look behind him as Sam Uley stepped out of the woods with Angela in his arms.

"I'll take her," Edward said as he jogged up to Sam, growling too low for anyone but Sam to hear in response to the distinct smell of werewolf.

"The hell you will," Sam growled low, his voice too low for the other humans to hear as he half turned away from Edward.

"She's pretty much his sister, Sam," Charlie ground out, feeling more than a little annoyed at the response his friends were giving to anything that referenced the Cullens.

"She was deep in the forest, almost a mile from here," Sam said to Charlie, casting a hard glare on Edward as he reluctantly let the vampire take Angela from his arms. "She was just sleeping."

"Yeah, she sleepwalks sometimes," he lied before turning his attention down to the girl cradled in his arms. "Angela," Edward called out to her as he turned away from Sam and walked back to the house with Bella at his side. "Baby girl, can you hear me?" he asked her softly seeing that her eyes were half open.

She didn't respond, not even in her thoughts, but he wasn't sure if he actually expected her to. Sighing softly, he selfishly held her closer when he saw Dr. Gerandy waiting by the driveway. He had no intention of releasing Angela, but knew that he had to let the man at least look her over to make certain she wasn't injured. He had to clench his jaw tightly in order to suppress the growl building in his throat at the thoughts from the surrounding tribesmen. He wanted to yell at them, tell them to go away, but held his tongue as he nodded his thanks to Bella when she darted in front of him to open the front door.

"Bad thoughts?" she whispered to him, seeing the angry bend of his brow.

"Yeah, the tribe doesn't exactly like us," he whispered back to her as he walked to the couch and set Angela down.

"Is she ok?" Bella continued their whispered conversation as she watched Dr. Gerandy kneel next to the couch as he gave Angela a cursory examination.

"She's not injured," he answered her as he watched every move the human doctor made. "When did she leave?"

"I don't know, she moves so quietly that I usually don't feel her get up. I've found her sleeping in my closet a couple of times." Growing quiet as the older man stood up, she watched as the doctor turned to face her and Edward, Charlie having come in to stand behind them.

"She's uninjured," the man assured Charlie. "But she's definitely underweight. You might want to think about getting her some protein shakes," he said before turning to leave the house.

Edward listened to Charlie thank the man before shutting the door behind him. Moving to the couch, he lifted Angela in his arms and sat down holding her in his lap as he wrapped the quilt Bella offered him around her. Charlie's thoughts were a jumbled mix of worry and relief. He heard the man think about calling Carlisle at the same time that heard him push the buttons on his phone. His father's voice sounded a moment later, Carlisle's tone colored by concern. Looking up and nodding to Charlie when he was brought the phone, Edward held the device to his ear.

"How is she?" Carlisle asked him.

"Pretty much the same as before," he answered and watched Charlie walk into the kitchen before he lowered his voice to a level only his father would hear. "I was out hunting; I left her with Bella and Charlie. No one heard her get up or leave. From the sounds of it, she may have been sleepwalking, but I have my doubts."

"Why?" Carlisle asked and he could hear Esme in the background, certain that she was standing next to or behind his father.

"She was doing this after you two left, walking around without really seeming to be aware of where she was going. I used to block her path when she would go for the door. Yeah, don't worry I'll take care of her, Dad," he said raising his voice when Charlie walked back into the living room. "Ok, I'll talk to you in the morning," he said to Carlisle before disconnecting the call. "Charlie, would it be alright if I stayed here tonight?" Edward asked as he handed the police chief back his phone.

"Yeah," Charlie scrubbed his face. "Do you want me to call you all in for today?"

"No," Edward shook his head. "Thank you though, but I think the routine of school will help her."

Charlie nodded and glanced at his watch. "Well kids, it's almost five AM. I've got to be at the station in half an hour. Bella, I'll call you if I'm going to be late for dinner."

"Ok, Dad. Have a good day," Bella said to him as he reached for his gun and holster before walking out the door.

"How has she been in school?" Edward asked Bella as he stood and followed her up the stairs.

"Weird," Bella said with a frown. "It's like she's there, but she's not. She knows where to go and what to do and will work on assignments or tests, but when you talk to her or look in her eyes, she's just gone."

Edward pursed his lips and sighed through his nose. Carrying Angela over to the bed, he sat her down and knelt in front of her. He knew that she was in there somewhere, she had to be, the tricky part was getting her to come back out. If his suspicions were correct, then she had shut herself away just after they had dragged Jasper outside. If that was the case and she come to, only to find his family gone, then it was no wonder why she kept herself hidden inside her mind. Cupping his hands around her face, he searched her eyes, but found nothing.

"I am here, baby girl, I promise you that. You're not alone," Edward told her, his soft voice fierce. "Bella, do you think you can…" his voice trailed off when he saw the towel and clothes in her hands.

"I've got this," Bella assured him, trying to smile but failing. "Let me get the bath started and then I'll come back for her."

"Bella," he began only for her to shake her head.

"Don't, Edward. I really don't want to talk about that," she denied him as she turned and walked to the door.

"You've lost weight," he accused gently. "I was only gone for three days, but I know you've lost weight."

"I'm fine," she said numbly, her voice sounding almost wooden. "Just leave it alone."

"I love you, Bella," he said, appearing in front of her to keep her from walking out of the open door. "Please talk to me."

"I can't," she shook her head miserably as she tried to step around him only to be wrapped in his arms instead. "Not about this."

"Why not?" he asked, tipping her chin up to see her eyes.

"I just can't," she whispered and could feel her eyes begin to sting as tears threatened, but she blinked them quickly away. "I need to get the bath ready. It takes longer to help her bathe and get dressed."

"Bella…"

"Please," she shook her head and closed her eyes when he kissed her forehead.

He sighed as he dropped his arms, releasing her. "Sooner or later, we will talk about this," he assured her, proving that he could be just as stubborn as she was. "I'm not going to let this go."

"Why?" she whispered, her voice so low he doubted that she heard herself speak.

"Because," he cupped her face in his hands and looked into her dark eyes. "Whatever this is, it's _hurting_ you." He touched his lips to hers, kissing her softly. "I love you."

She nodded, but felt unable to make her voice work. Edward saw the slight movements that he had seen before, recognized that she was fighting not to cry and sighed as he took the items from her unresisting arms. Setting the towel and clothes down, he wrapped Bella in his arms and held her tightly as he stroked her hair. Her hands fisted tightly in the back of his shirt, her controlled breaths becoming broken gasps and it wasn't long before he felt her tears dampen his shirt. He could feel her trying to fight the tears even as they fell faster and he lifted her into his arms, moving to sit on the bed as he held her in his lap.

"I'm here, love," he promised her softly. "Just let it go," he soothed. "It's alright to cry."

It certainly didn't feel alright to cry, Bella thought as she clung to him. The more she tried to fight the tears the harder and faster they came until she was sobbing brokenly against his chest. Edward knew that Charlie had come back to the house, knew that he was standing in the hallway, but he didn't look up. The only thing he was concerned about was the girl he held in his arms and whatever thoughts or memories it was that were causing her this pain. He felt the soft nudge and lifted his arm to allow Angela to tuck herself against his side.

Charlie stood motionless in the hallway as he watched Edward holding Bella on his lap as she cried. It was one thing to see his daughter together with the boy, holding hands or kissing, but this…this made him see Edward for the mature young man he was. He knew that the other boys his age probably wouldn't care enough to sit there and hold a crying girl as gently and carefully as he was, no matter if they were dating or not. He shook his head slightly as he watched Angela nudge against Edward and felt thrown for a loop when Edward simply lifted his arm and welcomed her against his side. He had always thought that the love between Edward and Bella was a little too intense, but seeing him with Bella and Angela made him think that maybe Edward wasn't the bad guy trying to steal his daughter away. Maybe he was exactly what his daughter needed.

Beginning to feel like a voyeur, Charlie turned and walked into his bedroom to retrieve his wallet and badge before leaving the house once more. Edward smiled sadly against Bella's shoulder as he held his love and his sister to him. He finally had Charlie's acceptance, it seemed, he just wished it hadn't taken such heartache to receive it. Kissing Bella's hair when he felt her tears calm, he stroked her hair and studied her face when she pulled back to dry her face with her hands. He pressed his lips into a thin line when he saw the dark circles under her eyes and knew that she was exhausted.

"How long has it been since you've slept well?" he asked Bella softly.

"I don't know," Bella rubbed her forehead with her fingertips. "It's hard to fall asleep."

He kissed her forehead. "Come on, let's get you two ready. I'll drive today."

Bella nodded quietly before moving from his lap. She grabbed the towel and clothes, waiting as he helped Angela from her bed and then took her friend's hand. Promising that they would be back shortly, Bella led Angela into the bathroom and turned the shower on. Edward stared at the closed bathroom door for a few minutes before taking his phone from his pocket. He smiled with sad amusement when the phone vibrated in his hand, Alice's face appearing on the LCD screen.

"You've been watching?" he asked his sister softly.

"I hate that I can't see her," Alice admitted quietly and he could hear the edge of shame in her voice.

"Don't worry about it, Ali," he told her as he ran his hand through his hair. "She's safe now. Besides, even if you could see her in your visions, I don't think she actually made the decision to go anywhere. Sometimes she just wanders."

"I've seen Bella," Alice said, her tone hesitant. "I've seen her taking care of Angela. I've seen her…"

"You've seen her what, Alice?" Edward asked as he stared at the bathroom door, willing it open.

"I've seen her crying. Always at night, always in the shower. What's going on, Edward?"

"I don't know," he said, his voice sounding tired as he closed his bright sun-gold eyes. "She told me that she's done this before, taken care of someone in Angela's condition, but the more I try to get her to talk about it, the more she pulls away."

"Maybe Esme," Alice offered. "Maybe Bella will talk to her."

"Maybe."

"Two minutes," she told him. "They'll come out of the shower in two minutes," she assured him. "Bella's not going to eat breakfast," she told him sounding concerned. "Don't try to push it on her; I don't see that ending well…Take care of them, Edward. I'm trying to do what I can to convince Jasper to come back. Eleazar wants to try a few exercises with him in controlling his bloodlust that he thinks will help."

"Will they?" Edward asked, smiling up at Angela when Bella led her out of the bathroom.

"Yes and no. They will help _him_, but I don't know how much they will help when he's feeling everyone else's hunger, too. I'll let you go now," she told him.

"Ok. Love you," he said before disconnecting the call. "You ok?" he asked Bella when she led Angela over to the bed.

"I'm fine," she told him as she picked up the comb and began working it through Angela's wet hair.

"Here," he held out his hand palm up. "Why don't you let me do that," he said and kissed her forehead as he accepted the comb. "Why don't you lie back and try to get a little bit of sleep. We've got at least an hour before we'll need to go."

Bella nodded quietly, lying back across the bed and turning on her side to face them. Her eyes blinked slowly, sleep feeling as though it was too far away to reach, but when Edward began to hum her lullaby her eyes closed of their own accord. It felt to her that it was only a few minutes later when she felt Edward shake her gently. She bit back the groan before it could sound, the short amount of sleep not nearly being enough. It felt as though all of her muscles and joints were aching at once, her throat feeling rough when she swallowed and sat up.

"Angela's already in the car," he told her as he helped her from the bed. "Come on, sweetheart, let's get you to school. I'll take you back to my house after, you should be able to get some sleep then," he said and she nodded tiredly.

**:::::**

School was hard. More than once, Bella found herself dozing off only to be gently woken by Edward nudging her arm. She had thought it sweet when he first told her that he had arranged for all of their classes to be together, but now she was extraordinarily grateful for it. Nodding as she followed him into the chemistry class, she looked at him with concern when he began to growl low, the sound dangerous and angry. She looked in the direction that he was staring and found Angela sitting next to Lauren Mallory.

"I tried to get the teacher to switch our lab partners to put Angela and I together, but he won't," Bella told him softly, thinking that it was the seating arrangement that was upsetting him.

"You can't hear what she's saying to Angela," he said darkly as he walked with her to the table behind Angela and Lauren. "You don't know the vile things she's thinking."

His warm gold eyes that she loved were hard and cold as topaz. He stared at Lauren as he passed her by, the warning clear in his face. He set his books down on the table before walking up to the front of the class. Bella couldn't hear his words, but she could definitely see the effect he was having on Mr. Neidermeyer, the poor man looked as though he might just wet himself. Edward's stiff posture relaxed, the tension in his shoulders and back easing, as he returned to his seat and took Bella's hand. Raising their joined hands to his face, he kissed her knuckles before offering Lauren a cold smile when she was called to change seats with Tyler Crowley.

"Problem easily solved," he told Bella quietly.

"I saw the look on his face," she whispered back to him. "I thought you were going to give him a heart attack."

"I just made it very clear that I disagreed with his choice of lab partners for Angela and told him the change that I expected to be made," he told her softly with amusement.

"Oh, so you didn't dazzle him, you just scared the hell out of him," she reprimanded with a bit of amusement.

"It's a brother's job to look out for his little sister. Just be thankful Emmett or Jasper weren't here to witness what Lauren was saying. They wouldn't be so…civilized."

"No one touches their baby girl," Bella chuckled before turning her attention to the front of the class as the teacher rolled and TV and VCR unit to the front. "Oh no, if he turns that on, I really will fall asleep."

"Then sleep," Edward told her and kissed her knuckles again. "I'll let you know what you missed."

Sitting her elbow on the countertop and leaning her head on her loose fist, Bella felt her eyes blinking heavily almost the very second the lights were turned off. She felt close to sleep, drifting somewhere between unconsciousness and the waking world, but it was Edward's gentle rubbing of the back of her hand that kept her tethered. She felt him kiss her knuckles once more moments later just before the lights flicked on. Blinking up at him, before covering her mouth as she yawned, she blushed when he smiled.

"Just ten more minutes," he promised her softly, "and then we're free till Monday."

She wasn't sure if she could make it ten more minutes without collapsing, but she would try. Her eyes were blinking heavily again by the time the bell rang and she stood slowly on unsteady feet to follow Edward out of the classroom. Angela was between them, Bella and Edward guarding her as they walked down the hall and out of the school building. Helping them both into his car, Edward kissed Bella's forehead before telling her that he would be right back.

"You're not going to do anything to Lauren?" she asked warily.

"Tempting, but no," he said as he smoothed her hair back from her face. "The teacher who runs the school paper kept wondering why Angela hadn't turned in her outline for the first edition. I'm just going to let him know that she may not be working on the paper for awhile. I'll be good, don't worry," he promised her.

He closed the car door quietly, and stepped back up to the school building. Within minutes he was inside the school's newspaper office. Talking with the man was easy, his kind disposition making the conversation less difficult than Edward had thought it would be. His lips turned up in a lopsided smile when he returned to his car to find both girls asleep inside. The drive to his home was quiet and swift.

Settling both girls in his bed, he removed their shoes before tucking them beneath the covers. Collecting the vampire bears from around the house, he brought them back into his room and placed them around both Angela and Bella. The stuffed animals had stayed in his house while Angela was at Bella's, sending them with her would have raised too many questions. Kissing Angela's forehead and Bella's lips softly, he left them to sleep.

Moving to his piano downstairs, he began to play through Bella's lullaby only to stop when his phone began to ring. Taking the device out of his pocket he answered the call and set the phone on top of the piano as he began to play once more.

"How are they?" Esme asked him.

"Sleeping," he answered simply. "Bella's beyond exhausted and I swear she's lost weight. Angela is…" he sighed. "At school she seems a little more…coherent than the rest of the time, but she's still not speaking or eating. I was only gone for three days and it seems that in that time their world fell apart. Then again, I made certain that the chemistry teacher changed Angela's lab partner once I found out who it was," he told her as he ended Bella's lullaby and began to play the song he had written for Esme.

"Who was it?" she asked and he could hear her happy sigh as the music carried over the phone to her.

"Lauren Mallory," he said stiffly. "It took every bit of control I had not to exact some kind of physical damage on her when I heard what she was whispering in Angela's ear. Her thoughts were even worse."

"That girl was with _my daughter_," Esme growled and Edward couldn't help but smile at the protective mother bear she had become.

"Don't worry, Mom," he said knowing how much she loved to be called that. "I took care of it. Granted, she's partnered with someone else now, but if Lauren tries anything else with Angela…"

"Just don't do anything reckless," she warned him. "Alice called me earlier," she told him as she listened to his music flow effortlessly into another slow flowing melody. "She told me to call Bella, but to wait for your signal. Care to explain that?"

"Something's upsetting her," Edward said with a heavy sigh. "Something she won't talk to me about. She told me that she's taken care of someone in Angela's condition before. The memory hurts her; frightens her, that much is clear, but she won't talk about it. At least not with me. Alice thought she might talk with you."

"And the part about your signal?" Esme questioned.

"Bella looks like she hasn't slept at all in the time I was gone. There's no telling when she'll wake up. I think that's what Alice meant about my signal," he told her.

"Ah," Esme murmured and he could almost hear her nod. "How are you doing?"

"I'm…ok," he said slowly and heard Esme snort.

"Yes, I know that tone. Your father gets that same tone at times and whenever he uses it, he most definitely is not ok. Tell me how you're really doing," she demanded gently.

"Are you sure you can't read thoughts?" he quipped.

"I'm a mother," she reminded him with humor. "Now, tell me."

"I don't know," he said honestly, "I kind of feel like I'm just treading water. Sometimes everything is ok, and other times they're both upset and in need of comfort. Angela's talked in her sleep; she's constantly apologizing to Jasper. Bella is…I'm not really sure what Bella is. It feels like she's pretending to be ok and she's damn good at it. I heard her talk in her sleep on the way home and I'm not sure what to think."

"What did she say?" Esme asked and he heard a door in the distance.

"'Tears in the shower don't count.' I'm not really sure what that means."

"It's a girl thing, sweetie," she told him. "If you cry in the shower the water washes away your tears and the sound of the spray hides your sobs. No one knows you're crying and when you're done there's no evidence of it."

"_Edward?"_ he heard Carlisle ask in the background.

"Hey, Carlisle," he greeted his father, knowing the man would hear him perfectly without having to be near the phone.

"_Edward,"_ his father returned his greeting without taking the phone. _"How are my girls?"_

Edward chuckled softly. "Do you know what you just said?" he asked with amusement.

"Yes, I do," Carlisle chuckled as he took the phone. "How are they?"

"About as well as you would expect, I guess," he said sadly.

"Take the phone upstairs," Carlisle instructed. "Turn the call on speaker and set the phone down between them."

Arching an eyebrow in question, but doing as requested, Edward told his father when the task was done. A short moment later the familiar lines of 'Mansfield Park' filled the air and Edward shook his head. Smiling as he sat down in a chair by the bed, he watched his love and his sister sleep while Carlisle read to them over the phone. He had always thought it was just Esme who enjoyed being a parent so much, but when Carlisle was given the opportunity by Angela to be a true father, a new facet of his father had shined through as brilliantly as the sun. Closing his eyes and releasing a deep slow breath, Edward listened to his father's voice and allowed the peacefulness of the moment to wash over him, soothing away his worries if only for a few minutes.

"Have Emmett or Rosalie checked in?" Edward asked softly when Carlisle broke from reading the book.

"A few times. They keep losing his trail," Carlisle sighed, keeping his voice just as low so as not to disturb the girls' sleep. "They've searched through Soothe and two of the outlying suburbs. If they don't find him soon, I'm going to send them home."

"You think they won't find him?" Edward questioned, his eyes opening.

"It's not that. I'm worried he may try to return to Forks. If that is the case, then I want there to be extra protection. You need help taking care of them and they'll be there to capture him if he tries anything."

"How long are you thinking?" Edward asked softly, watching as Angela rolled onto her side to face the phone.

"Another week, maybe ten days. I know that you are capable, but I don't like leaving you alone to care for them by yourself. You need to hunt and Emmett's always been quite gifted at bringing her out of this kind of state," Carlisle told him.

Angela whimpered softly in her sleep, curling closer to the phone.

"Papa," she whispered softly in her sleep.

"I'm right here, baby girl," Carlisle spoke to her. "Papa's here."

"Story," she whispered, the word only half formed.

"I'll leave you to it," Edward said as he stepped up to the bed and kissed Angela's temple. "I should start dinner for them…Bella…I don't think Bella's been eating lately, or at least it doesn't look like she ate at all while I was gone hunting."

"Beef stew," Carlisle told him. "Make certain there's plenty of broth. It will be easy on both their stomachs and if you can't get Angela to eat the meat or vegetables, you should be able to get her to drink the broth."

"Ok, thanks," he told Carlisle. "I'll let you get back to your book."

Carlisle chuckled before he began reading aloud again and Edward smiled softly before turning and leaving the room. He was fairly certain that there was stew meat in the freezer. He would have to check the vegetables, but he knew that Esme had made sure the house was restocked before she and Carlisle had left. He smiled and shook his head as he removed the two-pound package of beef stew meat from the freezer. Esme had thought of everything. Taking the recipe, written in her delicate handwriting, from the top of the package he set the meat on the counter. Folding the clear tape down over the card he read through her careful instructions and whispered a silent thank you to her.

Removing the frozen meat from the package, he set the frozen chunks in a large bowl and put it in the microwave to defrost. Brow furrowing as he stepped out of the kitchen, he followed the sound of Bella's cell phone into the living and retrieved it from her backpack. He didn't think Bella would mind if he answered her father's call, knowing the man would only worry if he didn't get a response.

"Hello, Chief Swan," he answered politely as he returned to the kitchen.

"Edward? Where's Bella?" Charlie asked and he could hear the mechanical sound of a typewriter in the background.

"Sleeping," Edward answered simply. "She fell asleep on the way home from school and she's been out ever since."

"Yeah," Charlie's voice was sad. "She was like a little mother hen taking care of Angela. She wouldn't sleep until Angela was asleep, but there was at least one night that I don't think either of them slept at all. Hey, I was just calling to let Bella know that I won't be home until late, after midnight at least."

"They'll be safe here," Edward said as he removed the defrosted meat from the microwave and began chopping the vegetables.

"What are you doing?" Charlie asked curiously.

"Making beef stew."

"You cook? Good lord, no wonder Bella's always over there. Take care of my daughter."

"I will, Chief. You have my word that I will be respectful of her, don't worry."

"I won't," Charlie said after a long moment of silence. "I trust you with her, Edward."

Edward nodded quietly as he set the phone down on the counter top when the call disconnected. It seemed to have taken him a long time, but he had finally earned Charlie's approval. If only it hadn't come at such a high price. Returning to the task at hand, he chuckled softly at the sound of Carlisle's voice. His father was still reading to the girls and he shook his head when he realized that Carlisle wouldn't stop until the phone either ran out of battery life, or the book ended. Smiling as he put the stew meat in the pan to sear, he chuckled at the knowledge of how much Carlisle truly enjoyed being a father.

**:::::**

He watched her stare up into the night sky, her view unobstructed and pure. The stars above them twinkled, seeming to be almost virginal in the way they melded with the delicacy of the clouds. He stepped closer slowly, watching as she buried her hands in the sands beneath her and knew that she had made a decision. Stepping up to sit next to her, he waited for her to speak.

"As much as I want you to tell him to kill them," she said slowly, her gaze never leaving the heavens painted above. "I can't. This decision goes beyond me. It's not just about what I want, or even what he wants," Suplicia said sagely and sighed heavily. "It has to be about what's best for all involved, me, Aro, the Volturi, our way of life. Believe me, I want them dead, but I can't justify it."

"You're better than he deserves," Felix said softly.

"It wasn't always like this. There was a time in the beginning when he and I were as close as mates could be. We were happy, free, without a care in the world," she said with a soft chuckle.

"What changed? Was it Didyme's death?" Felix asked her as he studied her profile.

"That came later, that was part of it, but the wedge began to build before that. My impossible dream," she said as finally turned her eyes on him. "I discovered almost a decade into this life that I wanted something I could never again have."

"What?"

"A baby. I had never even thought about having children when I was mortal, I never thought I'd make a good mother, but somewhere along the way I began to want one. I was never mad at Aro for that. It might have been easier if I was." She sighed as she laid back in the sand, her hair mixing with fine grains. "Instead, I knew how much my desire hurt him, so I began trying to block him. I didn't want to hurt him. It took me a decade to learn how to block him and then shortly after that, Didyme was killed. I want to bridge that rift, but I don't even know if that's possible anymore. I feel like it might be too late."

"Talk to him," Felix said as he handed her his newly acquired cell phone. "Really talk to him. Or," he said when it became clear that she wasn't ready to accept the device. "You could see him. Invite him here or go back home. Let him see everything you've hidden. Let him know your reasons why. Let him know how you feel right now."

"You make it sound so simple."

"Nothing that matters is ever simple. Just think on it, songbird; think about what you want to do. No matter what you decide, I'll stand by your side."

"Thank you, Felix," she told him softly, her voice thick with her emotions. "Sometimes I think you might be too good for me."

"No such thing," he told her with a smile and bent down to kiss her forehead. "You mind if I watch the stars with you for a while?"

"Please," she said and waved her arm in offer of the spot next to her.

Felix laid back in the sand his attention drifting between her and the night sky. He pointed to different constellations, pointing them out and listening as she recited their legends. This was peace, he thought as he looked up at the universe. This was how life could be without the Volturi. It was nice to be away, nice to be free to do what he pleased, but he didn't know if he would ever truly want to stay away. Would he be able to handle a life like this that was more than just an extended vacation? Would he even want that? He breathed in deeply of the fragrant night air and sighed in pleasure, perhaps his answer was written in the stars.


	36. Chapter 34

AN: For those of you who may be unaware, Charmion was Chelsea's human name and the name she used most often until she adopted Chelsea around the 1950s. And also, for the curious minds out there, I don't believe that Aro is necessarily a "good person" but I don't think he's evil either. It takes me quite a lot of time to write the chapters heavily featuring him as I am constantly going back and forth between the books and the character sketches as I consider his character.

Chapter 34

The only question burning through his mind was 'why'. Why did it seem that everything had broken at once? Why hadn't he noticed what was happening to his own wife? Why was Marcus able to leave them all so easily? Had his renewed anger truly overpowered Chelsea's talent? But most importantly, why was it that he had felt little to no emotional ties to his wife until the moment he had found her missing? He didn't understand any of these things and the more he tried to sort out an answer, the more it seemed that the answer was impossible to find. Rolling his eyes at the ghost of Marcus' voice inside his mind, he sighed at the wisdom of the one piece of advice the melancholy man habitually bestowed upon him.

"_Leave what you do not know and look back on what you do know. The answer often hides in plain sight."_

Aro shook his head, sighing in frustration as he fell to lie back on the bed in his chambers. His hands moved to rub at his temples and he cursed the fact that while his kind in general shouldn't be able to experience headaches of any kind, he had a very stubborn one at that particular moment. Closing his eyes in an effort to better focus his thoughts, he moved back on the bed until he was lying completely on it with his head on the pillows. Brining his hands back to his face, he covered his face with his hands and sighed deeply against his palms as he gave his mind the freedom to wander.

**:::::**

_Teatro Argentina opera house, Rome, Italy, March 3, 1785 _

His eyes were closed, allowing the subtle nuances of the human's voice to fill him completely. This wasn't the first time that he had seen this particular opera performed and he doubted it would be the last. The storyline, as with most, was predictable and a bit simplistic in his view, but the music… The music and the voices of the human performers held him captivated time after time. He had seen the premier performance of this piece when it was first brought before the public eye. The performers at the time had been gifted, skilled, but this woman who was singing now had captured his attention. He knew that he had heard her voice before, but for a reason that completely escaped him, he couldn't remember where. Now, as he sat in the balcony between Marcus and Caius, he felt as though her voice were brushing against him with the near physical caress of a familiar lover.

Her aria came to a close and he opened his eyes slowly, releasing a deeply contented sigh as he turned his eyes down to the crowd below. He had fed earlier that night and while he preferred not to hunt when dressed as finely as he was, a snack was never out of the question. Scanning the line of men and women, his piercing crimson gaze came to rest on a head of golden hair. The color fascinated him, it was a shade of blonde that was somewhere between the richness of spun gold and the much lighter airy pale gold that he had seen artists use to depict the rays of sun. His lips parted in wonder as he realized where he had seen the color before.

"Cherubs," he whispered to himself, his lips moving but the sound only occurring in his thoughts.

"How many times have we seen this particular opera, Aro?" Caius asked in annoyance, Athenodora seated on his lap. "Certainly you could have found something new to distract yourself with."

"You needn't attend every show with me, dear brother," he dismissed him without taking his eyes off the man seated below them. "You're more than welcome to find your own distraction."

He could feel the man below; his attention held fast by his hair and knew that he was one of them. His pale white skin, the perfect motionless that only one of their kind could experience held in a relaxed human pose. The man turned his head to the side and he could see the delicate lock of gold hair resting in a graceful curve over his brow and temple. How he longed to see the man's face, just a glimpse. His lips curved up in a grin of fascination and pleasure as he watched the man move slowly, adopting a completely human lethargy of movement as he turned in his seat enough to look back and meet his eyes.

Aro's brow furrowed, his crimson eyes widening as his tongue darted out to touch the inner edge of his bottom lip, just enough to taste the air. The man's eyes were gold, a rich warm gold. He studied his face, the man's countenance angelic and he knew that if his heart were actually beating, it would have stopped. He watched as the man closed his eyes, offering him a courtly nod of recognition before he turned back in his seat to watch the performers. Aro sat back in his seat, his mind spinning with questions. How could the angel's eyes be gold? Was he not one of their kind? Was he, in truth, perhaps what he looked like? But then, wasn't that just a fanciful notion to believe that angels existed on earth?

He felt the delicate touch of his wife's hand upon his, her curiosity feathering across the edges of his mind before he blocked his talent. He looked back at Suplicia, saw the gentle tilt of her head and the way she held her bottom lip gently between her teeth. He knew that she was waiting for him to speak, to reveal what held his attention, but for reasons he didn't wish to explore, he found her presence that evening to be little more than an annoyance. He turned back around in his chair and stared into the crowd to lock his eyes on the man's golden hair once more as the opera continued. He could feel Suplicia's disappointment and knew that he should speak with her at some point, but there would be time for that later, all their kind had was time.

He watched the performers as his mind began to stray from the performance in front of him to thoughts that had been plaguing him for longer than he cared to admit or remember. He wasn't certain when his love for Suplicia had began to turn into this…what was it that he felt toward her? Apathy? Disinterest? Annoyance? He truly wasn't certain what to call it, but he knew that the emotions he felt for her were most certainly not love. She was his mate and yet, more often than not, he had very little desire to spend any time at all with her. His memory of their early years together was unchanged, their ceaseless desire to be with each other, to talk freely and make love at almost every moment of the day or night, could still bring him peace. His attention returned to the performers below as the opera's forbidden lovers made their private song to one another, the emotions of the piece both stirred and unsettled him. Why had it been so very long since he had felt that same desire for Suplicia?

It was almost an hour later that the curtains closed, the heavy fabric parting once more to reveal the performers as they bowed before closing for one final time. Caius was the first to stand, as he always was, Marcus following shortly after and Aro watched them leave. He followed suit, stepping gracefully around the high backed velvet and wood chair to follow them out. He found himself somehow angered by the way that Suplicia walked beside him. Her head was held high, she was the very picture of grace and confidence, but she wouldn't meet his eyes. It felt to him that the separation between them was growing and he made the decision then to leave her at the castle the next time he ventured out into the city. He would take Corin with him on his next outing, she held his interest and it wasn't the first time in this decade that he had thought of bedding her, though perhaps it was time he left his thoughts behind and began acting on his desires. After all, Charmion had already been a lover of his for well over a thousand years. Why not add one more?

As they made their way into the lobby of the opera house, he stared into the crowd of milling humans searching for the angelically featured man that he had seen before without any success. The man was gone and Aro found the knowledge to be disappointing. He had been intrigued and wanted to know more about the man with the strange gold eyes, but it seemed that his curiosity would not be sated this eve. He held out his hand, palm up for Suplicia to take, but she ignored him and continued to walk soundlessly by his side. He found his annoyance only growing more intense with her actions. She didn't speak a single word to him on the way back to Volterra, though when he thought about it, he realized that she hadn't spoken to him in months.

"You have never been so silent with me before Suplicia," he observed as they walked separate from the others. "Why now?"

"I don't recall you ever actually seeking my opinion," she replied, her voice devoid of emotion. "Why not find Corin, I'm certain she can supply you with whatever you need."

Aro stopped, his brow furrowing as he stared ahead at his wife. Her voice had always held some form of emotion, whether it was sadness, elation or anger, but now it held nothing. He ghosted to her side, his hand on her velvet and silk covered shoulder stopping her and turning her to face him. She looked slightly to the left, still refusing to meet his gaze and when he lifted his hand to touch her face she stepped back from him. He nodded once, respecting her wishes to keep her mind to herself.

"Why would I seek out Corin?" he asked her when it became clear that she was denying him access to her thoughts.

"I may be a fool, Aro," she said finally meeting his gaze, "but I am no idiot. Felix," she turned to the guard walking behind them. "I wish to return to the castle now."

"Yes, my lady," the man said and Aro watched them leave.

Her eyes had been as devoid of emotion as her voice, a sight he could never remember having witnessed before. He clenched his jaw before he could growl. Why was it that she annoyed him so? Why was her presence so…undesirable lately? Lately? He rolled his eyes. He had been growing more displeased with her for nearly two hundred years. Though if he was honest with himself, he would admit that his discontent had been growing slowly, what had been barely discernible displeasure so very long ago had now turned into great annoyance. He just wished that he knew when the rift had begun to form. What prompted them to fall away from each other? Was it possible for mates to fall out of love for each other? He still couldn't take the risk of a separation between them, he had no desire to become like Marcus and because of that he knew that he could no longer permit her outside the castle walls. There was too great a possibility that she may act on her feelings and leave the city.

From this moment on, their chambers would be her home. Aro looked back to another guard, his gaze bringing the man closer, and he spoke of the commands to him. The younger vampire nodded before leaving his side to return to Volterra. She would be able to move about the castle as long as she always had at least one guard with her, but no longer would he allow her outside the walls, the risk was too great.

**:::::**

_Present Day, Volterra, Italy_

Aro shook his head and looked around his chambers. Why was he thinking of that time now? What purpose did those memories serve him? What did any of it matter? His wife was gone, in another country halfway around the world and the man he had glimpsed that night, his _Stregoni Benefici_… He was fairly certain the man he had once called friend was gone from this world. The last he had heard of him was in eighteen-fourteen, after that, news of Carlisle Cullen had been silent. He had been a dear friend and someone that he enjoyed speaking with, but ultimately Carlisle had left him after only twenty years, unable to take the darkness of life with the Volturi.

He looked up at the sound of the door opening and watched as Chelsea glided into the room. He almost always blocked his talent with her. She did her job well, kept his libido satiated, but he had always found her mind to be a touch too simplistic for his taste. She simply did not intrigue him. He could see the desire in her eyes, the knowledge that she wanted him to bed her written clearly in her face. It often was a source of both amusement and curiosity that she came to him more often than he knew she went to her own mate. Eyebrows lifting in a dismissive gesture, he bid her to leave him in peace before he stood from his position on the bed and moved to his office. He wanted to speak with Felix. Nearly a week had passed since he had asked the man for his advice on the situation involving Alec, Jane and Corin, certainly by now the man had some opinion.

Closing himself behind the door, he turned on his laptop and stepped away from his desk as he waited for the computer to boot up while he stared out of the window. He hadn't been able to reach Marcus in a few days and while he had left a voicemail, it bothered him that the message went unanswered. His computer beeped, the sound signaling that he had a call waiting to be answered and he stepped over to his desk. Hitting the answer button without looking too close at who was calling, he sat down in the leather chair and smiled at the image of his wife.

"You know, Aro," Suplicia stared at him in amused wonder. "You've smiled at me more times in the past month that I've been away than you have in the past near nineteen hundred years."

"I wish I knew what happened between us," he told her as he stared at her image on the screen.

"You know what happened," she told him, her eyes losing the light of whimsy that they had held previously, the expression her face showing that she was beginning to shut him out.

"Suplicia," he called out to her when she looked to be moving away from the screen. "Please," he watched her still in her seat slowly. "I don't know what happened. I have been searching my memory, searching those that I have acquired from you over the years, but I do not know."

She remained quiet as she stared at him and he could both see and feel her trying to assess the truth in his words. She drew her bottom lip in between her teeth, before averting her eyes from the screen. Shaking her head slowly, she took in a deep breath as her eyes scanned the room. He watched her, waiting patiently for her eyes to return to him and when they did, he could see the pain written in her crimson depths. He could see now how deeply he had hurt her over the years and regret burned brightly in his still heart.

"You found Chelsea," she told him slowly, "made her into one of us and suddenly…suddenly I wasn't good enough for you anymore. I don't know exactly when you took her to your bed, but I do know that you no longer seemed interested when we made love. It was as though you were taking that time to read my thoughts; I don't remember you touching me much otherwise."

"Suplicia…"

"Felix was going to tell you himself, but he left to hunt," she said as she reached for the computer, her hand disappearing from the view of the webcam. "Don't kill them, Jane and the others. This isn't about what we want; it's about what is best for our future."

"Supli-" her name only half formed ended in a sigh as he watched the video screen turn black.

She was gone from him and he couldn't help wondering if she ever intended to return. That she had spoken to him of Felix's decision told him that she had been made part of it. He wondered whose influence it had been in making the final decision. Had it been her wish that they not be killed or had it been Felix's? Now, more than ever before, he felt completely lost as though the world itself had turned on its axis. Standing from his seat at his desk, he left his office and made his way to the throne room. The only person left to help him see to the final punishment would be Caius, but what kind of sentence could they bring that wouldn't simply seem like a slap on the wrist to the three vampires?

**:::::**

"Your final decision is to leave them alive?" Caius asked as his brows disappeared high on his forehead. "Have you finally grown soft, Aro? You, who have ordered the execution of others for seemingly less grievous crimes, are letting them off?"

"This decision was not made in haste, Caius," he reminded the man with a pleasant tone while his eyes betrayed the truth of his anger. "You are not the only one that I have consulted in this matter."

"And what, pray tell dear brother, do you really think would be a deserving punishment? Certainly nothing but death would prove to them the seriousness of their crimes," Caius pointed out somewhat reasonably.

An indelicate snort sounded from the side of the room as Athenodora walked into the throne room and up to her husband. Her movements were graceful, her hips swaying provocatively as she stalked her willing prey.

"Starve them," she said with a dismissive flick of her wrist. "It won't cause any lasting damage, and certainly won't kill them, but it should get the message across," she said as she approached her husband and trailed her hands up his arms until she was cupping his face. "A veritable feast has been brought to us," she purred to Caius as she grinned seductively. "I am going to go partake in the meals before returning to our bed, do not leave me waiting," she told him, the look in her eyes clear as to just what it was that she wanted from him.

"She is delectable," Caius said as he watched his wife exit the room. "And wise," he nodded to himself. "Starve them for a set period of time known only to us or you," he advised Aro. "When you do feed them again, deny them fresh blood. Make them earn the right to hunt again. That should prove effective enough."

"Starvation," Aro repeated absently. "It seems a viable option. I will let you know as soon as I decide on the time frame," he promised before rising from his throne. "As there is no other business today, let us retire to the feast."

Aro moved gracefully through the room until he reached the wide dining hall that Heidi had taken the new round of humans to. He took pleasure in the sounds of the screams and scent of the fear before he opened the room and stepped inside. The long table that held rotating fountains of blood for the more civilized feasts had been pushed back against the walls as the still living humans were herded into the middle of the room. Blocking his talent completely before reaching out for a young woman in front of him, he nearly snarled at the sight of her. His attention turned on Heidi, the displeasure and anger he felt clear on his face. Though there were no firm laws about this, it was an unspoken rule that had always been followed only to now be blatantly disregarded.

"Keep her for me," he instructed the guard nearest him, passing the woman off to him with ease before speeding to Heidi's side and backing her up against the wall. "You know my thoughts on this!" he snarled darkly, his voice little more than a hissing whisper.

"She wouldn't stay behind," Heidi hissed back, "I tried to dissuade her as did her husband, but she was very stubborn."

"I have only ever placed two restrictions on you," he growled low. "No infants, and no," he pointed back to the woman being held by the guard, "pregnant women. She is nearly to term, Heidi. You have never broken this rule before, so I will let it go, but should you do so again…" he let the threat hang unfinished in the air. "Corin, my darling," he called out pleasantly as he stepped away from Heidi. "You will assist me with my meal," he told her, "I want her to feel nothing but pleasure and comfort."

"Why?" Corin asked with humor and curiosity, before following the line of Aro's gaze to the woman across the room. "Oh," her eyes were wide as saucers. "Of course, Master."

"Hush now," Aro said as he took the woman from the guard and nodded to Corin. "Close your eyes, my dear, and this will all seem as nothing more than a dream."

He heard her soft whimpers of fear turn into a sigh of comfort as her dark green eyes fluttered closed. Bringing her closer and wrapping his arms around her, he ground his teeth against the feeling of the soft kicks coming from her distended middle. He projected his scent to her, letting the sweet musk lull her into compliance as Corin infused the woman with pleasure. He pulled his lips back as he opened his mouth, his teeth glistening like diamond covered pearls before he sank them into her delicate flesh. She gasped against him, but he was quick, pulling her blood into him as he drank deeply from her. He didn't stop drinking from her until the child's heart grew silent as well and only then did he pull away from her neck.

Her lifeless body fell limp to the floor and Aro turned, exiting the room silently as he no longer felt the desire to feed. He was nearly sated, but unwilling to take anymore as the woman's sweet blood left him filled with regret. He was not one to mourn a human life, but that didn't make his displeasure over taking her life and the life of her unborn child any easier to accept. He knew that not many others felt the way he did, and though he had adopted this unspoken law in respect of his wife, he found that the very thought of taking the life of an infant or pregnant mother often left him feeling shameful. Returning to his chambers, he shook his head as he removed his velvet pitch robe and laid it carefully over the armchair by the window. Returning to the bed and lying down once more, he closed his eyes and gave himself over to his mind.

**:::::**

_Accademia Gallery, Tuscany, Italy March 13, 1785_

Aro looked up at the full moon that hung high in the Tuscan sky. It was a rare moment when he left to go to an art event without his brothers following him. He breathed in deeply, taking in the fragrant scents of the blue rosemary and lilies that lined the dirt path. He wasn't certain what upset him more, informing Suplicia himself that he was keeping her under such tight guard, or the fact that she had no reaction to his announcement at all. He had been prepared for her anger, her arguments, anything except the apathy and silence he had received. It was almost as though she had adopted Marcus' uncaring attitude. Releasing a deep silent sigh, he opened the heavy door and stepped into the museum in front of him. He knew that he didn't want to be alone, but there was no one from Volterra that he wished to share this evening with.

Feeling restless as he stepped inside the marble hall of the museum, his crimson eyes scanned over the wide entrance. He wanted to be here, he had wanted to be here since it opened almost six months ago, but being alone tonight actually left him feeling lonely and his mind drifted back to that night almost two weeks ago at the opera and the man he had seen. Looking up as he stepped further into the museum and walked into the main area that held the first of the collection on display, he felt his eyes widen. By the gods, Aro thought as he stared into the white marble hall of the newly opened museum. Luck was by his side tonight, it had to be, for there in front of him studying the delicately crafted painting hung on the wall was his phantom angel from the opera house. He stepped forward delighted by the blonde man's very presence and opened his mouth intent to greet the vampire in front of him.

"You are not like the others I have encountered," the man spoke first; his soft voice rich and smooth, holding the gentle note of a cultured English accent. "Is this perhaps a coincidence?" he asked without turning his attention away from the painting and Aro felt himself drawn to the voice. "I have not seen you since the night at the opera."

"If you are asking if I have intentionally followed you here, the answer is no," Aro said as he came to stand beside the man and noticed the difference between them in height. "It is happenstance that brings us together this night, though I cannot say I am disappointed," he said and looked up into the angelic features, finding himself once more enraptured by the beautiful man with gold eyes. "You enjoy the arts and history," he observed, though his voice held a note of question.

"I do," Aro felt his breath catch when the man turned his gold gaze on him, his eyes capturing him unmercifully. "Pardon my manners," the man tilted forward at a half bow, his golden hair falling forward to brush against his forehead before resting once more at his temples when he righted himself. "My name is Carlisle, Carlisle Cullen."

"Aro," he provided his name with a cordial nod, a gesture that he had not bestowed upon anyone else in centuries. "You enjoy the arts?" he asked needlessly, the answer apparent, though the question provided an opening.

"Yes," Carlisle admitted with a brilliant smile. "Arts, sciences, history, culture, knowledge in general, I suppose. And you, Aro?" he asked as he moved to another painting as Aro followed his movements with his eyes.

"Quite, I take in the arts whenever I am able," he said and began to feel bored with the idle chatter that the public place reduced them to. "Perhaps after our visit here tonight we may find another, more private place with which we can talk further?"

"I would enjoy that," he said and Aro was once more struck silent by the brilliance of the man's smile. "I have not met many of our…lineage that wish to engage in conversation."

"From your tone," Aro said as he walked beside Carlisle, "it does not sound as if those encounters were pleasant."

"No," he watched as Carlisle affected a shrug with his light blond brows. "If I may be so forward," Carlisle began and Aro realized he was waiting for him to nod before he continued. "You have reached out to touch me three times now, but each time you drop your hand away only inches from me. From this I can only gather that you believe I may be offended by such an action."

Aro smiled before chuckling softly with genuine humor as he delighted in the refreshing feel of Carlisle's almost formal etiquette. Looking down at his hands as they moved through the gallery, Aro lowered his voice from the soft almost human tone they were using to a level that only their kind could hear. Looking up at Carlisle, he met his eyes, his own crimson depths full of a dry kind of humor.

"Imagine if you will, that with one touch you could know everything about a person," Aro began slowly. "You could know a person's every thought, their every action and experience…their dreams and hopes, their beliefs…"

"Is such a thing even possible?" Carlisle asked him, and Aro found that he had the full attention of the man's curious gold gaze.

"It is for me," Aro told him.

"My apartment," Carlisle nodded to Aro. "It is close, perhaps ten kilometers from here. You would be welcome to stay through the day if you wish, it is close to sunrise."

**:::::**

_Present Day, Aro's Chambers inside Volterra_

Aro slapped his hand down in frustration on the bedspread beneath him. Why was he thinking about that time? What did it matter? He was trying to understand what had happened between himself and Suplicia, not wishing to reminisce on the memory of a strange vampire who was quite possibly the closest true friend he had ever had. Memories of Carlisle would not help him with Suplicia. Standing from the bed, he shook his head and ran his hand through the length of his hair. If trying to find out what happened with Suplicia brought up memories of Carlisle then the only one he could think of who possibly decode the puzzle would be Suplicia herself.

Stepping out of his chambers, he moved down the halls with graceful precision. One year, he told himself as he passed by the door that had once been Carlisle's chambers inside the castle. The same chambers that he kept sealed, not allowing anyone else to use or affect in any manner. He placed his palm on the flat surface of the stone and brass door, letting it linger there for a few moments before moving on. He would keep Jane, Alec and Corin in the dungeons for one year while they were starved and retrained. He couldn't use Chelsea for this; he had to know that their loyalty was not something that _had_ to be fabricated.

He turned around at the sound of the indelicate snort behind him only to find Caius standing in the hallway, wearing only a pair of black slacks. It was clear that he had just been with Athenodora, the scent of sex thick in the air. Arching a brow as he waited for the man to speak, he watched Caius shake his head.

"Didn't I tell you that that…abomination would only bring you disappointment and pain?" Caius asked Aro with a self satisfied grin. "Never tasted human blood, abhorred violence, believed in _peaceful solutions_," he said the last two words with mocking distaste. "He was…compassionate, he studied medicine for crying out loud," Caius rocked with laughter at the absurdity of it all. "Better off dead if you ask me. Forget him Aro, like I told you all those years ago. Forget him."

"He was a dear friend, Caius," Aro said pleasantly, though the expression on his face held anger. "You would do well to remember that. And as far as death goes, I refuse to believe that he is gone from this world."

Caius laughed easily as he opened the door behind him. "Wishful thinking, dear brother; nothing but wishful thinking. Mark my words, that weakling was killed a long time ago. Had I been smarter, I would've done it myself years ago."

The door closed behind him and Aro found himself once again pushed to the point of annoyed rage by Caius. How was it that he could aggravate him so easily now? He had heard similar comments from Caius over the years since Carlisle had left, but he had never reacted to them before now. Shaking his head as he turned back around, Aro made his way to his office and shut himself inside. Turning to his computer, he ran the pad of his finger over the track pad, bringing the monitor back to life. His head tipped to the side when he saw the dancing icon indicating that he had a message.

Clicking on the icon, he watched as the video chat program loaded and the message downloaded. He tapped on the triangle in the bottom right corner of the screen and watched as the screen changed from black to the image of Felix's face.

"Aro," Felix nodded in the video. "Suplicia told me that she informed you of the decision made regarding Jane, Alec and Corin. She was quite upset and wouldn't tell me why. I'm going to try to convince her to go swimming, it calms her down and she seems to enjoy playing with the dolphins. I'll call you again as soon as I'm able to."

The screen grew dark again and Aro sat back against the chair. Felix was protecting Suplicia again, being the best friend or big brother that his wife needed. He needed to speak with her; he needed her to help him fit the pieces together because right now, they didn't make any sense to him at all. Standing from his desk, he stepped over to the flat-topped wood chest that sat in the corner of the room. Crouching down in front of it, he lifted the lid and pushed on the ancient hinge to keep it open. He stared down at the leather bound books, his journals from the two decades that Carlisle had stayed with the Volturi. All of his other journals were kept in his chambers, but these were precious to him.

Looking up at the sound of the beeping that alerted him to an incoming call, he returned to his computer and activated the call. Felix was sitting in front of the camera again and he waited for the man to speak.

"She's outside, she's not in the ocean yet, but it shouldn't take too long," Felix said as he lent away from the camera, his attention averted. "If you don't mind my asking, did you two discuss anything other than the decision regarding the guards earlier?" Felix asked as he met Aro's crimson gaze.

"It's a fair question, you are guarding her, after all," Aro said. "We discussed our relationship, tried to determine where the rift began, but it only led to an argument or a misunderstanding, I'm not certain which at this point."

Felix nodded quietly, his attention turning away from the computer camera as he looked back outside once again.

"You've changed, Aro," Felix told him as he turned back to the camera. "There was a time when you would have sent Demetri out after us or anyone else with no questions asked, what stayed your hand?"

"I don't know," Aro chuckled. "I've been trying to figure that out myself."

"This will be the last call for awhile," Felix told him. "Suplicia wants to go somewhere else. She wants to see the world and I've no reason to deny her that."

"Where will you go?" Aro asked as his brows bent down into a frown.

"I don't know. Apparently, she's going to make her decision by closing her eyes and pointing at a place on the world map I bought her."

"Are you serious?" Aro asked with a dumbfounded expression.

"Yes," Felix laughed. "I had the same reaction when she told me." His jovial expression fell into a serious frown. "She misses you, but at the same time, she doesn't. If you ask me, I think she misses who you used to be. She talks about you sometimes, but in the manner that she speaks it's as though she's remembering someone who died, not someone who lives. She's coming back in from the water; did you want to talk with her?"

"Please." He said and watched as Felix disappeared from view. "Suplicia," he breathed her name when she sat down in front of the computer a few moments later. "It was not my intention to hurt you," he told her when she remained quiet. "I have tried to think back, to identify the rift, but the memories brought forth when I focus on you do not make sense to me."

"What memories?" she asked him softly after a few minutes of silence.

"Do you remember when I met him, the _Stregoni Benefici_?"

"Of course I remember that," she said, a smile spreading across her face. "Carlisle was…he was a dear friend to me. Back when he lived with us you…you were different, you were as you were when we were first together. He made you laugh and smile and you were _happy_ Aro, truly and without question, happy. He would sit and talk with me for hours while you handled the business in the court. That was of course before you made him part of the proceedings. I think that you, I and Marcus were the only three he conversed with. No one else seemed to want him around, especially not Chelsea. His presence infuriated her."

"Why?" Aro asked as he studied his wife.

"You have to ask?" Suplicia laughed at him. "Aro, when Carlisle was with us you wouldn't let Chelsea anywhere near him or us. You protected him with such fervor. You didn't want any talents used on him at all, save your own and even you read him only sparingly. I used to watch you with him. You came alive; it was as though you were seeing the world for the first time. What made him an abomination to others fascinated you and you couldn't get enough. You mourned his leaving for nearly as long as he stayed with us, you were angry, too. I think he was the only person to befriend you who held no ulterior motives, the only person to be completely honest with you, the first person who not only didn't want to serve you, but instead simply wanted to know you."

"He was different," she said after a long moment. "He was kind and gentle, compassionate, loving, he was…"

"Pure," Aro finished her thought. "He was the only one of our kind to truly have something that I would call a soul."

Suplicia nodded. "You actually cried over his leaving," she told him. "I've never seen you cry over anyone. He affected you more than you ever wanted anyone to believe. That first five years he was with us, you were so stubborn," she laughed at him. "Do you remember, you called him a 'fascination, nothing more', but I knew the truth and so did he." She looked down before staring into the camera once more. "When he was with the Volturi, you loved me again, you were my husband again, we…we made love, passionately, repeatedly like new lovers. But when he left…" her face fell. "I was once again relegated to the role of an afterthought for you."

"An afterthought?" Aro questioned her.

"Not three days after he left you were back in Chelsea's bed and me…I was a prisoner in the castle again."

"Why didn't you ever complain?" he asked finding that he needed the answer almost desperately.

"What purpose would it have served?" she asked instead. "I knew there was nothing I could say to dissuade you and Corin made it tolerable for awhile."

"Felix tells me of your plans to…move," he told her and saw her lips twist in an annoyed glare.

"Not you, too," she said with a shake of her head. "Just because I'm not choosing the location by more traditional methods does not mean that it is any less valuable."

"I miss you," he told her and watched her smile softly.

"I miss you, too…Thank you."

"For what, my dear?" Aro asked with a curious tilt of his head.

"For letting me have my freedom. You haven't sent any hunters out after us and I…I thank you."

Aro nodded quietly, not wishing to tell her the true reason that he had not sent others to demand her return. He still believed that she would be at risk if she returned to the castle now, but he didn't want to tell her that. Speaking softly for a few moments longer, he touched his fingers to the screen just before the call disconnected. He still wasn't able to understand why he felt more connected to her now than he did when she had been there with him in the castle. It simply didn't make sense to him. Shaking his head, he lifted his cell phone and dialed Marcus' satellite phone only to once again receive his voicemail. He hung up without leaving a message as he wondered what was keeping Marcus from answering his calls.

**:::::**

Standing with his back against the window, Marcus stared at the red couch and watched the human girl sleep. It was the third time that he had come here to find her sleeping and he was becoming suspicious that she wasn't leaving when he left. He had found her sleeping in this same manner almost four days ago, but hadn't thought much of it at the time. When she had woken, she spoke with him, listened and asked him questions when he told her about the ancient world and how new it seemed to him after becoming a vampire. He noticed that a few of the books had been pulled down and sat on the low table in front of the couch, books his mind could only make perfect replicas of because of how often he read them.

Stepping over to the couch, he sat down on the table and reached out his hand to brush the hair from her face. His eyes narrowed as he studied her. Was it his imagination or did she look thinner to him? Shaking her shoulder gently, he watched as her dark eyes opened slowly.

"Angela," Marcus spoke her name and waited for her to meet his eyes. "Are you leaving here when I return to the waking world?" She averted her gaze, her silence answering his question clearly. "Angela, you have been here for over four days. In the waking world – the _real_ world – you have been sleeping for four days. I am certain that your family is worried. You must leave this place, you must wake up."

"I don't want to leave," she told him as she moved from the couch and walked to the window.

"This is not open for discussion," he told her. "If I have to find a way to block you, I will. I don't want to," he told her when she spun around to face him, her mouth open to argue, "but I will if I have to. You cannot stay here endlessly. You must return, Angela," he told her again and took her hands in his. "And you must eat something. Promise me that you will eat," he demanded of her. "I do not wish to see you ill."

Angela only found herself able to nod quietly as she bit her lip. She truly did not wish to wake up, but she didn't want him to block her either. She just hadn't been able to bear the thought of returning to a world in which she had to deal with the reality of a serial killer stalking her and her family being in ruins. Shaking her head frantically at his next demand, she backed away from him only to be brought up against the window behind her.

"Yes," he told her. "It isn't so long. Just three days, Angela. Stay away for three days. Give yourself time to adjust to being awake again. You need to remember that this place only exists deeply in my mind. You cannot trade reality to stay here indefinitely. If you do that then eventually your body will starve and you will die. Go, my dear," he told her and brought her close to kiss her forehead. "Go now."

She didn't want to go, she didn't want to leave this place, but she didn't want him to block her either. Stepping toward the door that she knew he had erected for her, when he had changed their desert landscape into a library, she looked back at him and lifted her hand to touch the brass knob.

**:::::**

"Oh my god," Bella gasped as she looked down at the girl in the bed with wide eyes. "Edward! Edward, she's awake! Angela's awake!"


	37. Chapter 35

AN: This chapter contains adult scenes. There is no clean version, you have been warned.

Chapter 35

Edward looked down at the pot of stew simmering on the stove. It had taken him almost an hour to prepare the dish, he had kept his movements at a human's pace allowing him time to think and time to destress. He knew that this entire situation was hard on everyone, but this past week left him feeling as though he was trying to stop a tidal wave with a dishtowel. He couldn't speed up the time it took the stew to cook and was glad for the time to himself while Bella and Angela slept upstairs. Placing the glass lid on top of the pot, he angled it so that steam could escape while keeping the bubbling pot from making a mess on the stovetop.

Three hours, he thought as he stepped into the living room and sat down. Three hours to simmer slowly. Esme's recipe card had been very specific to simmer only and not allow the stew to boil, the flavors would be richer and the meat far more tender by simmering. He dropped his head into his hands as he closed his eyes and concentrated on shutting off all of his enhanced senses in search of a single moment of silence. He sat quietly, deaf and blind to the world around him in a manner that could only be experienced by one of his kind. Five minutes later he lifted his head and nodded to himself as he reopened all of his senses.

"This too shall pass," he spoke aloud a phrase that both Esme and Carlisle had used time after time.

Standing from his seat on the couch he made his way slowly up the stairs and stepped into the open doorway of his room. Angela was still sleeping soundly, but from the rhythm of Bella's heartbeat it seemed that she would be waking soon. Moving to the bed, he sat down by her side and brushed her mussed hair gently from her face. Leaning down as her eyelids began to flutter, he kissed her forehead and sat up slowly. Her voice was little more than a whisper as she spoke his name and he smiled affectionately as he watched her lift her hands to rub the sleep from her eyes.

"Hey sweetheart," he greeted Bella as he brushed the backs of his fingers over her cheek. "How are you feeling?"

"Heavy," she said with her eyes closed as she began to move. "I'm fine," she said only for Edward to chuckle.

"Try again," he told her as he watched how lethargic and clumsy her movements were. "You barely seem able to keep your eyes open. Come on," he stood and offered her his hand. "Let's get you up and moving around. I've got stew cooking downstairs; it still has a few hours before it'll be ready."

"Mm, stew," Bella hummed her appreciation of his cooking as she stood from the bed only to fall.

Edward caught her easily, shaking his head in a mixture of worry and amusement. Holding her against his side as they walked, he led her out of his room and down the hall to the bathroom. Watching the door close behind her, he returned to his bedroom and sat down beside Angela. Her heartbeat was slow, her breathing deep and even. He didn't know how long she would remain asleep, but from the sounds of it he doubted she would wake anytime soon.

"I love you, little one," he told the sleeping girl as he leaned over and kissed her forehead. "You're safe here, baby girl, I hope you know that."

His lips twisted up in a lopsided smile as he reached out for the 'Papa Bear' and tucked it into her arm. Smoothing his hand over her hair, he watched her sleep for a moment longer before standing and stepping over to the doorway. He watched Bella step out of the bathroom, her eyes at half mast making him chuckle at her drowsy expression. Wrapping his arm around her shoulder he led her downstairs and into the kitchen.

"Did you want anything to munch on?" he asked Bella as he watched her lift the lid over the stew pot and breathe in deeply. "It still has about two and half hours before it'll be ready."

"An apple is fine," Bella said, replacing the lid as she stepped toward the fruit bowl only to smile when Edward removed a large green apple and set about cutting it into slices. "You're spoiling me," she told him with a grin.

"Yes, well, this is the only time you let me spoil you, so get used to it," he returned with a grin of his own. "Did you sleep well?"

"More like heavily," Bella said as she took one of the slices from the bowl he handed to her. "I don't remember falling asleep, but it was hard to wake up. And now that I am awake I just want to go back to sleep," she said only to be silenced by a yawn.

"My fragile little human," Edward smiled and kissed her hair. "Somebody called while you were sleeping," he told her as he led her into the library. "She was hoping you would call back once you were awake," he said as he motioned for her to sit down in front of the computer, the video chat window already open but waiting for a number to be entered.

"Who?" Bella asked curiously as she looked up at him.

"Esme," he kissed her hair. "It's all ready to go, just hit the call button and she'll answer on the other end."

"Edward," Bella gripped his hand when he began to move away. "Where are you going?"

"Esme's recipe is rather specific as to when the different herbs should be added. Go ahead and talk to her, I won't be far," he promised and cupped her cheek before kissing her slowly. "I love you, Bella."

"I love you," she returned and watched him walk out of the room.

She turned her attention back to the computer in front of her and reached for the mouse. Biting her lip as she moved the cursor over to the button on the program window, she clicked on the mouse and watched as the icon in the window danced as the call rang through. She watched as the icon disappeared, the black video window fading into an image of another house and she smiled when she saw Carlisle's bowed head.

"Anything interesting?" she asked and his head came up, his worry lines smoothing out into a gentle smile as he looked at her.

"Bella," Carlisle greeted her smoothly. "How are you doing, sweetheart?"

"I'm ok," she said slowly and watched him arch a brow at her. "You know it's really not fair that you can do that," she said with a touch of amusement. "Both you and Edward have mastered that same expression."

"Yes, well he is my son," Carlisle said with a smile. "Perhaps you could explain to me why I don't quite believe that you're ok."

Bella shook her head and looked down as she tried not to let her worry show. Looking back up at the screen, she saw the look of concern in Carlisle's eyes and sighed softly.

"I suppose Edward told you," she began only to bite her lip when her uncertainty kept her silent.

"He did mention that you said you had helped someone in Angela's condition before. Would you tell me about that?" he requested and watched her shift slightly in her seat.

"It's not really something I like to talk about," she said slowly as she brought her feet up onto the chair and wrapped her arms around her legs. "It's not something I've ever talked about," she said as she looked down at her knees.

"You are safe here, Sweetheart," Carlisle told her gently, wishing that he could be there with her instead of having to talk to her through a computer. "There are no judgments, Bella. We only wish to help."

She nodded quietly, biting her lip before looking back up at his image on the screen. "I was eight," she said slowly, "when my mom met Ben. He was actually really nice, treated my mom pretty good. My mom got really attached to him really fast, she thought he was the one…"

"What happened?" Carlisle asked her gently, his soft voice brining her comfort.

"About two weeks after my ninth birthday he took off. I don't know where or why, at least I didn't at the time," Bella said shaking her head as she looked down at her knees again. "Renee completely shut down, just like Angela did. I helped her bathe, helped her dress. I fed her; I called into her job and spoke to her boss. I told them she had laryngitis that she couldn't speak but that she was sick. She was out of it like that for a week. I uh," Bella rubbed her forehead, feeling as old and equally unstable as she hand back then, her trembling hand evidence of that. "I rode my bike down to the little office that she worked at," she looked up at Carlisle without truly seeing him. "She would write these little articles about local trends from research that someone else would gather for her. She was supposed to write three articles a week, but that week I had to write them for her."

"Bella," the concern in Carlisle's voice drew her attention to his eyes. "Sweetheart, it's alright to be scared," he told her and her brow furrowed until he saw her catch sight of her shaking hand and clench her fist.

"I didn't really have time to be scared, at least that's what I told myself," Bella shook her head. "I'm fine, really."

"No, Sweetheart, you're not," Carlisle told her gently. "You were put into an impossible situation and what is happening with Angela is bringing everything back. Did you have any support back then at all?"

Bella shook her head. "I was afraid to tell anyone, besides that I didn't have anyone to call. I thought they would take me away if they knew, I thought they might take her away. It was just a week. She snapped out of it after seven days and we always acted like nothing happened, we never even spoke about it."

"Oh Bella," Carlisle studied her face. "Sweetheart," he said reading the truth of her thoughts in the expression on her face. "What happened then wasn't your fault."

"I know that," she said and shook her head.

"Do you?" he asked her. "When did you first meet Ben?" he saw her avert her gaze, the way her expression changed telling him that he had hit the mark. "Bella?" he called to her when she remained silent.

"At my party," Bella said without looking at him. "She invited him to my birthday party so that we could meet. It really wasn't much more than a fancy dinner done up at home, but she thought it was time that we officially met each other."

Carlisle sighed silently as he stared at the girl in the computer screen in front of him. He could tell exactly how much she blamed herself for her mother's breakdown, no matter how much she denied it. He hated that they were so far apart, wishing that he could be there so that he could offer her the comfort she needed. Bella was very complex, a puzzle that he was beginning to solve, especially with this new revelation. It occurred to him then as he studied the way she was sitting that the reason she was so resistant to being spoiled or taken care of was because she was so used to taking care of others that she didn't know how to let herself be taken care of.

"Bella," Carlisle's voice brought her attention back to him. "You don't look like you've been sleeping very much, or eating," he said the tone of his voice making the observation a request for more information.

"It's hard to sleep," she said softly. "I try, but…"

"And the other?" he asked gently. "You've lost weight, Bella. Not a lot, but at least five pounds."

"Is that a vampire thing?" she asked softly and the sound of his chuckle soothed her.

"No, it's a doctor thing. Haven't been hungry?"

Bella shook her head, her eyes falling away from him again. "No, I eat…sometimes; it's just not always easy to keep it down."

"How often have you been sick, when?" he asked, his mind processing the information quickly as he put the pieces together.

"Two, sometimes three times a night, always at night," she told him, her hand unconsciously moving to her stomach.

"Before or after you allow yourself time to cry?" he asked her slowly, keeping his voice soothing and soft, still she looked up at him sharply with wide eyes. "Esme," he told her gently and watched her nod.

"After usually," she said and he saw the shame in her expression that she tried to hide. "Sometimes before."

"Ok," he said softly as he looked at her. "In the desk in my office, top drawer," he told her and gave her a soft smile when she met his eyes. "There is a bottle of anti-nausea medicine. I want you to go ahead and take two of them each night, either just before or just after dinner. See if it helps you and let me know after a couple of days, ok?"

Bella nodded silently, "Thank you."

"Of course, my dear," Carlisle smiled gently, wishing he could hug her. "Is Edward there?"

"He's cooking," she said with a soft chuckle. "He's making stew. You know, for people who don't eat actual food, you sure are master chefs. How does that work?"

"I wish I had an explanation for you," Carlisle laughed. "But truly, I don't."

"Hey, Carlisle," Edward said as he stepped into the room and came up behind Bella. "Bella," he looked down at her and kissed her chastely when she tipped her head back to meet his gaze. "I put a few croissants on the counter for you."

"Croissants?" she questioned. "When did you buy those?"

"I'm fairly certain he didn't," Carlisle chuckled and watched as both Bella and Edward turned their attention to him. "I taught him how to bake them. There was a time during my study in Europe that I was fascinated by all forms of art, including baking," he admitted with a smile. "When things would get boring being stuck inside on the brighter days, I taught Edward what I had learned in France."

"Wait, fresh baked croissants?" Bella asked and looked back up at Edward to see him nod. "That isn't fair," Bella said as she rose from the chair.

"Don't forget, Bella," Carlisle reminded her before she moved away from the sight line of the webcam. "The bottle in my office," he told her and watched her nod.

Edward watched Bella leave the room before he took the seat in front of the computer and looked at Carlisle. He saw the look on his father's face and though he couldn't read a person's thoughts through a computer, he knew his father well enough to know what was on his mind. He nodded quietly; monitoring Bella's movements with his enhanced hearing before he met Carlisle's gaze once again and spoke.

"She slept for a long time today," Edward said with a relieved sigh, "almost six hours uninterrupted."

"You heard," Carlisle said and watched Edward nod. "With an event like that in her childhood, this is more upsetting to her than she is letting on. Has she had any nightmares?"

"Not that she's talking about," Edward said. "Charlie told me that she's been a 'mother hen' with Angela, completely dedicated to her care. I'm not saying that she shouldn't be, but…"

"But she should remember to take care of herself as well," Carlisle finished for him. "I'm still working here, reviewing the other patient files and going over histology reports for the ones who have died. Esme will be returning to assist you soon, earlier than either of us planned."

"Bella?" Edward asked and Carlisle nodded.

"She is concerned about her, thought that perhaps Bella needed a mother figure to talk to. How is Angela?"

"Still sleeping. I have no idea when she will awaken; her slumber is deep enough to keep her absolutely still. If I didn't have the senses that I do, I would think she was dead."

Carlisle frowned. "Watch her closely. Has she been able to take the Toradol?"

"I don't know," Edward sighed. "I don't know if Bella was able to get her to take the pill, she wasn't comfortable with the syringe. I got her to take one of the pills this morning, or at least I think she did."

"What do you mean 'you think'?" Carlisle asked curious as to his son's uncertainty.

"The only thoughts, the absolute only thoughts that I've been able to read from her is her desire to see Marcus. Each time she's been given the Toradol her thoughts aren't absent, instead she's almost…reluctant." Edward shook his head, his brow furrowing. "It doesn't make any sense. She's been more alert because she's been in school, but all of her thoughts revolve around Marcus and the place they meet in her dreams. All she wants is to go back there."

"He offers her something that we cannot," Carlisle said with wisdom.

"And what's that?" Edward asked with a confused shake of his head.

"A world without stalkers, serial killers, or abusive parents, with him, those things do not exist." Carlisle looked down at something off sight of the camera, his brow furrowing deeply. "I must go, call me if you need anything, or even just someone to talk to."

"I will," Edward said with a nod. "Thank you, Carlisle."

"Always."

The screen went black and Edward sat for a minute staring at the silent computer. Sighing softly as he stood, he moved out of the library and smiled at the sight that greeted him in the living room. Bella had fallen asleep curled up against the corner of the couch with the Edward bear tucked in her arms. Chuckling softly, he stepped over to her and kissed her hair before covering her with the light throw blanket. Tucking her hair behind her ear, he left her and walked into the kitchen to check on the stew. He shook his head with humor at the sight of the spoon lying on a folded napkin on the counter next to the stove.

"Someone's been taste testing," he said to himself as he stirred the pot and added in the last of the herbs before replacing the lid.

**:::::**

Angela couldn't stop the tears from flowing, sitting down on the red couch with one of the pillows tucked into her arms; she buried her face in the softness and cried. It was the first time in days that she had felt truly safe and free. There was no danger here, no heartache, no uncertainty or pain. The couch dipped beside her, a cool arm wrapping around her shoulders as she was drawn gently against a cold stone chest and held with tender affection. She felt his hand stroke over her hair as he pressed a gentle kiss to her head.

Marcus was as equally relieved as he was worried to see that Angela had returned to him. It had been days since he had last seen her, but to have found her in this condition was unsettling. She was crying almost uncontrollably into a thick pillow, her face hidden from view and her body curled as tightly and small as she could make it. He doubted she knew that it was her true physical form that was brought here and not simply the representation of how she viewed herself. He could both see and feel that she had lost a significant amount of weight and it concerned him.

Lifting her to sit in his lap, he wrapped both arms around her and rested his cheek against her hair as he held her. Whatever stress she was under it was more intense than he had initially believed. He wanted to ask her more, wanted to know what was happening, but was hesitant to do so. He wanted this place to remain a sanctuary for her, she felt safe here and he wouldn't change that. Kissing her hair when he realized that her tears wouldn't be stopped anytime soon, he moved with her to the center of the sofa and turned to lie back against the arm of the couch. Cuddling her against his chest, he stroked her hair gently and hummed softly.

The tune held no specific rhythm, it belonged to no song that had ever been written, but he continued with the collection of notes in an effort to bring her comfort. What felt to be less than thirty minutes he knew was more than two hours, but still he held her. He didn't care if she was here all day long, he would hold her as long as she wanted; protect her in this place until she asked him not to. Tipping his head forward to kiss her brow once more, he rubbed his hand over her back and spoke to her softly, promising her that she was safe with him and that he would take care of her. He wasn't surprised when he found her to be nearing sleep, her tears slowed as she blinked drowsily and yawned deeply.

"Go to sleep, little one," he told her. "I'll be here."

**:::::**

His agitation was beginning to drive her mad. He wouldn't be still and the long summer days that were brighter in British Columbia than they were in Forks, kept them locked indoors during the day. If he didn't stop pacing soon she was going to throw him out of the window of their tenth floor suite and if she did that, she would be exposing them both. Sighing when she realized that he wouldn't be able to calm himself, she decided to take his anger and turn it into desire.

Standing slowly, she moved from her chair to stand in the middle of the room and began to undress. Rolling her eyes when she was standing completely nude save for her five inch heels only to find him to still be pacing, she cleared her throat. Sighing loudly when that didn't work, Rosalie brushed her hair back over her shoulders and stepped up to her husband. She moved quickly, undoing his belt and pulling it from the loops of his pants with one quick tug. He turned to her then, his steps stopping as he looked at her in question only for his mouth to fall open as his eyes darkened with desire.

"Rosalie," Emmett breathed out her name as he stared at his wife.

She was beautiful, absolutely glorious. His angel was standing with only her flawless skin for dressing, her crimson heels adding height and accentuating the delicate flowing lines of her never ending legs. The curtains that had been carefully closed so that only a few inches hung open, allowed just enough of the bright rays of direct sunlight into the room to illuminate her skin in myriad of shimmers and fragmented light. She didn't look dangerous at that moment in time; to him she looked to be a fairy or a creature of legend, an angel or siren come to make his every dream come true.

He couldn't stay away from her a moment longer. He took in a deep breath, smelling the heady musk of her arousal, the sweetness of the venom that replaced her bodily fluids flowing thick and free from between her legs. He needed her, desperately. His hands pulled at his clothes, his strength shredding the delicate fabric into nothing but bits of cloth too torn to recognize. He was in front of her in less time than it took for her to draw in a breath, his hands cupping her face as his mouth fell upon hers, hungry and demanding with the force of his desire.

"We will find him," she promised him, whispering against his lips when he broke their embrace. "But we can't leave until it's dark, so we should do something…constructive with our time."

"God I love you," he told her as he lifted her into his arms and carried her to the giant bed.

He laid her down on the bed, standing back as he studied the curves of her body, the graceful arcs and gentle dips and hollows that made his lust burn brightly within him. She was perfect, absolutely perfect.

"Stop staring, McCarty and make love to me," she told him, her hands gliding down over her breasts and across her stomach only to tease as her fingertips grazed the triangle of hair at the juncture of her legs. "Before I start without you."

Her words and actions had the desired effect as he knelt on the bed and covered her body with his. His mouth returned to hers, his teeth nibbling at her lips, his tongue pulsing against her plump delicate flesh before begging entrance to her mouth. She gasped, moving against him only to moan when she felt his hand slip between her legs. She cried out when his fingers dipped between her folds, parting her to rub against her sensitive nub. His hardness was pressing against her thigh, her desire climbing with each brush of his fingers, every touch of his tongue twisting with hers.

She cried out when his finger entered her, tearing her mouth from his as she took in deep breaths, whimpering excitedly as he added another finger into her slick channel. His hand that had been fisted in her golden locks moved down, slipping over her shoulder only to cup her breast. He massaged her pillowing mound gently, his thumb rubbing back and forth over her puckered nipple as he drove her closer and closer to orgasm. He knew that she was close, just moments away from exploding when he stopped.

"Emmett!" she growled in frustration, her hands slapping onto his shoulders when he denied her and remained completely still. "Damnit, Emmett, I hate it when you do this."

"You know what I want," he purred against her neck as he ran his tongue along the curve of her throat, following the line of her carotid artery up from her collar bone to the bottom curve of her ear.

"I'm not saying it," she denied him, pushing against him only for him to catch both of her hands and hold them above her head with one hand at her wrists.

"Say it," he told her, his hand stroking down her side but never touching her where she wanted him to.

"No," she growled, the glint in her dark eyes full of passion and playfulness.

"Yes," he whispered enticingly as he scraped his teeth against her neck and rocked his hardness against her thigh. "You want more, don't you?"

She growled at him, tried to roll him over, but he was too strong for her. His tongue traced the shell of her ear, causing delicious shivers to race through her body, but still he denied her more. She tried to move down, tried to pull him closer by wrapping her legs around his back, but he refused to move.

"Say it and I'll give you what you want," he purred into her ear, nibbling on her lobe and flicking his tongue against her flesh held trapped between his teeth. "Say it," he purred again, his smile devious and charming all at once.

"I never should have said to you on our first honeymoon. It only encouraged you," she told him, tugging one of her bound hands free and emphasizing her words with a frustrated punch to his shoulder.

"Say it," he chuckled at her.

"You are my Adonis, the very symbol of manhood," she said and rolled her eyes. "Happy?" she asked teasingly.

"You tell me," he asked her as he entered her. "Do I feel happy?"

"_God_," Rosalie gasped as she threw her head back against the pillow and cried out as he moved within her. "Yes!" she growled as she moved against him, increasing their pace as she moved against him. "Stop holding back, McCarty," she demanded only to growl when he chuckled.

"Don't rush me, Rosie," he purred and dipped his head to draw his tongue across her chest from one breast to the other. "I want to take my time."

"Well I don't," she said and put all her force behind rolling them so that she was on top of him. "You can take your time once we've finished this one," she said as she rode him fast and hard. "But right now, I want what you denied me earlier."

Emmett's lips were pulled back in a passionate smile as he held onto her hips, thrusting up against her as she slammed herself down on him. He groaned in delight, his eyes black as pitch with his passion when she rolled her hips, before crying out as she tightened around him. He pushed back up against her, once, twice, before exploding within her. Collapsing onto his chest as she panted, Rosalie lay still and sated only to laugh when he rolled them over and pinned her to the mattress.

"My turn," he told her with a teasing grin.

"Well, we only have three hours till sunset," she told him with a sigh. "Make it snappy," she said with a flick of her wrist only to shriek and giggle when his fingers danced against her sides below her ribs. "Damnit that's not fair. I hate that I'm still ticklish," she laughed as he continued his assault.

"Your little quirks are why I love you so much, Mrs. McCarty," he told her using her true married name.

"I love you," she told him sincerely, her hands cupping his cheeks as she stared into his eyes. "I love you," she told him again as she kissed his lips softly. "We will find him," she promised him. "We will protect Angela, we will protect our family."

"Yes we will, my love. Yes, we will."

**:::::**

"Edward," Bella called his name knowing that he would hear her no matter that he was downstairs in the kitchen. "She's not waking up," Bella told him once he appeared in the open doorway of his room. "I've tried calling to her, shaking her, tapping her cheeks, nothing works. Why isn't she waking up?"

"I don't know," he said as he came to her side and sat down next to her. "Angela," he called out to her as he took her wrist in his hand and checked her pulse. "Her pulse hasn't changed, it's still slow, really slow."

"How slow?" Bella asked unable to keep her voice from trembling slightly.

"Fifty beats per minute, less than her normal sleeping rhythm. She shouldn't still be asleep, I need to - " his voice dropped off as he took his ringing cell phone from his pocket and stood from the bed, moving across the room to answer it. "Eleazar, please tell me you have an answer to what is going on," Edward said as he stood in front of the window and looked back at his human sister lying still in his bed. "I can't get Angela to wake up."

"She's not _sleeping_ sleeping," Eleazar said and Edward rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, you're going to have to explain that one a little bit better," he said as he returned to Angela's side and sat on the bed.

"It's part of her talent," Eleazar said with a sigh. "I didn't want to elaborate on any of what she can do until it was necessary. Carmen and I took Michael hunting or I would have called sooner. You've heard of astral projection," he said and waited for Edward's grunt of confirmation. "Her power to call you to her it's not limited to just that. She can call people to her for protection or the simple desire of their presence, distance doesn't matter, but she can also enter their minds in a sense. It's astral projection mixed with a kind of lucid dreaming. She finds them on a spiritual level and communes with them on a plane that cannot be seen or touched by anyone else. While she's human it's in her dreams, when she becomes one of us…I don't know exactly how it will work then. I told her about Marcus to see if her talent was that powerful while she is human. There is one drawback, though."

"And what would that be?"

"It takes an incredible amount of power as it is very stressful on her mind."

"Meaning?" Edward asked as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

"It is quite possible that when she wakes up, she will have one hell of a migraine. It also means that her migraine medicine may block her from using that part of her talent."

"But I've been giving her the medicine," Edward denied his thesis.

"Has she been taking it?" Eleazar asked. "You need to make absolutely certain that she has. For what Alice told me of her condition before now, if she was shutting herself away from the waking world that much, than she should've been in her dream world long before now. You're going to need to let her wake up on her own, forcing her out can be dangerous until she learns better how to control it."

"Damnit," Edward sighed and thanked Eleazar for the information before ending the call.

"Edward?" Bella asked him with a concerned frown.

"She's with Marcus, at least that's what Eleazar believes. While I was away hunting, were you able to get her to take her medicine?"

"I tried," Bella shook her head, tears filling her eyes. "I was afraid of hurting her or chocking her if I tried to force it into her."

"Ok," Edward nodded and rubbed his hands over Bella's arms. "Don't worry, love, this isn't your fault. She's fine, or she will be as soon as we get her to wake up and eat something. Don't blame yourself, Bella," he told her when he saw the look in her eyes. "Don't, Sweetheart, don't go borrowing trouble."

"He won't hurt her?" she asked Edward.

"No," Edward shook his head and smiled. "From what Eleazar told Carlisle, he's fairly certain that Marcus won't hurt her. We're just worried because she is a human that knows about our kind. We don't know if he's told anyone about his…visits with her."

Bella looked down at Angela, feeling as though she should have known that something was wrong before now. She stood from the bed, moving away as blood rushed madly in her ears, the pounding of her heart too loud and too fast for her to hear anything else. Her head was spinning, spots dancing before her eyes. Her vision was blurred as she watched Edward move toward her. She could see his lips moving but couldn't hear a word he said when suddenly her world went black.

"Bella!" Edward called her name as he caught her when she fainted.

"It seems I returned just in time," Esme said from the doorway. "I was already on a plane when you spoke with Carlisle. Tell me everything, Edward. What's going on?"

Edward could feel his muscles trembling as he looked at his adopted mother unable to remember a time that he had felt more grateful or happier for her presence. He carried Bella to the bed and laid her down gently before sitting next to her on the bed. He felt unstable and when Esme moved closer, wrapping her arms around his shoulders, he felt the damn break.

"Shh," Esme soothed her son as he cried tearless and silent in her arms. "It's alright, I'm here now," she promised him and petted his hair.

"I'm alright," Edward said a moment later as he pulled back.

"You and your father are more alike than you'd like to believe," Esme chuckled softly. "Come on, I turned off the stove when I came in. We should at least divvy it up into containers while we wait for these two to wake up. You can tell me what's been happening while we've been gone and where Alice and Jasper are."

**:::::**

Angela's eyes fluttered open softly at the feeling of cool lips on her forehead and she looked up into Marcus' crimson eyes. Her brow furrowed in confusion as she brought her loosely fisted hand up to rub at her eyes. Frowning prettily as she sat up, she looked at his concerned face, wondering why he was sitting on the low table in front of the couch rather than on the couch with her. The last memory that she had was of her falling asleep in his arms.

"Marcus?" she asked as he moved to sit beside her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "How long was I asleep?"

"A very long time, though not long at all," he said and she turned her confused gaze on him.

"Did I hit my head or are you speaking in riddles?" Angela asked and for the first time she could ever remember, Marcus chuckled.

"You didn't hit your head," he told her and smoothed his hand down over her hair. "Time passes differently here. In this place you haven't been asleep very long, but in the waking world you've been asleep for close to twelve hours. You haven't been sleeping much out there have you?"

"Not so much, no," she admitted quietly.

"I would like to stay here longer with you, but I must return for a little while," he smoothed his hand down over her hair.

Marcus sighed softly as he held her against his side. He didn't want to leave her or this place, but he had to. He knew that the cruise ship would be docking soon and if one of the staff found him, he would most likely find himself waking up in a morgue. Kissing her hair and telling her that he had to leave, he promised her that he would return as soon as he could. He hoped that she would return to the waking world while he was gone, but something told him that she might not.

Angela watched him disappear before she scooted back down to lie on the sofa. She was still exhausted and she hoped that sleep here would equal feeling rested when she was awake in the real world. Tucking the pillow beneath her head and slipping one hand beneath it as she curled on her side, she closed her eyes and let herself drift back into a peaceful slumber.

**:::::**

Carlisle looked up from his desk inside the silent Manhattan home they kept. Though he didn't need the lights, nor the warmth the fire provided, he took comfort in the soft golden-red glow emanating from the stone fireplace on the left hand side of the room. The crackling of the wood and smell of the cedar burning was familiar, something that reminded him of his human childhood and the time he had spent in France and Spain in his early years of this immortal life. He released a deep slow breath as he heard the fax machine in the library beep, signaling that the final page of the document had completed printing and stood to retrieve it.

He missed Esme. It had been a decision made by them both for her to return to Forks, even if it was just for a short while, but the empty house was too quiet now with her gone. No other lights in the large house, more reasonably referred to as chalet or mansion, were turned on but his inhuman eyes didn't need the light to see by. Stepping across the polished natural wood floors, he walked into the library and stepped over to the dedicated fax machine. There were twenty papers in all, minus the cover page and Carlisle looked down with sadness and regret at the detailed autopsy report he held in his hands. The patient he had come to see, the woman whose history of migraines was very similar to Angela's, had died early that morning and it was his hope that the autopsy and histology reports he now held would be able to answer the questions that her medical files had been unable to.

His steps were slow as he walked back through the house and his right hand fell from the papers he held to the pocket of his khaki slacks as he gracefully retrieved his ringing cell phone. He didn't look at the caller ID before answering the call and bringing the device to his ear, but felt a great sense of comfort at the welcoming sound of his wife's sweet alto voice. Breathing in slowly, he responded to her warm greeting and spoke to her of the love he felt for her. Setting the document in his left hand down on his desk, he moved to the black stuffed chair that sat near the fireplace and took a seat in front of the burning logs, the red, orange, and golden light casting a myriad of colors and shadows upon his alabaster skin.

"How are the children?" he asked her softly his body molding to the soft curves of the chair as he relaxed into it.

"I'm honestly not certain how to respond to that question," Esme told him and his brow furrowed. "It seems that I came back just in time. Edward and Bella are out right now, she went to see Charlie and Mrs. Newton, he went with her. Angela's still unconscious, her breathing rate hasn't changed at all," she told him and brought him up to speed on what Eleazar had told Edward regarding Angela's ability to communicate through dreams. "When I came into the house," she told him, her voice worried and sad, "I saw Bella collapse, just faint dead away in Edward's arms. That poor child doesn't look like she's eaten much at all and despite the sleep she got earlier; it doesn't look like it was nearly enough to replace all the sleep she lost."

Carlisle sighed softly, his desire to be there to help his family warring with his responsibility and need to gain answers to help Angela survive her migraines until he could change her. He spoke softly, his words filled with fatherly concern as he told Esme of the conversation he had with Bella during the time that she was on her flight. He heard the soft sound she made, something between a moan and a sigh as she mourned the pain and confusion that Bella had suffered in her childhood and was suffering once again due to the memories being reawakened with Angela. Promising him that she would talk with their human daughter, their son's mate, she spoke to him of Edward's breakdown and his fight to stay strong.

"Have they heard anything from Alice or Jasper?" Carlisle asked as he tossed another log into the fire and broke away the wood ashes from the cedar logs with the black iron poker.

"From what Edward has told me, Alice is still trying to convince Jasper to return, but Eleazar is helping him through a few exercises to assist in controlling his bloodlust," Esme told him and he could hear the sounds of the laundry machine in the background. "Alice believes that they will help Jasper, by himself, but doesn't know how effective they will be when he is feeling everyone else's bloodlust as well. Angela is…she has lost a significant amount of weight," she said with a worried sigh. "She looks thinner now than she did when she first came to live with us. If we are unable to get her to eat soon…"

"If it comes to that, have Edward insert a feeding tube," Carlisle said reluctantly. "I don't like the idea of it, but it may be our only option."

"Have you heard from Emmett or Rosalie yet?" she asked in return and from the sound difference he knew that she had placed the call on speaker.

"Not in last three hours," he responded. "It finally grew dark enough that they were able to begin their hunt for him once again, but they are still having trouble finding a fresh trail. It seems that the strongest of his scents have led them back to an abandoned school building, but he was nowhere to be found. I know they plan to go to the city library tomorrow to see if there are any underground passages that he might be using, but the possibility that he may have already begun his journey back to Washington is too big to ignore."

"I have half a mind to ask Jasper to call upon the aid of Peter and Charlotte. I want him taken care of, not just locked up," she nearly growled and he could hear her sorrow underneath the anger.

"Believe me, Esme, I have given thought to that myself, but I cannot condone the taking of a human life. Not even one as dark as he is. Angela needs to feel safe and our family needs the assurance and sanity that his incarceration will bring."

"They've been there nearly two weeks already," she reminded him. "How much longer before we call them home?"

"Two more weeks," he told her. "I want to give them at least a month to complete their hunt and if they are unable to find him in that time, then I will call them home."

"I feel so helpless," she told him and he heard the soft scraping of wood as she opened dresser drawers and put the folded clothes away.

"I know, my love. We all do. This time is not easy on any of us. Let us hope that Marcus can offer Angela the safety she needs to feel in order to return to us."

"I love you," she whispered to him, her voice thick with all the emotions that burdened her heart.

"And I love you, my beautiful wife. Take care of our children."

"I will. Take care of yourself, Carlisle. I truly do not like you being there alone. You need family with you, especially at a time like this," she told him and he smiled despite his heavy heart.

"I will be fine, Esme. Call me as much as you like, the others as well. I am always here for all of you, remember that."

"I will, I do," she told him. "I will talk with you later, my love."

"Be well, my love. Goodnight."

Carlisle looked down at his silent phone for a moment, debating with himself of whether or not to call Emmett for an update, before reluctantly tucking the device back into his pocket. Any sound could compromise their position and he had no wish to spook the man they were after if his children were closing in on his position. They would call him in the morning, as they had each day since their arrival in Vancouver, to update him on the results of their hunt. He stared into the fire a moment longer, allowing his mind to be free for a little while as he sat in peaceful meditation. As the dancing flames began to soothe him into a state of absent thought, his relaxed mind made a startling connection that he hadn't seen before.

Standing quickly, he was at his desk within a fraction of a second and searching through the files on the wood surface until he came to the films he was looking for. Turning on the small wall unit that he had installed to view X-rays and MRIs, he hung two films side by side and nearly cursed at the parallel he had missed before. The film on the left was the film taken of a woman who had died as a result of multiple and prolonged electro-shock treatments, the film on the left was taken yesterday evening from the patient he had come to see. The damage was almost exactly the same. Without thinking about the time, or what the man could possibly be working on, he called the doctor he had been collaborating with. It didn't matter that he had only reached the man's voicemail; he left a message with a vague description of his findings along with the promise for a more detailed explanation and report that he would bring the following day.

He set his cell phone down on the desktop and leaned against the edge of the wood furniture as he studied the films. It seemed to him that the only difference between the brain damage was the direction from which it originated. On the left, the damage was clearly beginning at the outside of the brain working its way in, while the scan on the left showed the internal damage being the worst while radiating outward. It made a certain kind of macabre sense to him. Migraines were technically an electrical imbalance, a misfiring of neurons that resulted in excruciating pain and in the worst cases, brain damage. The elation of the discovery left him in a rush, replaced instead by the hopeless despair of the meaning.

"You can't treat the brain damage caused by electro-shock treatments," he said aloud to himself. "Please, please let the damage caused by the migraines be different."

Carlisle left the films up on the lighted board as he gathered the notes and pathology reports he had collected since being in New York, as well as a few medical texts from the shelves behind him that were specific to brain trauma. If he could compile the notes, compare everything that he knew personally from his vast centuries of experience as well as what the books and reports said, then maybe, just maybe he could find an answer to a possible treatment. He felt as driven as Dr. Ramanajan was, though instead of his passion being for answers and a possible award from the America Medical Association, his reasons for the search for answers was personal. He would study whatever he needed to in order to take away her pain and make certain that she stayed alive long enough for him to change her. In every way that mattered, Angela was his daughter, and in a year or less she truly would be his immortal daughter.

**:::::**

Esme sighed softly as she sat next to Angela's still body and smoothed her hair against the pillow. Bending down to kiss the girl's forehead, she stroked her cheek before rising from the bed. It had officially been two days now that Angela remained asleep. No amount of gentle prodding was able to wake her and Eleazar had cautioned against heavier measures. Stepping out of the room, she walked down the stairs and greeted Bella as she walked in the front door with Edward. She was still thin, still needed to gain a little bit of weight, but she seemed to be doing a lot better.

Edward chuckled softly and nodded to Esme before he stepped aside and told Bella that he would see her later. She frowned in question at him, but the only thing he did was kiss her before stepping out of the room. Turning back to glance at Esme, she saw the soft smile on the woman's face and knew that it was her thoughts Edward had been responding to.

"There's a nice little bookstore in Seattle I thought we could go to," Esme told her. "Have a little time to just us girls and give you a chance to look for something new to read if you'd like."

Bella nodded, sticking her hand into her back pocket to feel for the twenty dollar bill she had tucked away. It was the only spare money that she had as her part time job at the sporting goods store had been cut short when she had taken time off to help with Angela. When she had gone in yesterday to speak with Mrs. Newton, the woman had kindly informed her that Charlie had given her a vague idea of what was going on and told Bella to take off as much time as she needed. She appreciated the gesture, was grateful for the woman's kindness, but it left her without much if any spending money of her own.

"Stop worrying," Esme told Bella with a grin as they got into Carlisle's Mercedes. "I'm going to pull an Alice on you today."

"Meaning you're not going to let me buy anything with my own money," Bella said with a half amused snort.

"Precisely," Esme said with a nod as she pulled onto the highway, the speedometer reading eighty-five before they'd gotten two miles down the stretch of interstate. "It is the one time when I am not going to give you a choice about being spoiled. You need this time away, plus you need to talk. I know how scared you are, Bella, it's in your eyes all the time, especially when you look at Angela. What's happening with her is not your fault," Esme promised her.

Bella looked down at her hands folded in her lap. She wanted to believe Esme's assurances, but the fact of the matter was it had been her blood that set off Jasper. If she hadn't gotten that cut none of this would have happened. The bandage was gone from her finger now, but the faint pink line was still there and it seemed to be further proof that she was to blame. Esme looked over at Bella, saw that she was looking at the hand she had cut on the wrapping paper and reached out, covering the girl's warm hands with one of her own.

"Sweetheart, don't. This wasn't your fault, Bella," Esme promised her gently. "I know that it probably feels like it was, but you're not to blame. No one is."

Bella bit her lip as she looked up at Esme. "I try to remember that and on some level I know that it wasn't my fault, but it…"

"It feels like it is," Esme finished for her with a nod of understanding. "I talked with Carlisle while you were out," she told her as she pulled off the highway and into the busy traffic of downtown Seattle.

"He told you?" Bella asked, though she was fairly certain she knew the answer.

"Yes," Esme said as she turned off the car and turned in her seat to give Bella her full attention. "Please don't be upset with him. We're both worried about you, Sweetheart. You were so young when that happened with your mother and an unfair amount of responsibility was placed on you. We're both here for you, whatever you need," she promised the girl.

Bella blushed and nodded her gratitude as she and Esme stepped out of the car. Laughing softly when Esme wrapped her arm around her shoulders and brought her close to her side, Bella walked with her through the covered parking structure and into the shopping mall. She loved Renee, Bella thought, but Esme was the one who truly felt like a mother to her. Growing up with Renee had been fun and was always an adventure, but it was she who had to be responsible and remind her mother when the bills needed to be paid or when they needed to go shopping. Bella had been the adult, or at least that's what it had felt like.

"Are you alright?" Esme asked Bella as she led her into the used and new book store.

"I'm fine," Bella answered her as she drifted into one of the aisles to look at the collection of used books. "Old memories," she said when she caught Esme's curious stare. "Renee, my mom, she's always been impulsive, more about fun and adventure than anything else. 'Live life to its fullest and enjoy it while you can' was what she always used to say while I was growing up. But she didn't have such a great memory for the little things," Bella told her as she looked at the book and felt soothed by Esme's gentle touch when she combed her fingers through the lowest part of her long hair.

"You took care of her," Esme said as she watched Bella set the book back down before moving onto another one. "That's why it's so hard for you to allow anyone to spoil you, isn't it?" she asked Bella and watched her cheeks color in a soft blush. "You've always taken care of everyone else. When was the first time that anyone actually took care of you?"

"I was already pretty much past needing anyone to take care of me when I moved in with Charlie and - "

"Bella, you're avoiding the question," Esme told her as she tucked her hair behind her ear.

Bella blushed again as she set the book down before meeting Esme's gaze.

"Edward, you and your family," Bella admitted softly, her blush darkening as her dark eyes falling to the side. "It's fine," Bella stammered, moving to pick up another book as she tried to avoid the uncomfortable subject. "I've always been fairly self sufficient."

Esme shook her head and sighed softly before wrapping Bella up in a gentle hug. Stepping back and smiling at her, Esme turned to the books and asked Bella if there was any genre she was particular to. She smiled at the sight of the girl's blush and nodded when she admitted her preference for eighteenth and nineteenth century romantic literature by female authors.

"Let's find you a book," Esme said with a smile.

**:::::**

Emmett looked at the building in front of them, his brow furrowing as he looked back at Rosalie. This couldn't be right, he thought as he stared at the place in front of them. It had rained just before sundown and hadn't stopped until a few moments ago; making it difficult to track the man's scent but this was where it led to.

"It's a school," Emmett said to Rosalie as she stepped up to the doors.

"An abandoned school," she said as she looked around before pulling the locked door open, nearly tearing it from its hinges. "Come on, Emmett. Let's find this guy and go home."

Emmett followed her inside the dark building, their eyes seeing perfectly in the absence of light. Their steps were soundless, their movements unseen as they slipped down the halls, looking into each room they passed. His scent was here, it was thick in the halls telling them that the man they were hunting had just been there, but there was no sign of him anywhere. Rosalie stilled, her eyes growing wide before she shot down the hall, Emmett following along behind her as the scent grew stronger. The lock on the door leading into the basement broke easily under her vampire strength and Rosalie flew down the stairs too fast for anyone but Emmett to follow her movements.

"It's at least two weeks old," Emmett said as he looked at the dried blood on the floor. "This is definitely where he killed the child, but apparently not where they found her body."

"What the hell is wrong with him that he can do this?!" Rosalie raged as she felt her desire to spill the man's blood reawakened.

"I don't know," Emmett said tightly, his voice thick with equal amounts of anger and protectiveness. "We need to find him. He's obviously not here now, but he was here sometime today. He's too good at covering his tracks. Every time we've tracked his scent to a hotel, the room has already been scrubbed to a hospital level of clean and the motels themselves are seedy little holes that no one cares enough to clean with that amount of detail."

"Emmett," Rosalie's voice was thick with trepidation and he stepped across the room to where she stood looking into an open closet. "I think he found a new target."

"Oh god no," Emmett whispered as he stepped into the room and looked at the small collection of photos lining the section of wall.

Less than thirty pictures in all, the images were taken from a distance and focused on another girl. She couldn't be much older than seven in his estimation and when he reached out and took a photo in the middle from the wall, his eyes widened at the name written in black ink on her backpack. Angelica Williams. He was hunting down another child with initials that matched Angela's. This sick bastard was killing children and trying to use their deaths to draw their sister out. Growling low, he instructed Rosalie to make certain that she had the address written down. They may not be able to find him at the current moment, but they could call in Special Agent Mitchells and let her know of the new development.

"Hello," came the distracted female tone and Emmett frowned at the exhaustion in her voice.

"Hi, is this Agent Caleigh Mitchells?" Emmett greeted, though he already knew the answer.

"Yes, how can I – wait I know your voice, you're Angela's brother, yes? Emmett, correct?" she sounded a touch more alert.

"Yes, ma'am," he said with a nod and looked at Rosalie. "We hired a private eye in B.C.," he told her, shrugging at Rosalie's sour expression, his own movements and expression asking her without words what it was that she expected him to tell the FBI agent. "We didn't give him your direct contact information, we weren't sure if he would find anything before you did. He told us that he found an abandoned school you might want to look into. He thinks this guy might have another target lined up," he said and listened to Rosalie as she spoke to him on a level that only their kind could hear. Relaying the address of the school to the woman on the phone, he looked at the picture in his hand before replacing it on the wall. "He told us that the child's name is Angelica Williams."

"Thank you," she said to him quickly. "I'm not too far away from there. I'll let you know what's happened with Angelica as soon as I find her. And Emmett," she said and he found himself floored by her next words. "Get out of that school before I come down there. I'll be bringing a full forensics team with me."

The call disconnected and Emmett looked at the device with wide eyes. How had she known? He glanced up at Rosalie and watched her shrug. She didn't have any better answer than he did, though she did remember something Alice had told her after they first met the FBI agents. Following behind Emmett as they left the school too fast to be seen, she informed him that Alice had told her Caleigh held her own bit of natural psychic powers. She wasn't sure how they worked, but Alice had assured her that the woman was far more gifted than she wished to believe, the human woman fighting her own talent.

"Well," Rosalie said as they slowed their pace once they were three blocks away from the school. "If we can't find anything, maybe she can. After all, they don't have the same restrictions that we do."

"I hope for that little girl's sake they find him before he finds her," Emmett said only to stop and look around.

"What is it?" Rosalie asked him.

"Take a deep breath," he told her as he looked around.

"He's here," Rosalie said with wide eyes. "The scent is fresh, he was just here."

"Yeah, but it disappears," he said as he looked around trying to determine where the man had gone. "Even if he's using a car we should still be able to track him."

"Maybe he's not using a car," Rosalie said and looked to their left, pointing out the ladder attached to the exterior of the building. "Maybe he's going across the rooftops."

"But he's human," Emmett frowned, looking around them to make certain there were no cameras or human eyes to see them before he and Rosalie jumped up to the roof. "You were right," he told Rosalie with a predatory smile. "He's using the rooftops. He knows he's being tracked."

"I highly doubt he knows what we are," she said as she fell into the thrill of the hunt alongside her husband.

"We're close," he told her with a dark chuckle. "We're very close."

**:::::**

Esme pulled Bella close for a hug before stepping away and doing the same to Edward. Gathering her purse, she promised them to return shortly, but only after making Bella promise to eat something more than the small salad she'd had earlier. The kitchen needed to be restocked, her assessment of the vegetables and fruits telling her that they needed to be replaced. Leaning against Edward as she watched her leave, Bella blinked heavily before a wide yawn escaped her.

"Come on you," Edward said, swinging Bella up into his arms before she had a chance to protest. "You need a nap and then I'll make you some dinner."

"You're spoiling me again," she said, too tired to offer more than the half-hearted protest.

"Damn right I am," he told her, watching as her eyes fell closed before he had entered his bedroom. "Sleep as long as you like," he told her as he laid her down gently on the bed and covered her with the blankets. "I'll help you with our homework later."

"M'kay," Bella mumbled drowsily as she rolled onto her side and buried her face in the pillow.

"I love you," he whispered to her and kissed her temple before leaving her to sleep.

Four days, Edward thought as he moved down into the kitchen, smiling at the sight of the polished counters. Angela had been in her deep, almost comatose sleep, for four days now and it worried him that he wasn't certain when she would awaken. Moving through the house, he shook his head at the sight of all the cleaning Esme had done while he and Bella had been at school. He had maintained the house well, but he knew that Esme always preferred to go over the house herself from top to bottom, whether or not someone else had already cleaned it.

Opening the door of the fridge he chuckled softly at the sight of the shelves. Anything that had the possibility of being questionable had been removed, the shelves and doors scrubbed until they shined. She wasn't about to let Bella have anything that could be remotely unhealthy for her, not in her current state, though he did have to smile at the sight of the single pint of Green Tea ice cream that sat in the freezer. Shaking his head with amusement as he closed the freezer door, he spun around at the sound of Bella's voice calling out to him from upstairs.

His mouth fell slack, his eyes growing impossibly wide at what she said and he shot through the house moving as fast as he dared in his need to see the truth of her words. He was standing in his bedroom in a matter of seconds and looking down at the bed with wide eyes. He felt at a loss for words, his voice unable to make any sound as he ghosted to the bed and sat down beside Angela. Her eyes were fluttering gently and when her brown eyes, full of exhaustion, came to rest on him he nearly cried.

_Edward?_ Angela spoke his name in her thoughts and he drew in a shaking breath as he cupped her face in his hands and kissed her forehead. Smiling brightly even as he felt the need to cry in the waves of relief and elation coursing through him, he begged her to do it again.

_What do you want me to say?_ she asked and he hugged her as tightly as he dared. _I really need a human moment_, she thought with a touch of embarrassment and he chuckled as he lifted her into the cradle of his arms and stood from the bed.

"Go on," he told her as he set her on her feet next to the bathroom and watched her disappear inside. Taking the phone from his pocket, he dialed Carlisle's phone, his hands trembling when he heard his father's voice answer the call. "She's awake, Carlisle," he told his father and heard the relief in the man's voice. "She's awake…and she's talking. She's back, we have her back."


	38. Chapter 36

Chapter 36

His eyes were dark, the color somewhere between a dark brown and black. He was thirsty, that much was evident. It didn't help matters one bit that the sisters had refrained from feeding as well. He looked to the side, his wife's nod of encouragement edged with the concern in her dark eyes. It had taken him almost an entire day to convince her to refrain from feeding as well, but she had done so grudgingly. He knew that she was aware of how much strain their hunger put on him, but he was thankful that she was willing to help him. He watched her bite her lip, her worried gaze and turbulent emotions once more telling him of how much she hated doing this, hated the fact that in a way she was hurting him.

"It'll be ok," he promised her, stepping over to her and kissing her forehead.

"I hate this," she nearly growled, her arms wrapping around his waist as she pressed her cheek to his chest. "It hurts you."

"You understand why I'm doing this?" he asked her again as he stepped back and cupped her face in his hands.

"Of course, I understand," she told him. "I just hate it."

His lips curved up in a lopsided grin, his hand lifting to smooth her short hair. "I love you, Alice Whitlock Cullen," he told her and she giggled.

"That's Mrs. Major Whitlock to you, sir," she said primly with a teasing grin before kissing his lips.

"Is that right?" he chuckled as he enjoyed their moment of peace before the new round of challenges would begin.

"It is," Alice said with a decisive nod. "I am the wife of a very brave Army Major. He's quite strong, I'll have you know," she teased him and turned to walk away.

Jasper caught her hand easily and spun her back into his arms, dipping her down to complete the dance move as he studied her eyes. He kissed her slowly, deepening their embrace as he slowly brought her to stand upright. Pulling back and planting two chaste kisses upon her lips, he stood away from her. He looked back as the front door closed and nodded to Eleazar, the two Denali sisters moving from their vigil on the porch to stand with him. Irina had refused to take any part in assisting Jasper, believing that the Cullens were simply playing with fire by having humans stay with them in the first place. Rubbing his hand over Alice's upper arm, he nodded for her to join them and moved to stand by the large boulder.

"Are you ready?" Eleazar asked Jasper and the southern man nodded. "Tanya, Kate," he nodded to each sister in turn.

They each raised a small vial to their lips and drank the dark fluid. Barely two ounces of rabbit's blood, it didn't even act as a snack to them, instead it served to intensify their hunger. Eleazar needed them to feel their thirst more powerfully, their control nearly as good as Carlisle's. He heard Jasper's soft gasp, the sound telling him that he had smelled the blood and felt the women's mood shift from the calm hunger into a desire to hunt and find more blood to satiate their thirst. The Spanish man looked at Jasper, nodded slowly before setting the glass goblet he was carrying down on the tree stump not ten feet away from where Jasper stood.

"You must find the strength to resist," he told Jasper as he ripped open the bagged human blood and poured the contents into the goblet. "This will be your third test," he told Jasper as he watched the vampire tremble. "If you fail this test, then I am afraid that there is nothing more I will be able to do to help you. However, if you succeed, we can repeat this exercise until you feel comfortable enough to return home."

Jasper nodded, not feeling strong enough to take in the breath he would need to speak. He listened to Eleazar, followed the man's instructions and closed his eyes. He wanted to argue when he was told to breathe in deeply, but he clenched his fists at his side and remained silent instead. Drawing in a deep breath as slowly as he could, he felt the back of his throat light with tormenting fire at the scent of the human blood. He _wanted_ it. He _needed_ it. But could he resist it? That was the question he had to answer. Could he resist the pull of fresh human blood?

His dark eyes snapped open, the color dark as pitch, and shook his head at Eleazar's newest instruction. He couldn't possibly do what the man was asking him to. Eleazar issued the command again and Jasper grunted softly before opening his mouth.

"A conversation?" he asked, his eyes wide. "You must be joking."

"No," Eleazar said to him as he listened to the soft growls coming from Jasper, the sound below the range of human hearing. "I want you to talk to me. Ten minutes," he told Jasper. "It's not so long and will pass quickly. But if you are able to control your thirst while constantly taking in the breath needed to speak, then you will surely have better control."

"And what would we talk about?" Jasper asked as he tried to remain in place and not simply take the goblet of blood as his thirst was demanding him to.

"Do you care for sports?" Eleazar asked as the sisters moved closer to Jasper.

"Sports?" Jasper shook his head. "Be reasonable; give me something more distracting than that."

His trembling grew more pronounced the closer Tanya and Kate got to him. He knew that they were not closing in on him to stop him if he were to move, but rather to intensify how much he felt their hunger. If they could stand next to him, their hunger as strong as his own, and have him be able to control his bloodlust than he would pass this test where he had failed the other two. He needed to do this, not just for himself, but to ensure the safety of his family as well.

"Start with the mundane," Eleazar told him with an almost chuckle. "This part is more about testing your strength than it is discovering what knowledge you have."

"Football," he said after a moment. "Emmett insists on watching every game played by the Seahawks or the Giants."

Eleazar asked him questions regarding the uniforms, the differences between the teams, anything that required little to no thought to answer. After a few moments, he lifted the goblet of blood and stepped closer to Jasper, reducing the distance between them from ten feet to only six. He heard the man's growls start up again, the sound rumbling low and steady. His hands clenched tightly into fists, his arms trembling with how tightly he held his muscles. When he closed his eyes, Eleazar demanded him to open them. When he stopped breathing, he demanded Jasper to resume the exercise. He tested the man's control further as he tipped the goblet, pouring a few drops of blood into the grass and making the scent that much stronger.

"I-I can't," Jasper rasped out as he sped away from them to stand three meters away.

"Did you see what you did?" Eleazar asked as he moved quickly and set the goblet back on the tree stump.

"I failed," Jasper breathed out harshly, his shoulders slumping in defeat as his gaze turned to the ground.

"No," Eleazar said, his voice and emotions drawing Jasper's gaze back to his. "The other two exercises we tried, you failed those when you grabbed for the blood. This time…this time, Jasper Whitlock, you turned away from it. You moved away when the temptation became too much. You passed this test," he clarified at the younger man's confused expression. "You remained in control, Jasper."

"I resisted," Jasper whispered as Alice sped to stand in front of him.

"You remained in control," Alice praised him before claiming his lips with hers.

**:::::**

She whimpered, feeling both ill and uncertain the closer he brought the bowl to her. Raising her hands, she held out one to push away the food while the other covered her mouth as her stomach twisted painfully. He sighed softly, setting the bowl down on the table before moving to her side and lifting her to sit in his lap as he took her seat. He knew that she was scared, but he couldn't let her refuse the food. Kissing her hair, he looked over at his love and asked her to bring Angela's laptop into the kitchen. Bella nodded once before disappearing from the kitchen.

"I know it hurts, Sweetheart," Edward told Angela as he held her close and kissed her hair. "It's the hunger that's making you feel so ill."

_I'll be sick_, she told him through her thoughts.

Edward rested his head against her hair, holding her close as he watched Bella set the girl's laptop on the table before making certain its power cord was connected to the wall. Opening the portable computer, he watched as she brought it out of sleep mode and moved the bowl of stew before placing the laptop in front of him. Reaching out with one hand, Edward brought up the video chat program and entered Carlisle's information before prompting the program to call his father. She had been refusing the food for nearly an hour now and he hoped that Carlisle would succeed where he, Bella and Esme had all failed.

_Papa_, she thought when Carlisle appeared on the screen, his gold eyes looking at her with concern.

"You have to talk out loud to him, Sweetheart," Edward told her. "He can't hear your thoughts."

Angela bit her lip. She had been conscious and mostly coherent for almost eight hours, but still she refused to speak aloud. She only spoke to Edward, her thoughts to him few and far between as she moved about with silence and caution. She couldn't quiet the thought that she had been the one to break their family apart. Alice and Jasper were gone, so were Emmett and Rosalie. Carlisle was across the country, and though Esme was still with them, Angela couldn't help wondering if perhaps her adoptive mother was upset with her for his absence. Edward kissed her hair, his voice bringing her attention back to the computer in front of her.

"Angela, sweetheart," Carlisle spoke to her and waited for her eyes to look upon him through the computer. "Baby girl, did you hear what I said?" She shook her head quietly and he sighed softly. "How are you feeling?" he repeated the question that had escaped her attention.

She looked up at Edward only to frown when he shook his head. He wouldn't translate her thoughts for her, he was making it necessary for her to speak and she wasn't certain she could do that. Folding her lips back between her teeth as she rubbed them together, she turned her attention back to Carlisle. Her mouth opened slowly, her indrawn breath bringing with it the flavor of the stew and she grimaced when her stomach turned.

"You're not feeling so well, are you?" Carlisle asked and watched her shake her head slowly. "Tell me," he requested and waited patiently for her to speak.

"It hurts," she said softly after a few moments.

"What does?" he asked, wishing once more that he could have taken her with him to New York.

"The food," she said as the tingling feeling behind her jaw intensified to an almost sting when Edward brought the bowl of soup closer and she pulled back in response. "I feel like I'm going to be sick," she said softly, whimpering as she pressed her hand to her stomach.

"It's the hunger talking," Carlisle advised her gently. "Try just a little bit of the broth." Her eyes narrowed with uncertainty as she pulled away from the soup spoon Edward brought closer to her. "For me?" Carlisle implored and watched as she reluctantly opened her mouth and let Edward feed her the broth. "It's alright, sweetheart," he soothed when she swallowed with a grimace. "Massage her stomach gently, Edward," he instructed his son and watched his children through the video chat program. "Just a little bit more for me, ok?" Carlisle requested of her. "Just two more spoonfuls and then you can wait at least twenty minutes before having more."

She nodded slowly, fearful of the soup, but willing to try for him. Carlisle looked past her; saw the relief written in Edward's face as his son was able to feed Angela more of the broth. Setting the spoon back in the bowl, he returned his hand to her stomach and rubbed gently as he kissed her temple. Carlisle continued speaking to her, telling her about Manhattan and what he was learning at the hospital. It was almost five minutes before Edward was able to get Angela to eat the last spoonful that Carlisle had requested of her. The bowl was still full, but it was a start and with a small grin of relief, he pushed the bowl aside.

"That's my girl," Carlisle praised. "How does your head feel?" he asked and saw the wince that she tried to hide. "If Jasper were there would he be helping you with it?" he asked when she remained silent and watched her nod. "Ok," he sighed softly. "You need to eat a little bit more before you can take the Toradol. How about a few soda crackers?" he asked and saw Esme appear in the screen a few seconds later.

"See?" Edward nodded his thanks to his adoptive mother as he opened his hand to Angela. "Just five little oyster crackers. It's not much at all," he promised her and saw Carlisle offer her a small smile of encouragement.

"Slowly now," the blonde doctor coached. "It's alright, baby girl," he soothed his human daughter. "I promise it will help you feel better," he told her and nodded to Edward. "Just one now," he said and watched her take one of the tiny crackers from Edward's hand, her own hand shaking as she brought it her lips and put the food into her mouth. "That's it, Sweetheart," he praised her. "Chew slowly now, not too fast."

Edward brought the small cup of lukewarm water to her lips once she had swallowed the food and kissed her temple as she took a slow sip. Setting the cup aside, he picked up another cracker and put it in her hand as he spoke below the range of human hearing and thanked his father. Carlisle nodded to Edward silently and returned his attention to Angela as she ate the second cracker. She whimpered softly as Edward brought his hand back to her stomach and rubbed gently to ease the cramps that were a result of her hunger. She rested her head tiredly against his shoulder, her eyes closing as she listened to Carlisle's voice.

"Don't let her fall back to sleep until she's eaten all the crackers," Carlisle said when he saw the girl's eyes flutter closed.

"Come on, little one," Edward said, gently rousing Angela and bringing another cracker to her lips. "That's it," he praised her when she parted her lips to let him feed her. "That's my girl."

_Water_, she asked him and he lifted the glass from the table, bringing it to her lips as she lifted her head from his shoulder. She brought one hand up to rest against his as she drank from the glass, pushing gently against him a moment later to signal that she was done with the drink. She yawned as she brought a loosely fisted hand up to rub at her eyes. Her exhaustion confused her. She had slept so much with Marcus that she didn't understand why she was still tired now.

"You can sleep in a little bit," Edward promised her gently. "You need to finish the crackers first. There are only two left," he promised her as he brought another one to her lips and fed her. "Just one more," he encouraged her when she swallowed the bit of food. "This is the last one," he said as he held out the cracker for her to take.

Angela bit her lip, her hand reaching out slowly for the cracker as she feared that she would be sick. The memories from all of the times she had been sick with her parents flooded through her mind and she feared that she would be denied food if she threw up what she had eaten.

"That won't happen," Edward promised her, his gentle voice leaving no room for doubt. "That won't ever happen again. You're safe here, baby girl."

"Memories of her parents?" Carlisle asked, his voice too soft for her to hear and Edward nodded. "Angela," he called to her and waited for her eyes to meet his. "Hi, Sweetheart," he smiled at her. "I want you to remember that you are safe with us. We will never hurt you or treat you as your parents did. If you become ill then we will go slower the next time until you are able to keep the food down and handle more. You will never be denied food or locked away, I promise you that."

She bit her lip, her gaze falling away from the computer as she nodded silently. She lifted the last cracker to her lips, popping it inside her mouth and chewed it slowly as Edward massaged her stomach. He kissed her temple again when she swallowed the food and brought the glass of water up to her lips for her to drink. Esme came to his side once again, smiling gratefully at her husband before kneeling next to the chair and offering up her had to Angela, a single Toradol pill in the center of her palm.

"Go ahead, little one," Edward encouraged her to take the pill. "It will help with your migraine."

_Marcus_, she thought as she stared at the small pill. _It keeps me away from Marcus._ He had asked her to stay away for three days and while she would abide his wishes, she didn't want to block him completely.

"I know, baby girl," Edward said with a soft sigh. "But you need the medicine. We can't let you suffer the pain of your migraine just to be with him," he told her sadly.

Reaching out slowly, she took the pill from Esme and blinked tiredly as she brought the medicine to her mouth. Edward and Carlisle watched her put the pill into her mouth, her vampire brother holding the glass to her lips so that she could wash the medicine down. Rubbing his hand over her arm after setting the cup aside, he rested his cheek on her hair and closed his eyes. It wasn't much, barely anything, but they had gotten her to eat. It was a start.

"How about 'Little House on the Prairie'?" Carlisle asked as a paperback book appeared in the screen. "Go ahead and close your eyes, Sweetheart," he instructed Angela gently.

"Before you start," Esme said. "Let's move this to a more comfortable location. Your other daughter needs sleep as well," she said too softly for Bella to hear.

"Is she still blaming herself for everything that happened?" Carlisle asked, his voice kept just as low as Esme unplugged the computer from its power cord and lifted it from the table.

Esme nodded as she watched Edward stand from the table and carried the laptop in one hand as she moved to Bella's side.

"I fear Jasper is the only one that either of them will listen to," she said sadly as she nudged Bella's arm to wake the drowsing girl. "Come on, Sweetheart," Esme said and helped her up from the kitchen table.

"Where are we going?" she asked softly, her soft voice slurred with exhaustion.

"Upstairs," Esme told her as she led Bella to the bottom of the staircase. "Carlisle's going to read a book to both of you."

"Carlisle?" Bella asked and Esme turned the computer to her so that she could see his face in the screen.

"Oh, sweetheart," he mourned the distance between them. "You're not sleeping well at all are you?" he asked as he studied her face.

"I'm fine," she said, almost tripping on the final stair as she stepped onto the top landing.

"No, little one, you're not. Go get changed," he instructed her as Esme carried the computer with her to gather the bed tray from the dresser across the room. "Our daughters…"

"They'll be alright," Esme assured him as she set the computer down on the tray and lifted it to carry to the bed. "I'm going to go check on Bella," she told Edward when he took the tray from her and set it on the bed.

Esme stepped into the hall and over the closed bathroom door. Knocking gently on the door when she heard the sink turn on, she waited for Bella to bid her entrance before stepping inside. The girl was exhausted; her arms still too thin from not having been able to keep food down and when Esme wrapped her in her arms, tears borne of fatigue fell from Bella's eyes. Clucking her tongue softly as she held Bella close and stroked her hair, Esme soothed her gently.

"Come on, sweetheart," Esme said as she pulled back a moment later. "Let's get you changed into something more comfortable to sleep in, ok?"

Bella nodded slowly, her eyes barely open as she let Esme lead her across the hall into Angela's bedroom. She was left by the side of Angela's bed as Esme retrieved her bag and opened it to select sleeping clothes from inside. Opening her eyes when she was nudged gently, she stood from the bed as she changed into the soft cotton shirt and pant set with Esme's help. Kissing her forehead, Esme wrapped her arm around Bella's shoulders and walked her back to Edward's bedroom, helping her onto the bed and watching as she curled against his side.

Esme smiled sadly at the scene before her. Edward lay in the middle of the king sized bed that now dominated his room. Angela was curled on one side while Bella was tucked against his other and the tray with the laptop on it sat low on his waist, the wooden legs framing his lean hips. The screen of the laptop was angled so that Carlisle could see both girls, their heads pillowed on Edward's chest and they could all see him without having to move. Stepping over to sit behind Bella, Esme smoothed her hand over the girl's brown locks and nodded to her husband. She watched as he lifted the book in hands once more, his soothing tenor reading the story to them all.

It didn't surprise her that Bella was the first to fall asleep. Over the past few days, Esme had watched her keep diligent in her care of Angela, despite the presence of her and Edward. She seemed to believe it was her responsibility alone to care for Angela and Esme couldn't help wondering how much the time spent taking care of her mother had truly affected Bella's current actions with Angela. Stroking her hair back from her face, Esme dipped low and kissed her temple. Part of her felt the need to call Renee and ask her about that time while another part of her cautioned her against the action; and she felt trapped by her uncertainty.

Looking to Edward, she met his gaze when he spoke to her below the range of human hearing and advised her to follow through. He could only agree with her. They needed answers about that time and the only person that would have them was Renee herself. Something more than what Bella had told them had happened, he was almost certain of it, but he also knew that she wouldn't talk any more about it. Turning his head, he kissed first Bella's forehead and then Angela's. Both girls were asleep against him and he nodded to Esme when she took tray from him and carried it away to speak with Carlisle privately. His lips pulled up in a sad smile when he heard Carlisle advise Esme to call the three of them in for the next few days. Bella and Angela both needed sleep and they certainly wouldn't get it at school.

With his arms wrapped around his sister and his love, Edward closed his eyes and focused his senses on the sound of their slowly beating hearts. Worried though he was for them both, these moments of stillness when he was tucked between them brought him peace and held them close as they slept.

**:::::**

"Have you heard anything more from Rosalie and Emmett?" Esme asked as she sat the table with Angela's laptop and spoke to her husband.

"They were able to follow his scent to a warehouse district outside of Vancouver. He was in the building, but so was the child he'd been stalking. They were about to break in through a skylight when the police came in through the doors."

"He's been captured?" Esme asked with relief only to frown when she saw him shake his head.

"He slipped away," Carlisle told her. "He attacked one of the Canadian policemen and took his jacket. There were too many humans around for them to be able to capture him. If they moved in they would have become part of the investigation."

"So what do we do now?" Esme asked feeling as though she was close to falling apart.

"They're still following him," he assured her. "But there are more police and federal agents around than before. They can't get as close to him anymore. I want him apprehended as much as anyone else, but he is quite talented at evading capture."

"Carlisle…"

"I will not issue a kill order," he told her with an air of finality. "I cannot ask them to do something that I myself would be unable to do."

"I'm not asking you to," she said with a sigh. "I just want him stopped," she said sadly. "Why can't the authorities catch him?"

"I don't know," Carlisle looked down. "From what Rosalie said, it seems as though he may have someone on the inside."

"What do you mean?" Esme asked with wide eyes and fearful expression.

"She said that he seemed to know the agents would be showing up before they arrived. Rosalie indicated that he was ready for them."

"And Emmett?" Esme asked as she stared at him.

"He agreed with her. He said that it was too easy for him to get away. That he seemed to know which way to go and who to hit to get away. He has a theory, but I must say it is one that I am reluctant to entertain."

"What's his theory?" Esme asked with trepidation.

"The male FBI agent, Redding I believe his name was," Carlisle said as he met her gaze with unease. "Emmett believes that Agent Redding may be helping him. He thinks that the agent may have become too used to chasing him, grown too obsessed with the hunt to allow it to end."

"What does Rosalie think?" Esme asked with a disbelieving shake of her head.

"She's not offering an opinion in that matter," Carlisle told her as brought his hand up to rub his forehead.

"You need to hunt," she told him when she saw the dark color of his butterscotch gaze. "Your eyes are almost brown."

"I know," he sighed. "I'll need to drive over to the state and then down to the mountains. There was so much more wilderness when we bought this house decades ago. Everything is city now. I suppose I could always catch a stray dog or two."

Esme giggled softly and he smiled. "I remember the last time you caught a stray dog. One would've thought it was your own pet from the way you looked at it afterward. Why not just take a few days off and catch the ferry up to Maine?" she suggested. "They have quite a lot more wilderness than the rest of New England."

"Wise and beautiful," he praised her and chuckled when she giggled.

"And don't you forget it," she smiled. "I'm going to stay here until they're both sleeping and eating better. Maybe a few weeks," she told him as she tucked her hair behind her ear. "I meant what I said before; I don't want you to be alone. You should have family with you."

"I love you," he told her with a smile.

"I love you," she returned and tipped her head when she heard the familiar beep in the background. "Go get your fax; I'll talk to you later, my love."

"Alright," he agreed. "Goodnight, my love."

The screen grew dark and Esme moved her finger over the trackpad, closing the program before shutting down the computer. Closing the lid once the machine had turned off; she stood from the table and walked through the house. She missed her family, the warmth that their presence brought her, but she understood their collective absences. Brow furrowing as she stepped up to the front door, her eyes narrowed as she looked out into the darkness. She knew that she had seen a pair of glowing eyes watching her from the cover of the forest across the street, but whoever had been there was gone now. Opening the door and stepping outside, she took in a deep breath and found the familiar scent of wet dog in the air. It had been a wolf. Why were the Quileutes watching their house?

**:::::**

Marcus rubbed his hand down his face as he sat on the side of the hotel bed. He felt Angela's absence deeply, a part of him seeking the comfort her presence brought him. Standing and moving to the window, he stared out into the light of the tropical night. He had fed when he arrived on the island two nights ago and though he certainly didn't need to feed now, he was growing increasingly restless. Three weeks. He had been told that he would have to wait three weeks for the cruise ship from Alaska to arrive instead of the two that he had originally been told.

Frowning as he turned around at the sound of his room phone ringing, he stepped over to the bed and lifted the receiver. Greeting the male voice on the other end he remained silent as he was asked if he would wait to be connected to the travel director in charge of the cruises that came in and out of the island.

"Hello," a woman's voice greeted him pleasantly. "This is Marcus Volturi, correct?"

"Yes," he said tonelessly as he stood staring out of the window while he held the phone to his ear.

"Sir, I have two options for you. I noticed that your intended destination was for Alaska, but you have traveled all the way from Italy and I was curious to know if your ending destination was Alaska itself, or simply the United States?"

"Does it matter?" he asked as he turned his attention to the call.

"In a way, yes," she told him. "The ship that would take you to Alaska will not arrive for another three weeks. However, we do have a ship arriving tomorrow night that will be docking in Manhattan harbor twelve days from departure. The cruise to Manhattan is also two hundred dollars less than what you paid for the Alaskan cruise. Switching you would be no problem at all if you wished to do so," she told him and his answer was immediate.

"Change the cruises," he told her without hesitation.

"You will travel to Manhattan then?" she confirmed his choice.

"Yes. Tomorrow night?" he asked for confirmation.

"Yes, sir. I will have the new itinerary and refund delivered to your room post haste."

"Thank you," he told her and hung up when the call disconnected.

He felt comforted by the knowledge that he would not be sitting idle for three weeks while waiting for a month long cruise. Instead, he would be getting to America in less than half the time. He needed to see Angela, regardless of the fact that she was being guarded by Carlisle, he needed to know for himself that she was safe. Making certain that he had all of his items packed and secured, he stepped back to the window. He should call Aro, he thought as he stared into the night. Though a part of him selfishly wished to leave all thoughts of his family in Italy behind, he couldn't turn his back on his brother, no matter the reason. Returning to the bed, he gathered up the personal cell phone that he hadn't used in almost six weeks only to drop it into his bag. Taking up his satellite phone instead, he dialed Aro's phone and held the device to his ear.

"Brother?" Aro's voice greeted him.

"Who else would be calling you from this number?" Marcus asked his voice colored by the slightest hint of humor.

"It has been almost a week," Aro told him with displeasure.

"I was…otherwise engaged," Marcus said carefully, not willing to tell him about Angela and not knowing how to explain it even if he did. "Have you decided how to proceed with the matter of Jane, Alec and Corin?"

Aro sighed. "Corin will be left free, Athenodora and a few others have come to rely on her gift too much and to lock her up would be a punishment to more than just her, though she will be watched carefully and not permitted to leave the castle walls. Jane and Alec…They will be starved and retrained."

"Separate them," Marcus advised. "They rely on each other too much for support and…comfort," he said the last part as though he wished to use a different word. "Separating them for the duration will make their punishment more profound."

Aro hummed in agreement. "Yes, I know of their…relations," he said slowly. "Though not unheard of among our kind, it is still frowned upon. I am at a loss of what to do regarding their talents," he said and Marcus could hear the frustration Aro was trying to hide. "Jane has left more than one guard in agony for hours on end and Alec seems to enjoy taking away their sight."

"Blindfolds will serve no purpose," Marcus mused aloud. "Their talent hinges on being able to have visual contact with their victims, yes?"

"Yes," Aro confirmed.

"Are there any cells without windows?"

"I have thought of that, I have even considered the pits that we have in the deeper holds, the problem with both is the same," he said with frustration. "They can break through the stone wall to make it outside the castle walls."

"An iron sarcophagus," Marcus said, his thought little more than a snide comment.

"If I had two readily available, I would use them," Aro said and Marcus could hear a soft creaking sound.

"Caution, brother," Marcus told him. "I believe you are crushing your phone."

"So I am," Aro said after a moment. "Have you found what you're looking for?"

Marcus arched a brow as he looked out into the rising dawn. "I'm not headed home if that's what you're asking."

"How long do you intend to stay away?" Aro asked as he tried to contain his frustration.

"I do not know," Marcus answered.

"But you left for more than just the truth you discovered," he said knowingly.

"Yes, but no, I will not share my reasons. I know that you do not like being left in the dark, so to speak, but of this I will not tell you."

Aro nodded, though the gesture went unseen. Speaking with his brother for a few moments longer, he ended the call and turned to the computer. It was silent as he knew it would be, but without the connection to his wife he felt more unstable than he had previously. Shaking his head as he paced his office, he tried once again to understand what it was that had caused the rift. Why did he feel unstable without her there with him when he knew that he could go days, even weeks without seeing her before and have no problem? It didn't make any sense to him.

Stepping up to the window looking out over the streets below, he placed his hands on the stone sill and stared at nothing as he focused his thoughts inward. He needed answers; he needed to understand what had changed between himself and Suplicia and why he felt more connected to her now that she was away from him than he had in well over a thousand years. Closing his eyes, he cast his mind back into his memories and prayed to find the insight he needed.


	39. Chapter 37

Chapter 37

He couldn't hide the concern he felt. He knew that he couldn't act, couldn't interfere unless the girl was harmed, but doing nothing left him feeling uneasy. He could still remember the scent that clung to her the night he had found her in the woods. She barely smelled human, the scents of so many vampires clinging to her as though she was constantly being held by them. He didn't understand how she could stand it. Their scent was sickly sweet to his enhanced wolf senses, but even without that, their skin would be icy cold, their bodies hard as stone, how could she stand to be touched by them long enough that she bore more of their scents than she did her own?

The ground was soft beneath his thick paws, the wind ruffling through his fur. He wasn't sure how many of the Cullens were still left behind, but the other vampire, the one with red hair had been traveling back and forth through their territory and the Canadian border too often for him to simply leave the Cullens place alone. Inching closer to the edge of the tree line, the breath puffed out of the end of his snout, billowing around him in the cold as though he were a dragon. He stepped closer, the end of his nose barely breaking through the edge of the trees, but still hidden in the darkness surrounding him.

Breathing in deeply, he snorted, shaking his head to rid himself of the bug he'd unwittingly inhaled. Whining softly as he dipped his head and scraped his paw against the side of his snout, he huffed again. Lifting his head once he was free of the momentary irritation, he turned his attention back to the house in front of him and stepped back into the cover of the trees as the front door opened. He narrowed his eyes, a soft growl rumbling out of throat, the sound stopping a second later as he controlled himself and watched the Cullen matriarch scan the tree line. He watched her breathe in deeply, knew that his scent betrayed his presence, but refused to move as he continued to watch her.

Though he didn't necessarily view her, or any of them, as a direct threat, it was unsettling that they had a human living with them. She disappeared back inside the house, the door closing behind her, but not before the warmer air from inside the home carried to him the scents of both of the human girls inside. He growled low once more, his paw scraping restlessly against the ground, leaves, grasses and dirt being tossed aside by his massive paw as a trench was formed beneath him. He skirted around the woods, trotting quickly to an area where he would have a better vantage point to see inside the glass walled home.

He circled the home twice, realizing quickly that he would have to climb a tree if he wished to see inside, but quickly discarded the idea. Charlie Swan seemed accepting of them, completely comfortable in their presence, but the human police chief didn't know what they were. Turning around, he headed deeper into the forest, leaving their home behind as he disappeared into the thickness of the trees. He hadn't seen the other vampire for a while, the dark man with the dreads. Running through the woods, he leapt across the river to his territory and kept his swift pace as he returned to the home of Billy Black. He stalked around the outside of the home, making three complete circles as he huffed, chomping on the air as he paced restlessly. He was waiting for Jacob to phase, waiting for him to come into his true native heritage, but it seemed to be taking longer for the grandson of the tribe's chief to realize his true form.

_Sam_.

He stopped pacing and looked back over his shoulder at Paul, their wolf telepathy allowing them to speak easily even as his second in command stayed in his human form.

_What Paul?_

Paul stepped closer, studying his alpha's mood and trying to figure out exactly what had him so on edge. He knew that he had been stalking through the Cullen's territory lately, but didn't fully understand why. Nodding toward the forest as he kept his eyes on Sam, he turned and jogged toward the trees. He could hear the heavy thumps of Sam's paws sinking into the muddy earth as the wolf followed behind him but didn't stop until they were hidden within the cover of maple and pines.

_Seth Clearwater phased a few minutes ago,_ Paul told him.

_We expected him to phase. What about Leah?_

"She hasn't phased yet, but we have some clean up to take care of," Paul said aloud. "Seth phased inside their house, inside his bedroom in fact. He took out his entire bedroom wall. I'm not sure entirely what set him off, but Leah said that she saw him down two Red Bulls shortly before it happened."

Sam phased back to his human form, standing next to Paul in nothing but his denim shorts, his bare feet sinking easily into the earth, the mud squeezing between his toes. He hadn't expected Seth to phase first, he was young, very young barely fifteen. He had truly expected Leah to change first, but was surprised as he didn't remember Harry mentioning Seth feeling ill or exhausted at all beforehand.

"How is his family?" Sam asked. "Was anyone hurt?"

"No," Paul told him as they jogged together toward the Clearwater home. "But Harry said that he can't find Seth at all and I haven't heard him through the pack telepathy yet."

Sam frowned, "Where is he?"

"Harry doesn't know," Paul shook his head. "He said that Seth was completely freaked out and took off. No one thought to prepare him; no one ever told him the legends were real. Quill and Embry have been searching for him, but they haven't found him either."

It didn't make any sense to him. Jacob should have phased before either Leah or Seth did, but for the youngest to phase first… Sam phased back to his wolf form, Paul following suit. Lifting his face into the wind, Sam howled, calling the other wolves to them. The only thing they could do was start from the Clearwater home and follow his scent as long as they could. If he had traveled through water though, it would hide his path. They both growled as the skies parted, rain coming down upon them in a torrential downpour. The rain would hide his scent further, washing away any trail he might have left. Finding him was not going to be easy and a newly phased wolf that didn't understand what had happened to him could prove to be dangerous.

**:::::**

He whimpered as he ran through the trees, the sight of his thick fur and long legs only causing his confusion to be worse. Whining sharply as his front paw slipped in the mud, he yipped loudly as he lost his footing and rolled in the leaves and mud. What was happening to him? Why was he in this form? _How_ was he in this form? It scared him. Of course he had heard the legends of his tribe's history before, but he had never thought them to be real. Had this happened differently, had his giant wolf form not caused him to break through the window and wall of his bedroom, he doubted that he would be as frightened but as it was he feared that his parents wouldn't take him back.

He looked up, stopping sharply at the sickeningly sweet scent that suddenly burned through his nose. Standing up slowly, he turned his head, taking in a deeper breath as he grew accustomed to it and tried to determine where it was coming from. Stepping forward out of the woods, he followed the trail until he came upon Edward Cullen standing in the clearing next to his house. How had he gotten this far? He didn't remember running that far at all, or much of his journey for that matter, the only thing he remembered was running.

"Seth," Edward spoke to him in a calm manner.

_Edward?_ Seth stepped closer only to pull back and sit on his haunches. _What's happened to me?_

"It's alright," Edward kept his voice low and soothing. "You just need to calm down."

_Can you hear me?_ Seth asked unconsciously lifting his right paw to pet at the air in front of him.

"Yes," Edward nodded and smiled at the distinctly canine mannerisms. "I can hear your thoughts. Your fear is keeping you in the wolf form." He laughed suddenly and shook his head. "I doubt it was anything in the energy drink that caused you to become a wolf, probably just gave you the boost you needed to phase is all. I've seen your people in this form before, back when Ephram Black led the tribe."

_I broke the wall…I broke our home,_ he thought with a mournful whine. _I had just been so tired. I had a test and needed to study. One Red Bull hadn't been cutting it and so I drank another and…Oh god, Mom,_ he whined low again dropping his head down as his ears folded back against his head in shame. _I destroyed everything._

"Is it alright if I step closer?" Edward asked and waited for Seth's approval before moving. "You just need to calm down," he told the young wolf and cautiously reached out to him. "Don't bite me, ok?"

_I won't if you won't,_ Seth agreed easily enough. _What are you doing?_

"Something that might help you calm down. You're just going to have to trust me, I won't hurt you," Edward promised him.

Seth tipped his head to the side with curiosity and caution as Edward stepped closer still and reached out for his head. Narrowing his eyes as his ears flicked back and forth, Seth stretched out his head toward Edward's hand. He didn't understand the strange things that were happening to him, or why he knew that the man before him was a vampire, but he didn't feel any danger or animosity toward him. He felt Edward's hand reach up to his ear and he flicked the appendage before groaning low in appreciation when Edward began to scratch at the base of his ear.

He couldn't suppress the chuckle that sounded from him when Seth fell and rolled onto his side, sighing with pleasure at the feeling of being scratched behind his ear. A short moment later, the boy's form shifted and he was once again human. Stepping back as Seth hopped to his feet; Edward watched him look down in wonder at his human hands and could hear the relief in his thoughts.

"I take it Sam and your tribe never explained any of this to you?" Edward asked as he walked around the house with Seth, the rain soaking them as he led him to the back porch and sat down under the overhang.

"No," Seth said as he looked out at the rain. "Sam's been kind of…creepy; I guess is the right word. He and Paul have been watching me, like they were waiting for me to do something. I guess that was it," he said as he looked back toward the forest. "They always talked about the wolves of our ancestors as being little more than a lost legend, something to be told around a campfire but not to be taken seriously. Why wouldn't they warn me this would happen?"

"From what I remember of my family's first time being near your tribe, the wolves were older when they phased, closer to eighteen or twenty. Those that were younger when they phased were said to have more power, more control over their transformation. How old are you?"

"Fifteen," Seth rolled his eyes. "Ok, I will be fifteen in like three weeks. This doesn't make any sense."

"It doesn't now, but it should soon. I am curious though," Edward said as he studied the boy next to him. "The rest of your tribe cannot stand to be near us, my family," he clarified. "How can you?"

"You mean the scent?" he asked and shrugged. "It's not that much different from all of the pastry blunders Leah made when we were younger. She was convinced that she could make cotton candy at home. House smelled like burned sugar for weeks."

"With your phasing should have come the knowledge of your ancestors," Edward frowned in question before looking back quickly to the rear door of the house as it opened behind him.

"She woke up a few minutes ago," Esme said as she followed Angela out the back door. "Here," she said as she handed a plate piled high with food to Seth. "I wasn't sure what you would like, but I'm certain you're hungry."

"Starving actually," Seth said slowly as he took the plate and glass of juice with wide eyes. "Thank you, Mrs. Cullen."

"Esme," she corrected the boy with a cautious, but welcoming smile. "As long as you don't attack anyone we're good."

"Why would I attack anyone?" Seth asked as he watched Angela sit down in Edward's lap.

"He seems to be different from the rest," Edward advised Esme softly as he wrapped his arms around Angela and held her close when she tucked herself against his chest.

"You know what we are now, don't you?" Esme asked the boy slowly as she watched him devour a roll.

"You mean the vampire thing?" Seth asked as he lifted the thickly made turkey sandwich to his mouth and took a bite. "Sure," he said a few moments later after swallowing the food. "You haven't attacked me or anyone else here. Why would I attack you? That doesn't make any sense to me."

"Not many see things the same way you do," Edward told him with a soft chuckle as he read the boy's thoughts regarding Angela. "Yes, she lives with us."

"I remember my dad being pretty upset about that," Seth said. "Was what Chief Swan told him true? She was being abused?" he asked looking at the sleeping girl tucked in Edward's arms.

"Yes," Edward answered him honestly.

"You all took her in?" Seth asked once more before taking another bite of the sandwich, the meal nearly three quarters of the way gone.

"Yes. We are doing our best to help her heal," Esme said as she continued to watch him with caution.

"If all of that is true," Seth said after he finished off the sandwich and set the plate down on the wooden porch next to him, "then how can anyone say you're the bad guys? There aren't even many members of the tribe who would do that. Most are reluctant to get involved in family affairs and tend to turn a blind eye to things like that. I don't care about legends or 'natural born enemies' or anything like that," Seth told them honestly. "If you're not a threat to me, I won't be a threat to you. It's as simple as that in my book."

**:::::**

Bella grimaced, pressing the heel of her hand against her stomach as she fought against the nausea cramping her insides. Reaching for the bottle of anti nausea medicine, she opened the cap only to drop the bottle, the pills spilling across the carpeted floor as she ran for the bathroom. She barely made it to the toilet and lifted the lid before her lunch came back up. Panting as she sat back, falling weakly to sit against the wall, she groaned softly against the pain the constant vomiting was causing her. Her hand reached out, catching the chrome handle and flushing the toilet as she struggled to rise. She didn't understand why she was sick; it didn't make any sense to her. The nightmares had stopped, she was able to sleep peacefully, but still she couldn't keep the food down.

Bracing herself against the wall as she walked the few feet to the sink, she rinsed her mouth before brushing her teeth and using the mouthwash. She was drying her hands on the towel hanging next to the sink when her stomach rebelled again and she ran for the toilet. Tears filled her eyes, spilling onto her cheeks as she did her best to try and calm down, knowing that her upset was only causing the nausea to be that much stronger. Whimpering softly as she wiped her mouth with toilet tissue and closed the lid before flushing it once again, she sat back leaning against the wall behind her.

The only time she could remember being sick like this was when she was nine years old…when she had been taking care of her mother. Nothing had cured her sickness then either, it had simply gone away after awhile. Folding her legs up against her chest and dropping her forehead to her knees, she was unable to stop the tears that fell from her eyes. She was exhausted, she was in pain and nothing seemed to be helping. Feeling her phone vibrate in her jeans pocket, she retrieved the device and brought it to her ear.

"Mom?" she shook her head as she tried to understand the woman's ramblings. "Mom, stop, I'm fine," she said, trying to quiet the woman's frantic ramblings.

"Bella, your father told me what's been going on. The nightmares, honey, he said you're losing weight," Renee said, her words spoken so quickly they were running over each other.

"Mom," Bella tried to say more, but felt her stomach twist painfully once more and bit her lips together to fight against the new wave of nausea.

"Let me talk to her, Sweetheart," Esme requested and held her hand out for the phone.

Bella passed the device over quickly before turning back to the toilet next her as she became sick once more. Stepping into the hall, Esme nodded to Edward before going down stairs to speak to Bella's mother in relative privacy. She chose her words carefully, explaining who she was and found that Renee had already been given a basic run down of her family, or had at least been told what relation Esme was to Edward. She talked over Bella's illness, described to her what had been happening and informed Renee that Bella had told them of the incident from when she was nine. Silence greeted her and if not for the steady heartbeat she could hear through the phone line and the constant sound of the batting practice, Esme would have thought that the call had disconnected.

"She told you it lasted for a week?" Renee asked cautiously, the reluctance to speak of the topic clear in her voice.

"Yes," Esme said closed her eyes against the sound of Bella's retching from upstairs.

"Then she didn't give you the whole story," Renee said slowly. "We never talked about it, I never wanted to and Bella…well she never brought it up, I guess she was waiting for me to…I was out of it for a week, that part is true, but," Renee sighed the line going quiet for a moment. "I didn't really come back to myself for almost a month. I was there and able to walk around and get things done again after that first week, but Bella, she…she still gathered my work from my office, wrote the articles and took them in for me for almost a month after. She was sick during that time, too. Really sick. I don't remember her every crying or being upset, but she couldn't keep anything down. No matter how sick she was, she was always moving around and taking care of things, she never slowed down. I remember her teacher called me because she was concerned that Bella kept falling asleep in class."

"What happened, Renee?" Esme asked.

"I never told Bella that I didn't blame her for what happened, we just simply never spoke about it. She never wanted gifts again or any fuss to be made over her birthdays. She took care of me, of the house, maintained nearly perfect grades in all of her classes and did my work as well, regardless of how sick she was. It was as though she was afraid to slow down…"

"And her sickness?" Esme asked. "What made it stop?"

"I don't know," Renee answered slowly. "I was no good to anyone during that month, month and a half," she admitted regretfully. "I finally took Bella to the doctor about six weeks later when she was still throwing up…I noticed that her clothes weren't fitting right. Her doctor back then…he was about a week away from retiring when I took Bella in to see him…He said that she was fine, that it was just a bug and would work itself out, but she had started sleepwalking again, I'm not sure exactly when. I didn't notice it until I found her cleaning the kitchen one night in her sleep. He gave me stronger sedatives and told me to keep using them until she stopped sleepwalking. Her illness just went away on its own; I don't remember exactly when it was…maybe a week or two after her doctor's visit."

Esme sighed softly. Bella had been completely on her own, no support, no help at all. Her mother's grief over the lost love had overwhelmed the woman and it was Bella who had been left to play adult. To never have been told that her mother didn't blame her for the man having left them, Esme could only imagine how much worse that made the situation for her at that age. Looking up at the ceiling as she listened to Edward speaking softly to Bella, helping her to lie down as he encouraged her to rest, she couldn't imagine how much more unstable the girl felt in the storm of this situation now with her family. Esme could only assume that this was affecting her worse because it wasn't just one person who had been affected; it was an entire family, a family that had willingly adopted her.

"You'll take care of her?" Renee asked a few moments later making Esme realize that she had remained silent.

"Yes," she promised. "We're doing our best to care for her. Carlisle is a doctor and he has taught me quite a bit of what he knows over the years."

"Thank you," Renee said and Esme could hear a man calling to her from the background, the sharp sounds of baseballs connecting with bats punctuating the man's words. "I have to go. I'll try to call her later."

Before Esme could say goodbye, the phone became silent, the call having disconnected. She dropped her hand to her side, setting the silent phone on the kitchen table as she shook her head. So much more of Bella's behaviors, her personality was being explained and she grieved for her human daughter. To have been put into that kind of situation at such a young age, for her mother never to have told her that she didn't blame her for her almost-fiancée's abrupt departure…Her heart had never healed from that pain. She closed her eyes against the emotions warring within her. She was sick because she was swallowing her emotions, not allowing herself to grieve as she needed to and her body was suffering for it. Bella's birthday party, her reluctance for the celebration and then the aftermath…in Bella's eyes, Esme realized, it was happening all over again but at a much greater cost.

Taking her cell phone from her pocket, she pressed down on the number one before hitting the send key and brought the device to her ear as the call rang through. Her husband's warm voice greeted her a few seconds later and Esme brought her free hand to her face, covering her eyes against the storm of her emotions. She could hear the sound of the hospital in the background, knew that he may not have very long to speak, but needed his advice on what to do.

"Do you have a few moments?" she asked Carlisle softly, not realizing how tired and pained her voice sounded.

"What's wrong, my love?" Carlisle asked and she could hear the ambient noise being shut away as a door latched in the background.

"The anti nausea medicine isn't helping Bella at all," Esme told him sadly. "I don't know what to do," she admitted as she went on to explain the conversation she had with Bella's mother and her theories regarding the girl's continued illness.

"No one ever told her that she wasn't to blame?" Carlisle asked sadly.

"No," Esme confirmed. "Carlisle it's already been three weeks and her clothes are beginning to hang off of her. I don't know if she can last another four or six weeks like this. What do we do?"

"I honestly don't know," he told her sadly. "If the anti nausea medicine isn't working, there isn't much that we can do. I would suggest trying to get Bella to talk with you more about that time when she was younger, but that may make her illness worse." He sighed softly. "Has Charlie been by to see her?"

"No," Esme said as she met Edward's eyes when he stepped into the kitchen. "He came by a few days ago to let us know that he had been called away to help in Bremerton. There was a rash of animal attacks; normally I would think it was one of our kind making a mess, except that one of the forest rangers out there was taken to the hospital with injuries made by a bear. I'm not certain when to expect him back."

"She's having a hard time getting to sleep," Edward told Esme as he nodded at the phone and she smiled sadly.

"Carlisle," Esme spoke to him as she walked through the house. "Do you think you would have time for a story?"

"Yes, it's technically my lunch hour," he told her with a soft chuckle. "Take me to her."

Esme carried the phone upstairs, placing the call on speaker as she stepped up to Edward's bed and sat down beside Bella, the girl blinking slowly. She was curled into a tight ball, her arms wrapped around her stomach in a vain attempt to stop the constant nausea and stomach cramps. Kissing her forehead, Esme sat against the headboard and pulled Bella close, laying a pillow against her thigh as Bella rested her head in her lap. Stroking her hair slowly, Esme listened as Carlisle recited the beginning chapters of 'Little Women' to her from memory.

She was asleep within moments and Esme thanked Carlisle for being the family's storyteller. His voice was soft, holding both love and amusement as he comforted his wife and son. The work was constant, but the more he understood, the more he found himself growing closer to a stopping point. He wasn't certain exactly when it would be, but assured them both that he was going to try and come back to Forks for a few days. His part of the research was mostly dealing with pathology, histology and medical testing reports from the living and dead migraine patients. He hoped to find something that the other doctor hadn't, something that could help Angela.

"Perhaps another three weeks," Carlisle told Esme as he took comfort in the sound of her voice. "I should be able to take a break then and come back for a few days."

"I can't believe that it's already been three weeks since everything has happened," Esme said, shushing Bella gently when the girl whimpered in her sleep. "Her stomach cramps are constant. If we can find a way to stop them, then maybe she would be able to keep the food down."

"Have you or has Bella adjusted her diet at all to include softer foods that would be gentler on her stomach?" Carlisle asked.

"She's mostly eating soups," Edward told him as he sat behind Bella, rubbing her back as she slept in hope of comforting her. "She's kept mostly to soft breads, crackers, and a few of the lighter fruits, mostly apples and bananas."

Carlisle sighed softly as he considered the diet and what would be best for Bella. Advising to adjust her diet to only broths, light soups, and perhaps ice cream or pudding, he recommended abstaining from the solid foods and fruits until she was able to keep the liquids down. He kept his voice low and soothing, while speaking at a level that Bella would be able to hear. It was his hope that simply the sound of his voice would bring her comfort as both she and Angela seemed to prefer stories to be read by him rather than anyone else in his family. Though the distance that separated him from his family was disheartening, it was a selfish comfort to know that his human daughters turned to him to help them sleep. Promising to return as soon as he was able, Carlisle spoke of his love to his family before saying his goodbyes.

**:::::**

Marcus nodded silently to the steward before shutting the door to his suite and settling into the new cruise ship. It would be leaving the Bahaman port within the hour and while most of the humans were gathered out on the deck to say goodbye to their loved ones or to take part in the launch party, he held no inclination to do either. Setting his bags down on the bed, he stepped to the small balcony window and looked out into the starlit sky. It wouldn't be too long before he reached New York, and not too much longer after that that he would make his way to Washington State in his effort to find Angela. His only concern was making certain that she was alright.

Reaching out for his satellite phone when the device began to ring, he answered the call and brought the phone to his ear.

"Aro," he greeted his brother without needing to hear the man's voice.

"Another cruise?" Aro asked when the sound of the ship's horn broke through the night air.

"Yes," Marcus answered, his voice once more emotionless though no longer slow or rasping from misuse.

"I find myself in need of your…advice," Aro said slowly and Marcus felt his brow furrow at the sound of confusion in his brother's voice.

"What is it, brother?" he asked as he made his way to the desk in the room and sat down, picking up the pencil in his hand as he began to idly sketch on the white pad of paper.

"That's the problem," Aro told him with a mix of frustration and resignation. "I don't know. Tell me, what do you remember of the time that Carlisle spent with us back in the eighteenth century?"

"What specifically are you searching for?" Marcus requested as an image of Angela's face began to form on the unlined paper in front of him.

"I'm not certain. Every time that I try to cast my memory back, to discover what brought the rift between Suplicia and I, all that I can recall are my memories of Carlisle. Meeting him, speaking with him, bringing him to Volterra to live with us; I do not understand what those memories have to do with Suplicia."

Marcus looked down at the paper as he carefully shaded in the contours of Angela's face and thought over what Aro had said. He wasn't certain that he had any better explanation or advice to offer him, but he cast his thoughts back to that time. Shaking his head as he carefully shaped Angela's eyes, he pursed his lips and gathered his thoughts before speaking.

"What I remember most about you during that time," he began slowly. "Is how protective you were of him," Marcus told Aro. "You introduced him to Chelsea, Corin, and the other guards with active talents, but you would never allow them near him alone. You swore an oath from each of them that they would not use their talents on him, any of them…You refused to let Chelsea anywhere near him at all and as you were almost always with him, that meant that you denied her access to yourself as well."

Marcus paused as he turned the page and began a new sketch, the lines framing the new picture outlining the room that he held in his mind. His pencil moved in varying speeds, at times slow and careful, at others fast and almost haphazard as he used the sketching to distract himself with as he spoke to Aro.

"I remember that your bond with Suplicia was strong once again," Marcus told him thoughtfully. "You were…your bond was new again, stronger than it had been in centuries. You spent more time walking with her and Carlisle, touring galleries and gardens, attending operas and the theatre. The three of you became nearly inseparable."

"Marcus," Aro broke through, interrupting the man's thoughts. "What do you mean exactly when you say that 'our bond was strong again'?"

"Brother, certainly even you must have noticed how weak your bond with your own mate was growing," he said as he carefully drew the curving line for the back of the Victorian couch. "Your bond with Suplicia was nearing what I feared would be a breaking point for you both. I tried to warn you several times, but you didn't pay attention to any of them. Then when you found him, when you brought him home to us, it was as though things changed overnight so to speak. Your bond with Suplicia was once again unwavering, strong and full of passion and love. But when he left, it once more began to weaken and bend."

"Are you saying that Carlisle strengthened my bond with Suplicia?" Aro asked with disbelief.

"No, I can't tell you exactly what happened," Marcus denied Aro's search for a more detailed explanation. "All I can tell you is what I observed. I don't know what it means anymore than you do."

"Will this puzzle ever be solved?" Aro asked with a sigh of frustration.

"Aro…Leave what you do not know and look back on what you do know. The answer often hides in plain sight."

A snort of frustrated amusement was his only answer. The call disconnected a few seconds later and Marcus was unable to contain the short soft chuckle that broke through. Aro always had been impatient. Setting the satellite phone down, he returned his attention to the sketch in front of him and gave himself over to the artistic task that he hadn't practiced since his life with Didyme. Angela had brought him out of his grief, the pain still present, but not nearly as all consuming as it had been before. Somehow, one little fragile human girl had begun to bring him back to life and he wasn't certain how she had accomplished the task, especially since he had yet to meet her in the waking world.

"Who are you, Angela Weber?" he mused aloud as he found himself sketching her sleeping on the couch inside their private sanctuary. "What will you be like when I meet you for the first time outside of our dream world?"

**:::::**

The smile that spread across her face was cold and full of malice as she stared at the man who lay on the unforgiving stone floor, his agony so intense it left him silent while twisting his face into a mask of primal pain. Her black eyes watched him, enjoying the pain she was causing him. Even from within the confines of the thick iron doors, she knew who the true person in control was and it wasn't the man on the ground. As faithful as a St. Bernard, the guard standing outside her cell was dumb, in the near five hundred years he had walked this earth she doubted that he had ever had a single thought of his own. The others had all learned quickly to stay just out of her range of sight, but not him.

"Jane!" Aro's voice, the displeasure coloring his commanding tone broke her concentration and she looked away from the guard with a sigh.

"Yes, Master," she said with cold indifference.

"You understand why it is that you are in this confinement?" he demanded an answer of her, his anger unhidden in the tight lines on his face, his milky crimson eyes hard and cold as steel.

Jane simply stared in silence at Aro, watching as he came closer to her cell. She knew that if she were to use her power on him, her Master, her immortal father, without his consent then she would indeed suffer for the transgression. Perhaps even die for it. She saw him nod to a guard that remained just out of sight, only his hand appearing in front of the stone and iron door, the sound of the key scraping in the pathetic lock little more than an amusement she allowed them. The door opened and Aro stepped inside.

"I asked you a question," he said slowly, his words carefully enunciated and demanding.

"You disapprove of my talent," she said simply as she turned away from him and moved about the windowless chamber, the only light permitted in the room coming from the hall outside.

It took all of his control to stand still and not rush across the small space to physically attack her as he wished to. The subtle vibrations, the feel of his teeth scraping across each other as he ground his jaw together was at once both sickening and calming. The motion, the feel of his grinding teeth made him almost ill with the resentment he held over the control he was forced to keep on his temper, but it was also the source of his calm, a steadying effect that held him back from acting on his violent desires. He waited until she turned around, her black eyes meeting his, before he spoke.

"What I disapprove of was you, using your talent to torture my wife, my mate," he said slowly, his voice rolling with an almost snarl as he fought to contain his rage.

"You never cared before," she denied him recklessly feeding the fire of his rage. "From the time that you created my brother and I until now," she told him meeting his gaze, "this is the first time that I have seen you _care_ about _her_."

It was a strange thing to feel this level of jealousy, Jane thought as she looked upon Aro. She had always been jealous of the other female vampires, the ones who had been turned between their sixteenth or fortieth human years. Their bodies were curved, matured, womanly, whereas hers was frozen in the formless shape of a child. Her breasts had barely begun to form when she was turned, but it was Aro's venom that had saved her from the human death she had been subjected to, the fire that she and her brother had been burned with after being accused of witchcraft. For over a thousand years, Aro had been hers – well, hers to share with Corin and Chelsea, but still hers. Now…now that Suplicia was gone, now that she was away from the castle, Aro had changed.

Now, the master vampire, ruler of the Volturi who would once sleep with almost any of the women, wouldn't touch a single one of them anymore. Now, he had become faithfully loyal to his missing wife, something he had never been previously. She rolled her dark eyes at her own thoughts, there was only one other time that he had been this loyal to his mate, though the time spent was barely the blink of an eye to one of their kind. Twenty years, two decades back in the end of the eighteenth century.

"Chain her."

Aro's command brought her out of her thoughts and Jane screamed with rage as she was seized by four of the guards. She was small enough that truly only one guard was needed to hold her, but her talent made it necessary for several to be used. The only limitation, aside from line of sight, that held her power was that she could only use it on one person at a time. She could not bring down an entire room or several people; she was bound to only one target at a time. He watched her fight uselessly, try to throw the men off as she bounced quickly back and forth between which guard she struck out at with her power, but it was all for naught.

The clanking sound was loud; the iron that had been forged with werewolf's blood was unbreakable to their kind. The iron was thick; the werewolf blood infused in the metal creating a magical seal that none of their kind could break, no matter how physically powerful they may be. Aro nodded, waiting as five other guards brought in the heavy iron wall that her chains would be connected to. The metal had been forged in the same way, the wall large and heavy enough that the five guards who brought it into the room were having to focus all their power and energy just to lift it the bare inch that they held it above the stone floor.

Aro nodded, watching silently as Jane was lifted into the center of the wall, the shackles binding her wrists and ankles fastened to the four corners of the iron wall. She was bound tightly, immobilized on the metal by bonds that she would never be able to break. Stepping up to her, he felt the rage that she lashed out with, the fire of the pain she created within his mind, but it was the fresh human blood coursing through his body and his centuries older experience than her that allowed him to continue moving despite the agony that poured through him. He lifted his hands with difficulty; his movements slow as he fought against her power and brought the leather band up to her face.

She cried out with rage, fighting against him in the only way she could as he covered her eyes and tied the thick black leather band around her head. The very second he covered her eyes the pain stopped, her power blocked by the limitations it held. More than once, Aro had reconsidered his decision not to kill her, but he also knew that if he did so – if he ended Jane's existence, his family would lose the protection her talent afforded them. She would suffer, in her own way, in this manner she would suffer.

"You will be bound in this manner until I decide to release you. No one will speak to you and no one will feed you unless I command them to," he told her. "You will be held until such a time that _I_ deem fit to release you. Not Caius, or Marcus or anyone else, but I alone. Be grateful that you still live."

He stepped out of the room, the sound of the heavy door scraping across the floor following him as it closed with an unavoidable bang. He looked at the other guards as they stepped out of Alec's chamber and watched the last man nod to him. The guard stepped forward, his face calm as he offered his hand to Aro and Aro accepted, joining hands with the man as he read his most recent thoughts. He was pleasantly surprised at how easily Alec had been to restrain, Jane's brother refusing to fight against the punishment.

Releasing the guard's hand, Aro turned and stepped away. He once again felt unstable, his anger over the abuse his wife had suffered boiling inside of him. His movements were swift, but still only slightly faster than a human's pace would have been as he moved through the halls and returned to his private office. He removed his cloak, laying it over the chair behind his desk as he moved to the chest by the long thin window. Opening the wooden chest, he removed the centuries old journals one by one until he came to the very first journal that he had kept during the time that Carlisle had been with him.

He sat on the floor, his back against the cold stone wall as he read through the first few pages, chuckling at his own excited observations of having first seen the blonde vampire with eyes of gold. He continued to read through the journal until he was halfway through the thick volume, stopping and dropping his hands to his bent knees when he came to the section detailing the night he had brought Carlisle back to Volterra. He shook his head in confusion, lifting the book once more as he continued reading.

:::

_I couldn't trust her. I knew that I had to keep her away from him, away from Carlisle. Her jealousy was clear when I touched her hand before I blocked my talent from her. I have never liked stepping into her mind. I have always found that the simplicity and shallowness of her thoughts has always been just shy of revolting. But when I touched her hand earlier tonight, I knew that it would be dangerous to leave her alone anywhere near him. She wouldn't try to persuade his affections, but I fear she may try to kill him. Carlisle may be strong, but he is kind, too kind and noble to fight back against a woman that is part of my court. Why she is jealous of him, I do not know, but I refuse to allow any of those with talents to be alone with him, save Marcus and myself. Even Caius I do not trust alone with Carlisle. He must be protected._

:::

"Charmion," Aro whispered Chelsea's true name aloud. "Why would I be afraid of you?"

His movements were slow and measured as he replaced the journals in the chest, placing the one he had been reading on the top before closing the lid once more. His computer beeped, the digital tone that of his video chat program and he moved instantly to his desk, accepting the call and sighing with relief when he saw his wife's face. She was smiling, she looked happy and he felt his own lips turn up in an answering grin.

"Suplicia, my love, how are you?" he asked and watched her smile widen.

"Wonderful," she told him, her expression excited and happy. "We finally landed about an hour ago, now I get to decide if we stay in this city or move somewhere else. I just want to explore everything."

"Where are you?" he asked with a soft chuckle, able to feel her excitement through the video call.

"Montana," she told him with a laugh. "There is so much open space!" she told him with a laugh. "Once it's darker outside I plan to go running. I wish you were here with me. I want to share this with you," she told him sincerely, her smile softening as she stared at him.

"I miss you, my love," Aro told her.

"You're not going to leave Volterra, are you?" she asked him slowly.

"No, not yet, at least," he answered softly. "There are things that I must attend to here first."

Suplicia bit her lip, her lips still curved up in a smile as she watched her husband through the computer screen. She wanted him with her, missed him greatly, but still had no desire to return to Italy. She reached out her hand to touch the laptop screen and smiled at him.

"I wish to touch you as well, my love," Aro told her as he stared at her. "What?" he asked with a chuckle at the expression on her face.

"I just love to hear your voice. Talk to me," she requested.

Aro breathed in deeply, wishing for the comfort of her scent. "What would you like me to talk about?"

"Anything?" she said. "Oh! I know, tell me about the Raphael that you have hanging in the library. I know you were the one to acquire it, but you never told me how."

"The Raphael?" he chuckled at the mention of the painting he had. "Raphael himself gave it to me," he told her. "He asked me to sit for him, told me that I was perfect for the last piece of the artwork and presented it to me as a gift once it was dried."

"You sat for the painting? But I don't remember seeing…the devil?" Suplicia asked as she suddenly laughed. "The devil?" she asked again and laughed again when he nodded.

"Yes," he told her with a lopsided smile. "He needed a devil and when he saw my eyes…I never told him what I was, never let him touch my skin, but he said that I was an artist's dream. He said that I was beautiful enough to be a devil or an angel."

"He was trying to seduce you," she teased him.

"Quite possibly," he laughed. "He was known for his…carnal activities as well as he was his paintings."

Suplicia laughed again, her smile comforting Aro. He wished to hold her, to touch her, to kiss her.

"When?" he asked her, his smile tinged with sadness.

"When what?" she asked, tucking her hair behind her ear as she bit her lip.

"The first time that you felt our separation, my…indiscretion," he said slowly. "When was that?"

"The first time, when I first felt you pull away from me?" she asked and he nodded. "It was…it was almost a year after you brought Charmion into our family. You insisted on training her yourself, but the time you spent with her became longer and longer until soon you were spending two days at a time with her and no one else. By the end of her newborn year, perhaps a week before the year's end, you seemed almost reluctant to spend time with me as though you had grown bored with me."

She grew quiet, watching him through the computer before she spoke again. "When was the first time you slept with her?" she asked him, her expression betraying her reluctance for asking the question.

"Her third year," he answered her honestly with a sigh. "I remember being angry with myself for the attraction. Wishing that I didn't feel it, but not knowing how to deny it. It wasn't always there," he confessed to her. "It grew slowly, the longer I spent with her the more attracted I felt until one day, I no longer had the strength to deny myself what I felt."

"Do you still feel it?" she asked him with sadness and fear as her eyes fell away from the screen.

"No," he said with a strange sense of wonder. "Not since I discovered your absence," he told her. "When I realized you were gone…I don't know what happened, but your absence has somehow awakened our bond. Though I remember my…indiscretions with the others, I no longer feel attracted to any of them. I don't understand it."

"Neither do I," she told him. "Aro…I love you," she told him sincerely, the truth shining in her eyes. "I have to go though, the corner of the screen is blinking and I don't know where the cord is."

"Then go, my love," he told her softly. "I love you," he told her as the screen grew black. "I will uncover the truth, I will find out what happened between us," he promised them both though the video call had disconnected.

**:::::**

He whined low, his ears folding back as he felt overpowered by the command of his alpha. His tail folded between his legs, his body sinking lower to the ground as he was trapped under the weight of the orders.

_They're not dangerous,_ he argued. _They explained to me what none of you did._

_You will stay away from them_, Sam commanded Seth as he towered over the juvenile wolf, his black body nearly twice the size of the younger one. _We cannot defend on Cullen territory._

_Why do you hate them?_ Seth asked with a low whine.

_I don't hate them, Seth,_ Sam said as he pulled back, releasing him from the subduing force of his command. _There is the treaty in place, but with the other vampires in the area, we cannot be seen in their lands. It would be seen as a threat. The treaty cannot be broken by us. _

Seth stood up, thankful to be released from the heavy force of his alpha's dominance and sat back on his haunches. Tipping his head to the side, his ears twitched with confusion as he looked at Sam and watched the larger black wolf pace.

_Why are you so convinced that the treaty will be broken?_ Seth asked.

_They have two humans living with them, Seth!_

_Yeah, I know. Bella and Angela. I met Angela, Sam. What Charlie told my father is true, she was being abused. They're helping her. They're not bad._

_You will stay away from them! _Sam commanded again, snarling as his fur stood on end and he turned on Seth.

_She's my friend,_ Seth said and surprised Sam by standing tall against the force of his dominance. _Command me, attack me, whatever, but she's my friend. I don't turn my back on my friends. _

_I am your Alpha,_ Sam growled louder as he stepped closer, waiting for Seth to cave under his orders and dominance. _You will follow my commands._

Seth remained standing despite the effort it took, his muscles trembling under the force of Sam's command, locking his joints into place as he refused to cave against what he believed to be unjust. _I will,_ he consented, _only so long as it does not put her in danger. I may be younger than the rest of you, but I don't give a crap about the whole 'natural enemies' thing. _

_I know, Seth,_ Sam said as he studied the younger wolf, surprised that he was able to resist his command. _And that 's what worries me._ He released the force of his dominance with a sigh._ You need to talk with your father about your grandfather. From the stories I was told, you're a lot like him._

_What's that supposed to mean?_ Seth asked before yipping sharply and whipping around.

_Flea?_ Sam laughed when Seth whimpered and seemed to be biting at the end of his tail.

_No, _Seth whimpered as he licked at his tail. _Cat. Damn thing dug its claws right into my tail. If it wasn't for the fact that I know it belongs to Krista Blackwater it'd be lunch._

His head snapped around when Sam's laughter filled the air and he found the man standing in his human form. Following suit he frowned at the disappearance of the irritation. Sam laughed again, telling him that as he didn't have a tail in his human form, the pain of having it bitten would not continue when he was no longer in his wolf form.

"Do what I told you," Sam told him again before turning back to the houses that sat beyond the clearing of the trees. "Talk to your father about your grandfather."

"Why?" Seth shook his head in confusion. "What does he have to do with this?"

"Your grandfather, Seth," Sam looked at him once more as he stepped up to his house. "He was known as the tribe's peacekeeper."

"Peacekeeper?" Seth repeated in confusion as Sam disappeared from sight.


	40. Chapter 38

Chapter 38

Her movements were slow, lethargic yet still somehow graceful as she rose from the bed. She couldn't sleep, no matter how hard she tried or how long she lay still with her eyes closed, she simply couldn't quiet her mind enough to sleep. Taking in a deep breath as she fought against the tight aching feeling in her chest, she stepped up to the window and looked outside. She was back with Bella at her friend's house again, Seth having come by the Cullen's house earlier that afternoon only to leave short moments later with Edward following him while Esme dropped her and Bella off at Charlie's house moments later. She didn't know why they had left so suddenly, or what it was that had brought the lines of anger to Edward's face while filling Esme's eyes with worry.

Looking back to the bed she found Bella to be sleeping soundly, the dark circles under friend's eyes seeming deeper for the girl's inability to keep food down. Taking in another deep breath and another, Angela found herself to soon be gasping for air as the ache in chest only grew stronger, her throat beginning to burn. She shook her head, denying the almost acidic sting of tears behind her eyes as she turned and ran for the door. Her friend's bedroom, the entire house in fact, felt suffocating as though the very air was being sucked out of it.

She made it almost to the bottom of the stairs, stumbling over the last few only to fall to her knees before she reached the front door. She couldn't breathe, she couldn't see, and her throat felt as though it were on fire. She could hear a strange sound, an almost broken keening wail, the sound desperate and full of sorrow. She gasped when arms wound around her shoulders, a warm strong masculine chest engulfing her as she was lifted and carried over to sit on the man's lap. She heard his voice, Charlie speaking to her softly though she couldn't understand the words and realized that the mournful and broken sobs were coming from her.

Angela tried to stop, tried to be silent, but the harder she tried to suppress her tears the faster they came. Her sobs shook her frame almost violently as she clung desperately to Charlie, unable to silence her crying as he held her and rocked her slowly. She felt the gentle pressure as he kissed her hair before laying his cheek against her head and while the actions were soothing, they somehow broke her further. She couldn't silence the thoughts, couldn't make the fear go away and the more she tried to ignore the old insecurities, the stronger they became.

They had always known, hadn't they? Her parents, her mother especially, had told her from the very beginning that she was worthless and would bring nothing but shame upon the people closest to her and she was right. She should've listened, Angela thought as her sobs left her throat raw and aching. She never should have accepted Alice's invite to that girl's weekend so long ago. If she had said no…if she had said no than everything that had come after would never have happened. The Cullens would never have been forced to become involved with her stalker, she never would have moved into their house, and she never would have broken their family.

If she had said no…if she had said no to Alice than that night when Broomer had attacked her, he would have succeeded. He would have taken her to her stalker and…Angela took in a gasping breath as she felt a blanket wrap around her shoulders. He would have killed her. She would have been dead now instead of tearing a beautiful and loving family apart. She should be dead. Taking in a deep breath only to choke on the air, Angela's body was wracked with violent coughs as Charlie held her and patted her back in an effort to help her breathe normally again. It felt as though it took forever for her breathing to return to normal, but when it did she was left spent and emotionally numb in Charlie's arms.

"Go to sleep, sweetheart," Charlie said as he tipped her back to a more comfortable resting position as he held her in his arms, her head nestled in the crook of his arm. "I've got you," he promised her as he used the end of the blanket to wipe the tears from her face.

He watched her eyes close, felt the energy leave her body as she fell into a deep sleep in his arms. Releasing a deep breath he wasn't aware he'd been holding, Charlie let his head fall back to rest against the back of the couch as he stared up at the ceiling. He had fallen asleep at the top of the ninth during the Mariners game only to wake up to the sound of the girl in his arms sobbing. She had sounded broken, as though her very soul was dying and not knowing what else to do, he had simply carried her to the couch and held her in his arms. She was asleep now and while he was grateful for the reprieve, he felt almost afraid of what he would find when she woke up. Would the release of emotions finally make her alright? Or would she instead revert to the silent, ghost-like waif she had been only a few days ago?

He was glad that Bella had slept through it all, his daughter needing to sleep as much as Angela did. Bella had refused food from the time that he had come from work to find them both there in his home, to just before she had fallen asleep on the couch next to him. He had carried her up to bed, Angela following silently behind him and he had watched with a heavy heart as Angela had taken clothes from his daughter's dresser to change her into. He had left the room, closing the door behind him when Angela had moved to the bed and began undressing Bella. It was a strange thing to witness the two friends taking care of each other in such a sisterly manner, but in a way he didn't quite understand, it felt as though it was the way it was meant to be.

Looking down into Angela's sleeping face; he glanced at the digital readout on his watch and sighed. It was just after three in the morning. It was Wednesday, barely four days after Angela had awakened from her sleep? Coma? He wasn't sure what to call it, all he knew for certain was that Bella had told him she just wouldn't wake up. There wasn't anything that would be causing her to stay asleep, he had been assured of that, but she simply wouldn't wake up. It was as though she had escaped reality by staying in her dreams. He didn't understand it, he wasn't entirely sure that he wanted to, but he could certainly understand how everything that was happening was too much to bear for her.

The only thing he was happy for was that the judge who had signed off on the restraining order against her parents was holding steadfast in his decision. Reverend and Mrs. Weber had petitioned three times, that he had been made aware of, to have the restraining order nullified saying that it was a ridiculous waste of the court's time and an abuse of the judge's power. He had been subpoenaed by the Weber's attorney on their third petition, but when he had brought up the allegations of abuse in front of the judge, Angela's parents had simply walked out of the court room saying that they were the victims and not their mentally ill daughter.

The judge had handed him a new order that day, one that he had kept a copy of in her police file while he still had the original in his coat pocket. It was a modified restraining order. Where the first one had listed the physical proximity restriction to be five hundred feet, this new protection order had increased it to seven hundred fifty feet. In the small town that Forks was, that was quite a distance to be listed and said a great deal about the judge's belief of the abuse Angela had suffered. A short soft chuckle came unbidden from him as Charlie thought over her father's parting comment, a statement that had been the last nail in their coffin so to speak.

As they had turned to leave the courtroom, Angela's father had declared that 'that Doctor Cullen' had brainwashed Angela into saying those things. Not only was Carlisle highly respected in the town of Forks, but he had saved the judge's daughter from certain death after she had fallen into a frozen lake two winters ago. Charlie had to bite his cheek to keep from saying anything when he watched the judge's face turn red in anger. For Reverend Weber to have insulted the man who had saved the judge's own child from death and brought her body heat back up slowly enough that she didn't even suffer frostbite or any permanent damage…the man was incredibly lucky that the judge hadn't decked him.

Angela whimpered in his arms, drawing his attention back to the present moment and he turned his eyes down on her. Rubbing his hand over her arm, he stood slowly from the couch and carried her up to Bella's room. Holding her carefully while pulling back the covers, Charlie laid Angela down next to Bella and brought the covers back up over them both. Leaning down and kissing them both on the forehead, he stepped out of the room and pulled the door closed. Running his hand through his thick dark hair, Charlie shuffled down the hall into his bedroom and collapsed exhausted onto his bed, his face half hidden in his pillow, the rumbling sound of his snores filling the room seconds later.

**:::::**

"Bella."

She moaned softly at the sound of her name, the familiar voice soothing and welcomed. He called to her again and she found the strength to open her eyes even as her exhausted mind told her to ignore the voice and return to sleep. Edward's smile was gentle, but full of worry as he bent down over her and kissed her cheek. Brow furrowing, the question she intended to voice was silenced by a yawn instead, the all too-human action bringing a soft chuckle from her vampire boyfriend.

"Hi, Sweetheart," he greeted her and helped her to sit up. "Charlie's going to give you both another ten minutes to sleep, but he's going to be starting breakfast downstairs," he told her having received a text from Alice a short moment prior to waking her. "I want you to eat ok? Carlisle's fairly certain that the fat and protein in the bacon will help you."

"Where are you going?" she asked, his expression telling her that he was leaving.

"Emmett called me a few hours ago. He needs my help up in Canada, he's fairly certain that the lead FBI agent is working with McGinnis – Angela's stalker," he clarified at Bella's frown of confusion. "He wants me to get close enough to read him. Even if he is helping McGinnis, I don't know what we can do. Reading someone's thoughts isn't exactly proof. I want you and Angela to stay here with Charlie."

"Edward, what's going on?" Bella asked a bit louder, all traces of sleep gone as she sat up straighter and studied his eyes.

"Laurent came to the house last night," he told her and shushed her when her eyes widened and her face paled. "It's ok," Edward promised her and kissed her lips. "Esme talked with him, convinced him to go back to Canada, but Victoria's been seen between here and the border. Esme's going to go to Denali and make certain that Laurent returned there as well as tell them all what's been happening. He's been growing closer to Irina and the last thing we want to do is start a feud with them if something happens to Laurent."

"You'll all be gone again?" Bella asked him breathlessly as she began to feel a burning ache settle in her chest. "How long?" she asked woodenly.

"I don't know," he told her sadly. "I don't like the idea of leaving either one of you, especially right now, but I have to. I'll keep in touch with you, I promise. Call me whenever you like, no matter what."

He leaned in close, cupping her face in his hands as he brought his lips to hers and kissed her softly at first, the intimate embrace deepening quickly when she brushed her tongue across his lips. Edward groaned softly, his tongue thrusting into the hot cavern of her mouth as he pulled her closer, delighting in her gasp as her hands fisted in his hair. They broke apart a few moments later, Bella gasping for air as Edward rested his forehead against hers. Tipping his head enough to kiss her lips chastely, Edward moved quickly to the window. Mouthing the words 'I love you' to Bella, he disappeared out of her bedroom window only a fraction of a second before Charlie opened the door.

Bella sighed softly before turning her attention to her father, listening as he told her that breakfast was almost ready. Nodding to him and watching as he shut the door once more, she turned to Angela and gently shook her friend's shoulder. Her brows furrowed, her breath catching in her throat when she saw the empty look in Angela's eyes and felt as though someone had punched her in the stomach again. Not twenty four hours ago, Angela had been alert and while she may not have been talking, she was responsive. What had happened between then and now to revert her to this state?

"Angela," Bella called to her friend and felt somewhat relieved when the girl met her eyes. "Dad's made breakfast for us," she told her hoping for some kind of response.

Angela moved slowly, standing from the bed without acknowledging Bella's words. The thought that had taken root last night in despair clung to her still and grew stronger the longer she was awake. She should be dead. If she were dead than everything that had happened – Bella's injuries from her birthday party, the child dying, and the Cullen family breaking apart – none of that would have happened. Her parents had been right all along, she was nothing but a mistake, she did nothing but destroy those around her and bring shame upon them. She should be dead.

She dressed slowly, not noticing that Bella's was helping her, and sat down on the side of the bed to tie her shoes. It was strange to realize that she couldn't feel anything. The breeze coming in from the window that blew her hair around, the shoes on her feet, even the weight of her backpack when she lifted it to her shoulder, she felt none of it. Bella guided her down the stairs and into the kitchen, but she couldn't understand a word that she or Charlie were saying, it was as though they were too far away to be heard. Sitting down at the table when Bella directed her to the chair, Angela looked down at the toast and bacon on the plate in front of her.

Everything felt surreal as though the world around her didn't truly exist. Was she in some kind of dream, she wondered. Lifting a piece of bacon to her mouth when Charlie nodded at her plate, Angela chewed it slowly only to find that the food had no flavor at all. She ate the bacon and the toast, finding it strange that she couldn't feel the food pass down her throat or into her stomach, there was simply no feeling at all as though she had been completely disconnected from her body. Standing from the table when Bella moved, Angela lifted her backpack to her shoulder and followed her friend outside.

"Angela," Bella called out when her friend began to walk down the drive, "come on, we're taking my truck."

Bella watched as Angela turned slowly toward her, no expression on her face and felt helpless to know what to do. Would Angela realize that Edward wasn't at school with them when they got there? Would she understand his absence? She knew that Edward was returning, that all the Cullens would be returning, but still she felt as though she were being hollowed out. With them gone and Angela in this waking dead condition once more, Bella felt as though someone had punched a hole through her chest. She didn't know what to do or how to help her friend when she wasn't even sure she knew how to help herself. Jogging forward and grasping Angela's hand, she led her friend back to the red truck and held open the passenger door as Angela climbed inside the cab.

"Please come home soon," Bella whispered, desperate and frightened as she started the engine of the ancient truck. "Please."

**:::::**

"Sam," Edward called out as he stood at the edge of the territory line dictated by the treaty. "I need to talk with you."

A loud rolling breath, somewhere between a growl and a sigh greeted Edward as the giant black wolf stepped slowly from the cover of the woods. His breath was far warmer than the cold morning air, puffing around him and condensing into a thick white mist around his muzzle. Nodding to the large boulder that stood between him and the vampire in front of him, Sam moved forward slowly and waited as Edward stepped closer to join him.

_Speak, vampire._

"You know that I can hear your thoughts?" Edward asked, to be certain that Sam knew he would be understood.

_Seth told me. Nothing is hidden in the pack telepathy._

"I didn't expect it would be," Edward said with a slow nod. "I need to brief you on what's been going on, I need to ask your help in protecting both Angela and Bella."

Sam growled low. _You take two humans into your midst and _now_ you ask for _our_ help?_

"Please listen," Edward requested patiently. "There is so much you don't understand. Angela is being hunted, so is Bella, but by different things."

Edward stood before the great wolf, speaking with him directly about all that had been happening with Angela, from her migraines to her stalker. He revealed the abuse she had suffered, as well as the efforts made by his family to help her heal. He spoke at length about the torment that she suffered at the hands of her parents and also the malicious way in which the man stalking her had been trying to break her, trying to kill her. Advising Sam to talk to Charlie if he had any doubts as to the truth of what he was saying, Edward waited for the wolf's response.

_Is it true? _Sam growled low, his lips curling up as his fangs were bared and his massive jaws parted in his anger. _The FBI agent is _helping_ that monster?_

"We don't know for certain," Edward answered as calmly as he could given the topic of conversation. "That's why Emmett's asked for me to come and read the man. I don't even know what can be done if he is, but for now we're watching him, trying to make sure that the authorities capture him."

_And Angela? You said she's still suffering?_

"You think she wouldn't after everything she's been through?" Edward asked sharply before regaining quick control of his emotions. "Through our efforts to help her heal from the abuse she suffered, we had to get her to talk about it and in doing so she has relived what they've done to her. The stalker's continued efforts to break her have only made what she's feeling and going through that much worse. She's shutting down mentally. Believe me, if there were any other choice, I wouldn't be leaving them."

Edward watched as Sam dragged his paw through the earth, mud and leaves sticking in his fur as stones and twigs were thrown through the air behind the great beast. He could hear Sam's thoughts, the collective rage and protective voice of the pack joining Sam's as the news of what Angela had been through was shared by all the wolves. His ears folded back, his lips still curling up to reveal the glint of deadly white fangs, but Sam nodded his agreement to protect the human girl that Edward called his sister.

_You said that Bella is being hunted as well. By what?_

"The vampires that your pack has seen coming through the forests: the man's name is Laurent, the redhead's is Victoria. We have warned them to stay away from Bella, but I fear they won't. Protect her from them at all costs," Edward instructed. "This request comes not only from me, as Bella is my mate, but from Carlisle as well. Will you help us?"

_They will be protected._ Sam stood tall, his shoulders rolling back as he held his head high and looked down into Edward's eyes. _You have my word. _

"We will return," Edward said with a nod, making certain that the wolf knew they weren't going to stay away. "Thank you for helping us protect our family."

_They're human_, Sam said the hard look in his onyx eyes making his reasons for protecting the girls clear to Edward.

He nodded once more, watching Sam disappear into the forest before he turned to leave. If he drove fast enough he would be well into Canada by nightfall and should meet up with Emmett and Rosalie before dawn. Still, he hated the thought of leaving them behind. If anything happened to them while he was gone… Taking in a deep breath, Edward slid behind the wheel of his Volvo and drove toward the interstate. Every moment felt like an eternity and the farther he got away from Forks the more his unease grew.

"Let this be over with soon," he spoke his thoughts aloud as he gripped the steering wheel tighter.

**:::::**

Bella ran into the girl's bathroom, nearly colliding with Jessica Stanley in her efforts to get to a toilet before her stomach emptied itself as it was threatening to. She had been doing fine up until lunch. The small salad she had eaten was soothing, but the milk she had drunk seemed to be her undoing. Gripping her hair at the nape of her neck in a tight fist, Bella stayed in her position knelt over the toilet until her stomach calmed and she was certain that there was nothing else her body could possibly throw up. Coughing harshly as she wiped her mouth and flushed the toilet, she moved to the sink and washed her hands, before rinsing her mouth and washing her face as well.

"Stomach flu?" Jessica asked with wide eyes.

"Either that or my dad's cooking," Bella quipped, her voice devoid of emotion as she searched through her backpack and retrieved the travel sized bottle of Listerine mouthwash.

"Oh god, that stuff stings," Jessica said as she watched Bella's eyes water while she rinsed her mouth with the green liquid.

"At least it gets rid of the breath," Bella said and grimaced at the strong mint flavor that was left behind. "I'm pretty sure I'm not contagious," she assured her friend as the girl edged toward the door.

"Maybe," Jessica said with a disbelieving expression, "but considering that Angela was in here doing the same thing earlier today, you won't mind if I stay a little further away from you until you're no longer doing that," she said and glanced at the recently vacated stall before slipping out the door.

Bella rolled her eyes before slinging her backpack up over her shoulder and stepping out into the hall. How could she explain to anyone that neither she nor Angela were contagious without going into detail about what was causing them to be sick? At best, they might call them crazy, at worst, they might think both her and Angela to be pregnant. That was the last thing either one of them needed to deal with. Sighing as she stepped into the biology class she shared with Angela, she looked over at the girl to find her sitting alone, Tyler Crowley nowhere in sight.

"Ah, good, Miss Swan," Mr. Neidermeyer said as she stopped just inside the door. "Tyler Crowley is out with the flu, as is Eric. You and Angela will be partners for the remainder of the week."

She had to bite her lip in an effort not chuckle at the nervous and almost frightened look on the man's face. She clearly remembered the effect Edward had on the man when he had found Angela to be partnered with Lauren Mallory. Nodding quietly as she moved to sit next to Angela, Bella set her books down on the black countertop and touched her friend's hand. Her head moved slowly, turning to look at her, but Bella was fairly certain that Angela wasn't seeing her at all. Her dark eyes were still vacant and she didn't seem able to perceive anything around her. She felt completely helpless in the face of her friend's despair.

Biting her lip as she took in a series of slow deep breaths, Bella opened her text book to the page specified on the dry erase board at the front of the classroom and looked down at the words written without truly seeing them. The more impossible the situation seemed, the harder it felt to control her emotions, the stronger she felt the need for Carlisle's presence. The father figure of the Cullen family had quite easily become a second father to her and his calm, quiet strength was something she desperately craved. Biting her lips and blinking quickly when she felt her eyes begin to sting with the threat of tears, Bella hoped that she would be able to make it home before she began to cry as the soul tearing ache in her chest demanded that she do. Grimacing when she felt her stomach clench painfully, she pressed the heel of her hand against her abdomen and bent over as she fought against the urge to vomit.

She was fairly certain that there was nothing left in her stomach to be rid of, but the painful spasming cramps were continuous and unrelenting. Clenching her jaw against the nausea twisting her insides, Bella glanced at the clock above the white board mounted on the wall only to find herself battling tears once more. She would have sworn that at least fifteen minutes had passed since she took her seat, but the clock only showed five minutes having passed instead. Her cell phone buzzed in her pocket, the device on vibrate only, and she removed it slowly to look at the text. A short silent laugh came from her when she Alice's name on the message log and opened it to read the message.

_You need to call him. I saw you make the decision only to dismiss it. Call Carlisle after school._

Bella shook her head, denying Alice's words even as she felt the desire to hear his calming voice. He had important work that he was doing in New York. He was trying to find a way to help Angela, to end her pain or at least control it better until the day he could turn her. She couldn't be selfish enough to distract him from his task, even if was only for a few moments. Looking up to make certain the teacher wasn't looking in her direction; she moved her thumbs quickly over the T-nine keypad and replied to Alice, telling her friend that she was fine. Her phone buzzed quickly again, Bella was certain the message hadn't even finished sending when Alice's new text came in, but she couldn't look at it and keep her composure. Tucking her phone back into her jeans pocket, she returned her attention to the front of the classroom, her attention on anything but the lecture on the lymphatic system.

It felt that the one hour class had lasted four when the bell finally rang and Bella quickly tucked her things back into her backpack before standing slowly. She watched Angela stand, the girl responding to the bells even though she never responded to anything else and wrapped her arm around her friend's waist as she walked out of the classroom with her. The closer she got to her truck, the more she felt lightheaded and dizzy. Bella shook her head more than once as she fought against the vertigo clouding her brain. She just had to get them home, once that was done then she could sleep.

Walking them over to the truck, Bella led Angela to the passenger side and held open the heavy metal door as she waited for her friend to climb inside. Closing the door after Angela got settled; Bella rounded the bed of the truck and climbed behind the wheel. Putting her key into the ignition, she sighed at the incessant buzzing that had been vibrating her phone for nearly ten minutes. Pulling the device out of her pocket, she looked down to see that she had fifteen missed calls, all of them from Alice. Her phone buzzed again and this time she answered it, bringing it to her ear as Alice spoke before she could even say hello.

"Do not start that engine, Bella!" Alice commanded her, her friend's normally cheerful voice tense with worry and the knowledge that came from her precognition. "Don't!" she commanded again as Bella reached for the keys. "Bella, I'm serious, do not drive."

"How do you suggest I get home, Alice?" Bella asked tightly as she tried to keep her turbulent emotions in check.

"I called Edward while you were in class, he called Charlie," Alice told her. "Charlie will be arriving in a few minutes, three to be precise. Bella…" her voice trailed off as it filled with anguished worry. "Bella, you need to eat something."

Bella chuckled darkly, her helplessness and the constant painful cramps twisting her stomach causing the tears she had been fighting for the past hour to finally fall. She tried to say something, tried to fight against the emotions roiling within her, but her sob refused to be silenced any longer. The phone dropped from her hand to the dash of her truck, the call still active, as Bella folded her arms over the steering wheel and buried her face in them. The more she tried to stop crying, the harder and faster her tears came until the sobs were tearing through her with the force of some wild beast. She heard her car door open, but didn't have the strength to look up from where she had her face hidden.

Charlie leaned inside the cab of the truck, kissing his daughter's temple as he reached for the phone, able to hear the voice coming from the device. Rubbing Bella's back as he lifted the device to his ear, he spoke quietly with Alice for a few moments before disconnecting the call and tucking the phone into his pocket. His voice was gentle as he nudged Bella's arm and instructed her to move closer to Angela so that he could drive them home. He climbed into the driver's seat slowly, turning the key to start the engine before lifting his arm and tucking Bella against his side. He knew that he was missing something, there was something far bigger going on, he just wished he knew what it was. Something told him that the person he needed to call wasn't Carlisle or even Esme, and though he didn't have the person's number, he was fairly certain that one or both of the girls would.

It didn't take him long to traverse through the streets, the short drive from the high school to his house feeling as though it took forever to accomplish, but within only a few moments he was pulling into his driveway and shutting off the engine. Nodding his thanks to Deputy Carson as the man parked his cruiser and jogged down the street to his own vehicle, he watched the young man drive off before helping first Angela and then Bella down from the truck. He looked up at the grey sky as a cold breeze blew past him and frowned as the early October air chilled him. The fall temperatures were dropping quickly, the dampness of the air only making the cold felt that much stronger and he knew that neither one of the girls in his care would be able to withstand a cold or flu in the condition they were in.

Sighing softly as he ushered them into the house, he took his cell phone from his pocket and called the school. He had no intention of letting them go to school in the morning. Not with Angela's condition or Bella's weakened health and certainly, he thought as he stood at the window looking outside, not with the rain that was beginning to fall. He made the excuses for them both, stating that they were suffering from a stomach bug and asking for their class work to be collected for them so that he could pick it up after school. Running a tired hand through his thick hair, Charlie folded his phone and put the device into his pocket before walking up the stairs.

"Angela," he stepped into Bella's room behind the quiet girl and came to stand in front of her where she sat in front of the window. "Sweetheart, can you hear me?" he asked as he knelt in front of the chair and watched as her vacant eyes turned down on him. "Where's your phone?" he asked her a moment later when it became clear that she wouldn't speak.

He followed her gaze as she turned her head and looked at Bella's desk. The Blackberry sat on top of his daughter's desktop and he nodded once as he stood. She was responsive, but only barely. He wasn't sure how much she understood or how aware she was of what was going on around her. Bending down to kiss her hair before he stepped out of the room, he heard Bella moving around in the bathroom and knew that she had been sick again. She tried to hide it from him, but he was well aware that for the past couple of weeks it had been difficult, if not impossible for her to keep anything down.

"I really hope you know what to do," Charlie said to no one as he scrolled through Angela's contacts before entering the number into his phone and hitting send. "Come on, pick up," he said after the third ring.

"Hello," the voice greeted him with a mix of caution and curiosity.

"Emmett, it's Charlie – uh, Bella's dad," he said nervously as he sat down on the couch.

"Chief Swan?" Emmett said and glanced over at Rosalie with worry furrowing his brow. "Is everything alright?"

"No, not really," he answered and Emmett could hear the exhaustion in the man's tone. "I know you're out touring colleges right now, but I could use your help."

"Tell me what's going on," Emmett said as he stepped away from the brick wall and jogged back to the rental car with Rosalie at his side. "What's happened?"

Charlie sighed with helpless frustration and fell heavily to sit on the couch. His hand returned to his hair, the mussed locks gripped tightly in his hand as he held the phone to his ear and shook his head. He began slowly, his uncertainty and discomfort clear. He wasn't used to having to reach out to anyone else for help, but he also wasn't used to caring for two teenage girls in the despondent condition they were in. He described what was happening with both Angela and Bella as best he could, giving Emmett details as though the Cullen boy were a police officer that he was relating a suspect profile to.

"Wait," Emmett interrupted Charlie as he steered the car back toward their hotel. "Bella's still sick? Is she still having the nightmares?"

"No," Charlie said as he walked up the stairs and looked into Bella's bedroom, finding the girls to be asleep. "But she can't keep much of anything down. She rarely sleeps anymore and she's always looking after Angela as though it's her responsibility alone no matter who's with her."

"Does Angela have her laptop there?" Emmett asked able to hear the slow steady heartbeats in the background of the call.

"Uh, yeah," Charlie said as he spotted the laptop sitting on the desk.

"Open it; make sure it's turned on. I'm almost at our hotel, as soon as I'm there I'm going to call Angela's computer with our video chat program," Emmett told him and Charlie shook his head in confusion.

"Uh, the computer's on," Charlie said as he looked at the laptop screen. "I have no idea where a video program would be though."

"Don't worry about that," Emmett dismissed patiently. "When the call rings through you'll see a prompt to answer it. Just click the button that says yes and maximize the screen. Don't worry if they're asleep, Charlie, just put the computer in such a place where they'll be able to see me easily and vice versa. I won't wake them, but I know what brings them comfort."

Charlie sighed heavily. "Thank you, Emmett."

"You sound exhausted, Charlie. I'm in the hotel now, once I ring the call through, leave the girls to me and get some sleep, ok?"

Charlie chuckled softly. "You are a lot like your father, you know that, kid?"

"Thank you," Emmett grinned as he walked over to his laptop and prompted the program to place the video call to Angela. "Damn, Chief," he said when Charlie answered the call and he looked at the human man. "No offense, but you look like hell. Put the computer near them and then go get some sleep."

Charlie shook his head. "Just like your father."

"Carlisle's a good man," Emmett said with pride at the comparison as the video feed on his end blurred in and out while Charlie moved the computer. "Thank you," Emmett said when the image of Angela and Bella sleeping on the bed came into clear view. "Leave them to me, Charlie. I may not be there physically, but I can take care of my girls."

"I'd ask you about that last comment, but I'm too tired," Charlie said with a chuckle. "Emmett, if Bella starts curling in on herself real tightly, wake her up. It usually means she's going to be sick."

"Will do, chief," Emmett said, able to hear Charlie's heartbeat move out of the room. "Shh," he clucked his tongue a few times when Angela stirred in her sleep. "It's alright, half pint. I'm here, your big brother's here."

"Emm't," she mumbled in her sleep.

"That's right, honey," Emmett said and looked up when Rosalie came to stand by his side. "Hey," he greeted his wife as he pulled her down to sit in his lap.

"Oh my…" Rosalie's voice trailed off, the whispered sound filled with horror as she looked at the screen. "What's happened to them?"

"They'll be ok, Rosie," he soothed her, rubbing his hand over her arm as he returned his attention to the computer screen. "We'll take care of our family. Don't worry."

"How can you be so calm about this? Look at them!" she hissed, keeping her voice too low for them to hear.

"Rose," he kissed her cheek. "If we get upset," he said as he looked into her eyes, "then it will only cause them more stress. We have to be calm to help them."

"Charlie was right," Rosalie whispered with reverence as she studied her husband.

"About what?" he asked, tucking her silken blond locks behind her ear.

"The trauma counseling thing," she shook her head. "How did I never see it?"

"You never needed to," he said with a shrug and touched his finger to her jaw as he kissed her.

Their attention was brought quickly back to the screen by a pained whimpering groan and they watched as Bella folded in on herself, her face contorted in agony as her arms moved beneath the blankets. Emmett called out to her, tried to wake her as she curled tighter seconds before she slipped out from under the covers and ran from the room. Their preternatural hearing was sensitive enough to hear the sound of her retching in the bathroom. Emmett looked up at his wife, met her eyes and saw the decision mirrored in her eyes. Bringing up the contacts window of the video chat program, Emmett entered Carlisle's information and watched as a small box appeared in the top left corner of the screen of the video feed.

"Carlisle," Emmett greeted. "You should be seeing them more than you do us," he said and waited for his father's nod before he continued. "Edward should be here by morning. Once he reads the FBI agent…"

"You want to return home," Carlisle said knowingly. "Emmett," he paused, his eyes shifting to the side making it clear that he was watching Angela sleeping instead of looking at his son. "Find out what the FBI agent knows. Keep watch of McGinnis until he's captured or escapes again," he turned away from the camera, his brow furrowing as the sound of him drawing in a few deep breaths carried over the line.

"What is it?" Emmett asked his father.

"Something familiar," Carlisle said as he shook his head. "I'll call back soon. We'll talk about this again. I'm not dismissing you, Emmett," he promised his son, meeting his eyes before the small video box disappeared from the screen.

Carlisle stood from the desk, closing his laptop as he gathered his coat for appearance's sake and ghosted through the house. He was standing on the front porch in less than a second, his brow furrowed as he pulled in more of the familiar scent and shook his head in disbelief. The cover of darkness and his black coat afforded him the freedom to use his true speed as he kept to the shadows, following the scent as it grew stronger. His gold eyes widened, and he shook his head once more in disbelief as he moved to stand close behind the man who couldn't possibly be in New York.

"It has been a long time, Carlisle," the man said without turning around, his voice surprisingly alert and welcoming.

"Marcus."


	41. Chapter 39

Chapter 39

She closed her eyes, breathing in deeply of the twilight air, the feel of the night falling around her bringing her peace and a sense of complete relaxation. Giggling softly, she toed out of the shoes she was wearing, reaching beneath her loose flowing knee length skirt to peel off her dark pantyhose in one fluid motion. Stepping to the side, she opened her eyes, releasing a slow breath through her parted lips as her smile grew languidly until it appeared as though the sun had risen in the expression of bliss on her face. Her silk skirt fluttered around her knees, the breeze blowing past her and stirring up her hair in the cool fall wind.

She stepped forward slowly, the cool feather soft grass tickling against the bottom of her feet as she glided through the wide open field. She spread her arms out to the side, delighting in the openness and freedom of the wild Montana fields. She heard the soft chuckle behind her, but ignored it focusing instead on the sounds of the wind whispering through the trees and the wildlife chattering just out of sight. They were surrounded by thick trees, but at a distance, the wide ranging thick emerald meadow they were in stretched for nearly fifty acres in an almost perfect circle. The trees along the edges were thick, ancient and stood proud, the rich green leaves swaying in the wind.

She turned, twirling around with arms stretched wide as she giggled and let herself fall to lie back in the plush grasses interspersed with fragrant wildflowers, the colors muted as the darkness of night settled over them. She heard the chuckles again and looked up to find Felix standing near her, the front of his new high tech phone pointed toward her as the face of her husband filled the four inch screen. She smiled brightly, her crimson eyes sparkling with her exuberant delight as she sat up and held her hand out for the device. Felix chuckled, easily handing it over to her and watching as she fell back to lie in the grace with fluid grace.

"Aro," she fairly purred his name as she looked at him, finding the peace and delight in his face a pleasurable sight to behold. "I want you to come here," she said to him, her free hand lifting to brush her fingers against the edge of the phone as she wished to touch his face.

"I want that, too," he told her smoothly.

"But?" she asked stretching out the word as she looked at him knowingly.

"But," he chuckled at her. "Things are…not exactly stable here. I want to make certain that I do not leave before stability has returned."

"Unstable?" Suplicia sat up as her brow furrowed with concern. "Aro, what's going on?"

"Suplicia," his voice and expression trying to dissuade her from asking more.

"Don't," she shook her head as she looked at the front facing camera on the Android phone. "Don't try to shut me out or protect me from what's happening. I'm your mate, remember? You promised me yesterday that this was a new beginning for us. That this would be how it was always meant to be. Don't take that away."

Aro sighed as he looked at his wife, the full moon casting her pale white skin in a pearlescent glow, her cornsilk hair appearing as delicate as fairy wings. He didn't want her to worry, or feel frightened, but he knew that she was right. He had promised her that he wouldn't keep things from her anymore. He felt closer to her, more connected to her than he had since he had first fallen in love with her. Old habits would be hard to change, but he didn't want there to be anymore secrets between them. Watching her through the video screen, he nodded slowly and smiled.

"No more secrets," he said softly and watched as Suplicia's smile returned.

"No more secrets," she repeated as she laid back in the grass and held the phone above her. "I love you," she told him easily, her voice little more than a soothing sigh.

"And I you, my beautiful mate," he told her with a relaxed grin.

"The instability," she prompted him with a smile before a strange beeping sound filled the night air. "Felix your thingie's making noise," she said only for both Aro and Felix to laugh easily at her innocence of technology.

"Thingie!" Aro repeated with a laugh. "That's a very technical term," he said seconds before the screen went black.

"Felix!" Suplicia leapt to her feet and handed the silent device to him. "Can you get him back?"

"No," he said with a chuckle as he tucked it back into his pocket. "Not right now anyway. The battery's dead, but when we get back to the loft you can call him on the laptop. You're free, little songbird," he told her with an easy grin. "You wanted to run earlier, do you still want to?"

"Yes!" she said with excitement as she seemed to float through the meadow, her movements fluid and graceful. "Felix," she stopped and turned to face him fully as she looked into his eyes, "thank you."

"For what?" he asked with an amused shake of his head.

"For knowing me better than I know myself," she said and he smiled at her.

"And how did I do that?" he asked her as he held out his hand to her, waiting for her to step forward and take it.

Suplicia studied him as she tried to put her thoughts into words. His black cotton silk blend dress pants, that looked as though they had been tailored just for him, were bound around his waist with a black leather belt. The ocean blue silk shirt stood out in striking contrast to his pale olive skin, the black leather jacket making him seem that much more handsome and enigmatic. The shoes that adorned his feet were familiar; the black ankle boots looked similar in style to work boots but were dressier and far more expensive. Her eyes returned to his face, his dark hair falling across his forehead, and as she studied him she realized what he had known all along. They had been friends for so very long, often holding intimate conversations over their thoughts on books, their dreams, the desires they had, that the love she held for him in her heart had been confused by the situation they had been thrust into. He was beautiful, he was engaging and daring, and while yes, she did love him, she wasn't romantically attracted to him.

"Remember when we first settled into Seattle," she reminded him and he nodded knowing which memory in particular she was referring to. "You knew," she said with a shrug and a shake of her head. "I didn't, but you did. For a few decades now, I've thought that I had developed deeper feelings for you, romantic feelings, how did you know they weren't truly there when I didn't?"

Felix sighed as he drew her into his arms and held her close. Kissing her forehead, he let his arms fall from around her waist, her hand still clasped in his as they began walking at a lazy pace through the meadow. From the day he had rescued her from the clutches of the torture she had been subjected to, he had felt something in their relationship shift. A deeper understanding, a greater respect between them both, a level of trust that was unfailing and beyond the ability to be questioned; it had made him think that his own heart had changed as well. But he had realized something else, something that had strangely come from an invitation accepted out of boredom to spend a few hours watching NCIS with Gianna when he had been left to his own devices. When a hero rescues a damsel in distress, romantic feelings can manifest, but those feelings are often short lived and only last while the danger and loneliness continue. Seldom is a lasting or profound romantic relationship born out of such a situation.

"We've known each other for too long, little songbird," he told her with a thoughtful grin. "If we really did feel romantically for one another than it would've shown up long before it did. Now that you're in a place where you truly feel safe and free, your heart is no longer confused. Within the walls of Volterra, I was the only person that made you feel safe, the only one you felt able to turn to and your emotions – mine as well for a time – became confused."

"You are very wise," she told him and stopped as her eyes fell upon a dark shadow ahead of them. "What is that?" she asked as she looked at the beast half hidden by the cover of the trees.

"I believe that is a wild American Bison," he told her with a chuckle. "A buffalo."

"It's huge!" Suplicia said as she shot forward through the meadow, wishing to get a closer look.

Felix shook his head, smiling with amusement as he took off after her. He was faster than she was, but hung back, watching her as she sped through the night to get a closer look at the beast. He knew that she could take care of herself, and while he doubted she had any intention of feeding on the animal, he also knew that her curiosity could inspire it to attack. He watched as she crept closer and listened to the great rolling breaths as the bison breathed in and out, the noise sounding almost like a growl. The black animal's head shot up, and he watched as Suplicia stopped, not wanting to spook the animal, only wishing to get close enough to feel its fur. He knew that she was staying just out of the animal's range of vision, but he knew the instant the bison caught her sweet scent.

The buffalo pulled back, its head rearing up from the grass it had been feeding on as its eyes bulged. Normally an animal to be seen in a much larger herd, Felix narrowed his eyes on the yellow tag on the animal's left ear. The four digit number and symbol printed on the tag labeled the bison as being a farm animal and he nodded to himself as he realized the bison must've broken loose from its enclosure. He watched Suplicia inch closer until her scent and presence became too much for the beast and it turned, racing deeper into the forest surrounding the meadow. Felix couldn't help but chuckle at her look of disappointment and stepped up behind her, placing his hand on her shoulder.

"It was…majestic," Suplicia said without taking her eyes off the retreating animal. "And huge!" she laughed.

"Suplicia," Felix laughed at her. "You're tiny. Everything is huge next to you."

"Oh hush," she said and pushed against his chest. "Sometimes, I wish the old story tellers had it right about us," she mused as she looked up at the wide open sky, the stars painted in the heavens above captivating her.

"Right about what?" he asked as he watched her move gracefully through the ankle high grasses and flowers.

"That vampires could fly," she said as she ran through the field back to him. "I would love to fly and see this place from the air!"

"I could throw you," he offered her with a chuckle.

"No, thank you, Felix," she said primly before giggling. "I want Aro here with us. I miss him," she said as her excitement gave way to the absence she felt, though her smile never left her face.

"He'll come," he promised her. "Just give him time. Do you still want to run?" he asked as he looked at her.

"I don't…" her voice trailed off as she turned her head, a distant sound catching her attention.

"Well, that answers that," he said when she shot off in the other direction and he ran after her.

**:::::**

He woke slowly with a groan that quickly turned into a rumbling cough. Sighing and running his hand through his hair to scratch deeply at his scalp as he sat up, Charlie stood from the bed. He blinked owlishly as he looked down at his watch and moved to his closet. Dressing in his police uniform, he grabbed his badge and wallet from his nightstand before taking his keys from the wooden table and opening the drawer. He usually left his gun in his holster as there wasn't anything to be frightened of in Forks, but with Angela's continued depressive state he had taken to locking his service weapon in the specially fitted gun box. He didn't truly believe that Angela would take her own life, but that didn't mean that he was willing to take any chances either.

Taking out his weapon and making certain that the clip of his forty-five Glock automatic pistol was fully loaded, he snapped the clip back inside his weapon and made sure the safety was on before he exited his bedroom. Frowning when he saw a shadow move down the end of the hallway before disappearing down the stairs, he followed the person down to the floor below. Shaking his head when he found Bella to be carrying her backpack and Angela's, he watched her set them near the front door before stepping close enough to his daughter to tell her to go back to bed.

"It's Thursday," she told him with a confused shake of her head. "It's not a teacher work day and there's no snow-"

"Bella, go back to bed," Charlie told her again. "You don't need to worry about school."

"We can't keep missing school," she told him. "We've already missed too much!"

"Why are we arguing about this?" Charlie asked as he turned away from Bella, his arms lifting into the air in frustration. "Bella, have you looked at yourself lately?" he asked her as he turned back around. "Your clothes are swimming on you, on Angela, too. Neither of you seem able to eat much or in your case, keep food down. Angela's eating when she's alert enough to and although you eat, I know you're not able to keep any of it down."

Bella gasped and shook her head as she stared at her father with wide eyes. He wasn't supposed to know, she was trying not to worry him. He stepped closer to her at the sound of her gasp and drew her into his arms.

"Sweetheart," he rubbed her back. "It's raining outside, it's been raining since I brought you both home from school yesterday. Your immune systems can't take the cold and the rain right now. Just stay home today, ok?" he asked of her once again as he stepped toward the front door. "I've got to get to the station, but I called you both in last night. You're not grounded or anything, but if you do go out, don't stay out too long. With the flu that's going around, I don't want to risk either one of you catching it. Your bodies aren't strong enough to handle it. I call around lunch time," he told her and smoothed his hand over her hair before cupping the back of her head and kissing her brow. "I love you, Bells."

Charlie pulled the front door closed behind him as he stepped out to his cruiser and took his cell phone from his pocket. Dialing the familiar number from memory, he held the phone to his ear and turned the key, starting the car as he waited for the person on the other end to answer. Apologizing for waking his friend, he spoke to Billy Black for a few moments before disconnecting a pulling out of the driveway. They needed a miracle, his daughter and Angela; he just hoped that it came in time. Shaking his head as he pulled into the station, he parked his cruiser and walked in through the front doors.

"Anything to report?" he asked Deputy Carson.

"Nothing so far, morning's been pretty quiet," he said as he moved to the desk. "A call came in around midnight though. There's been another animal attack," he said as he picked up a faxed document. "This time in the patch of forest where the one-oh-one meets the one-thirteen, highway patrol reported that a driver was almost run off a side road. Driver reported a bear sized dog, but the patrol officer…Michael Faraday," he read, "didn't believe him."

"Any particular reason?" Charlie asked even though he was hesitant to believe the story as well.

"Driver's blood alcohol content was point seven two. Complete idiot for even thinking about driving," he said shaking his head as he handed the report to Charlie.

Charlie snorted and took the sheet, telling the younger man to go home and get some sleep before moving over to his desk and sitting down. It was nearing seven o'clock and while Carlisle had told him to call at anytime, he didn't like to call the man too early. Looking up when the young deputy called his name, he chuckled and shook his head when the man reminded him that New York was three hours ahead. Nodding and picking up the receiver of his desk phone, Charlie entered in Carlisle's cell phone number as he waved goodbye to Deputy Carson as he disappeared around the front desk.

"Good morning, Charlie," Carlisle greeted him. "How're Angela and Bella doing?"

"There's been a setback," Charlie said with a regretful sigh. "Angela's reverted back to her earlier state. She's not talking, she doesn't seem to recognize that anyone or anything is around her and though she is eating, she's not eating nearly enough. I called both her and Bella in for school today, it's raining outside and the temperature dropped last night, the high today isn't projected to reach above the mid thirties."

"I understand," Carlisle sighed. "The last thing we need is for either one of them to catch a cold on top of what they're already dealing with. I would recommend that you pick up Vitamin C tablets and herbal teas for them. There are a few brands, Herbal Kitchen and Medicine Flower," he advised Charlie. "Look for the teas labeled for immune support, sleep aid and women's health. I would recommend picking up one of each. Has Angela been able to take her Toradol?"

Charlie scrubbed a hand through his hair. "Not that I've seen. But I'm worried about giving her the injections Edward left with Bella," he said as he gave a nod of thanks to one of the dispatch girls when she set a cup of hot coffee in front of him. "Yesterday, Angela ate a piece of bacon, one piece that was all. Bella said that she wasn't able to get her to eat lunch and I wasn't able to get her to eat dinner or drink any of the broth from the chicken soup I brought home from the diner."

"How's Bella doing?" Carlisle asked as he pinched the bridge of his nose in worry. "Charlie?" he asked when the man remained silent, lifting his head as he sat back against the leather chair behind the desk inside his Manhattan home.

"I don't really know," the man answered slowly, the reluctant tone of his voice drawing a look of confusion from Carlisle as he stared down at the cell phone on his desk, the call on speaker.

"Do you mind clarifying that?" Carlisle asked as he turned to the open journal sitting on his desk, the pages filled with the observations he had made since the beginning of Bella's decline in health.

"She still isn't able to keep food down, at least not all the time," Charlie sighed. "I know that she isn't sleeping, not much anyway, but I think…I think she might be sleepwalking, but I'm not sure."

"What do you mean?" Carlisle asked as he pressed down on the plunger of his pen, the fine tipped ballpoint falling into place as he turned to a new page in the journal.

"I've found her cleaning the kitchen and living room a few times late at night, after I've seen her sleeping. She's able to talk and hold a conversation, but her answers and response times are slower. She's cleaning with bleach water and disinfectant scrub. I asked her about it a few days ago, but she didn't seem to know what I was talking about."

Carlisle set his pen down on the page, his notes made as Charlie had spoken and he closed his eyes. It seemed that Bella's worry for her friend and desire to care for her was manifesting in her unconscious as well, her mind demanding that she keep the home free of germs no matter if she was asleep or not. Renee had told Esme that she had found Bella doing much the same thing in her youth during the time that she had been suffering from her depression over the lost relationship. Running his hand through his golden hair and feeling helpless frustration at the distance between him as his adopted human daughters, Carlisle advised Charlie of the sedative he would be calling in for Bella.

"Go to the hospital and ask for Nurse Marks," he instructed Charlie. "She'll have the sedative and vitamins ready for you," he promised.

"Will the sedatives help her?" Charlie asked him and Carlisle sighed softly.

"They'll keep her from sleepwalking, or at least they should, aside from that…" Carlisle pressed his lips together. "Jasper and Emmett should hopefully be coming home soon," he told his human friend. "I don't know how many more colleges they have left to tour, but I do know that their decisions need to be finalized soon so that they can begin classes. Once that is done and they return home they'll be able to help Bella and Angela. They've always been far better at assisting them both then anyone else."

"They're good kids," Charlie said. "I haven't seen Alice for awhile. Did she go with them?"

"Yes, a few colleges offered her early start," Carlisle said, finding the lie to be an easier explanation than anything else. "Thank you for taking care of Angela, Charlie. I know it can't be easy."

"It's not a problem," Charlie said before Carlisle could hear the static of the dispatch radio in the background. "I've got to go, but I'll call later with an update."

Charlie hung up his office phone as he looked over at Peggy and listened to the call coming in. Another hiker had been found dead. Whatever animal was doing this, it was killing people over a wide range of area. Checking to be certain his weapon and badge were in place, he stood from his desk and donned his coat before heading for the door.

**:::::**

It was hard for her to think that things would be ok, that she would be alright or that Angela would be safe. Sitting down on the sofa and folding herself down so that her elbows were resting on her knees, Bella dropped her face into her hands and felt the sting of tears behind her eyes. Edward had gone up to Canada to help Emmett and Rosalie, Esme had gone to the coven in Denali to make certain that Laurent had gone there and would not come after her or Angela, but for Bella that meant that she was once again alone. Feeling as weak and breakable as a tiny glass figurine and far too vulnerable for her liking, she stood and moved toward the kitchen. She wasn't certain how long Angela would remain asleep, but she knew that if she remained seated as she was her doubts and insecurities would overtake her.

Grimacing when her stomach clenched with a battling need to be fed as well a twisting desire to empty itself, Bella turned away from any thoughts of food and instead began to pull the cleaning supplies out from the cabinet beneath the sink. The house wasn't all that messy, nor was she an excessively clean person, but Charlie was right; the last thing either she or Angela needed was to get sick. Turning on the hot water in the sink and letting it run for a few minutes, she placed a small blue bucket beneath the steaming flow and poured a capful of the antibacterial floor and kitchen cleaner into the water. It was little more than a mindless exercise, but it kept her too busy to think about everything that was going on.

Turning off the water when the bucket was half filled, she narrowed her eyes as she looked at the oven. If she was going to clean, she may as well clean everything. Stepping over to the cold appliance, she opened the oven door and grimaced at the sight. Shaking her head against the thought that she really shouldn't let Charlie cook anymore, even if it was just a frozen pizza, she removed the oven racks and set them aside before returning to the sink for the can of EasyOff that rested in the cabinet below. Covering her mouth with her elbow, she still found herself coughing more than once as she sprayed the foaming cleaner into the oven and left the door open so that it could work.

"Ugh," Bella groaned at the smell and harsh fumes of the caustic spray. "How old is this stuff?" she asked herself and looked at the bottom of the aluminum can.

The date on the bottom of the can was three years old and she shook her head. Hoping that the cleaning agent would work without either making her sick or damaging the oven, Bella rolled her eyes and put the can back under the sink while making a mental note to pick up a new one. Dipping a two-sided sponge into the bucket of soapy water, she squeezed the excess water from the sponge and used it, scrubby side down, on the stove top. She was the one who usually cooked the meals, and while the stove didn't have that many spot on it, she didn't stop cleaning it until the white surface gleamed. The only thought in her mind as she detail cleaned the kitchen was that she couldn't let Angela get sick.

Bella shook her head as she cleared the counter and rinsed the sponge in the soapy water before scrubbing the wood laminate surface. Angela wasn't just her friend, she was also her responsibility. Edward and the rest of his family had entrusted her to take care of the girl and she wasn't going to let them down. Shaking her head against the feeling of vertigo, Bella dropped the sponge in the sink and reached out for the soft cotton towel that she had been using to dry the cleaned countertops. She was achingly tired, but it was difficult if not almost impossible to sleep. Breathing heavily as she leaned forward to rest her forehead against her hands folded on the counter, Bella felt her eyes stinging once again as her head began to pound.

"Don't do this, don't cry" she whispered to herself. "You're fine, don't cry, you're fine."

Taking in a shaking breath, she stood up and left the towel on the counter as she moved out into the living room. It was the cleaning products, she told herself, that's why her eyes stung. She just needed a few minutes away from the chemicals and she would be fine. She shook her head, feeling the mix of anger and frustration once more. She was supposed to be at school in half an hour, but Charlie had called both her and Angela in. He couldn't keep doing this, she thought, finding herself suddenly angry at her father's efforts to care for them. She could handle school and Angela…Angela seemed to do better when she had the class work to be distracted with.

Looking up at the sound of someone on the stairs, Bella turned toward Angela and watched as her friend slowly made her way down to the living room. She was dressed, her hair brushed, but not styled and Bella realized that Angela was expecting to go to school. Stepping up to keep her from going toward the front door, Bella told her that they had been called in by Charlie. There was no reaction from the girl, no indication that she had understood what she had been told and Bella felt her eyes sting once again with the threat of tears. Her friend who had been gentle and engaging, vibrant even under the loving care of the Cullens, was little more than a shell of herself and Bella felt her heart break. If she had been a little more careful, watched what she was doing a little bit more then maybe she wouldn't have cut herself.

Guiding Angela over to sit on the couch, Bella looked at her and hoped that she would be alert enough to the world around her to eat something. She didn't know what to say, had no idea what Angela heard and what she didn't, but she talked to her friend as she walked back into the kitchen to find her something to eat. Washing her hands to be certain that there were no traces of the chemicals she had been using on them, she poured Angela a half glass of juice and made her cinnamon toast. The scent of the food was nauseating to Bella, but she ignored her own twisting stomach in the hopes that Angela would eat it. Returning to the living room with the food and drink in hand, she found that Angela was absent from the couch and began to panic at the sight of the open front door, only to quickly calm when she heard a familiar voice guiding her friend back inside.

"No offense, Bella, but you two look terrible," Jacob said and Bella nearly sobbed at the welcomed sight of her friend. "What's going on?" he asked her as he watched her set the plate and glass on the coffee table as he shut the front door.

Bella opened and closed her mouth a few times, unable to find the words to speak and feeling at once both saved by the familiar sight of her friend, but damned by the inability to be completely truthful about what had happened. He didn't know about vampires and it wasn't a secret she could share with anyone. Shaking her head when she felt her throat tighten to a point that she knew speaking would be impossible, she felt the tears she had been fighting since she woke fill her eyes only to fall down her cheeks.

Jacob looked up from Angela, moving quickly to Bella the second he saw her tears and engulfing her in his arms. His friend was frail, her delicate frame all the more noticeable due to her loss in weight, and the corded muscles that he had developed over the summer made him feel as though he were a giant when he held her. She was crying silently, her tears soaking through his light shirt as she trembled in his arms. She wasn't making a sound, except for the soft gasping broken breaths that she drew in every few seconds. He tried to soothe her, petted her hair and held her tightly, but felt at a loss to know what to do. All Billy had told him was that Charlie had asked if he could keep Bella and Angela company and make sure they were alright as he had kept them home from school. Charlie had never mentioned them being in this fragile state, at least Billy hadn't said anything to him about it.

"It'll be alright, Bella," Jacob said softly as he smoothed his hand down over her hair. "Whatever it is, whatever is happening, we'll fix it."

Bella pulled away a few moments later, wiping her eyes. Her cheeks were flushed, but he couldn't decide if the color was from her tears or embarrassment. She mumbled an apology for falling apart on him and he shook his head. He followed her when she stepped into the kitchen, but only after locking the front door and setting one of the backpacks in front of it first. If Angela made another attempt to leave the house then hopefully they would hear her move the bag or turn the lock. He sat at the table while he watched her resume her task of cleaning the counters, carefully drying each surface after she scrubbed and rinsed it down.

"What's happening, Bella?" he asked her as he grimaced at the too strong smell of the oven cleaner.

"What did Charlie tell your dad?" she asked him needing to know how much of the situation he was aware of.

"Not much at all really. He said that Charlie asked for you two to have some company and that neither of you were feeling well. Angela looks to still be in that same condition as she was a couple weeks ago when Sam found her in the woods. The Cullens are gone, but I thought they adopted her," he said and watched her stiffen.

"They did adopt her, sort of," Bella said quietly, Jacob hearing her perfectly though she kept her back turned to him. "Did Charlie ever tell your dad that Angela has migraines or that she's been – well, still is – the target of a stalker?" she asked as she turned halfway to face him, her hand still clutching the sponge on the counter behind her.

"No," Jacob said after a few moments of silence, his dark brows furrowed as he swept his long hair over his shoulder. "None of it."

Bella released a heavy trembling sigh and nodded before turning back to her task at hand. She began slowly, hesitantly as she told Jake of the incident that had made the Cullens take Angela in, the sickness that had been forced upon her. She told him of the stalker that Angela had been receiving notes and flowers from that turned out to not only be a man posing as a substitute teacher, but who was also a serial killer. She went on to describe the migraines that she had witnessed Angela experience and told him that Carlisle was in New York working with a neurologist who was studying other patients with migraines similar to Angela's in an effort to help her with the pain.

"Ok," Jacob said when Bella grew quiet. "That explains her condition, what about yours?" he asked her slowly.

"It's a little more complicated," Bella said and shook her head. "I can't…I can't really talk about it," she denied him as she emptied the bucket of cold soapy water into the sink only to rinse it twice and refill it with hot water before carrying it over to the oven.

"Gloves, Bella," he said and moved quickly to pick up the yellow rubber gloves from the edge of the sink. "From the smell of that stuff, you don't want your bare hands anywhere near it," he said as he handed her the kitchen gloves.

"Thanks," Bella said as she put them on and coughed when she breathed in deeply. "Ugh, that stuff is terrible, but I left it on long enough that it should've cleaned Charlie's attempt at cooking from the bottom of the oven."

Jacob laughed. "Yeah, dad's the same way. He can cook over a campfire, but he can't do anything in the oven. When I was a kid, he used to make grilled fish and chicken all the time outside and would tell me that it tasted better over an open flame. When I was ten and he tried to make me a oven roasted chicken, he not only turned the oven on too high, but he forgot to set the timer. It was not a good sight."

Bella chuckled as she scrubbed out the oven. The water was black by the time she was done, but the dark interior of the oven was smooth and shining. Reaching up for the towel on the counter without standing from her crouched position, she wiped the excess moisture from the bottom of the appliance and closed the door. She tried to stand, her head spinning and her vision out of focus as she gripped the counter. She thought she felt herself fall only to open her eyes and find herself sitting at the table while Jake poured the dirty water down the sink.

"You ok?" he asked her and she nodded slowly. "You passed out; you were out for a couple of minutes there."

"I did?" Bella asked and brought a hand to her face to find that her gloves had been removed.

"Yeah, you scared me," he told her as he set the bucket upside down in the sink to dry. "How long has it been since you've eaten?" he asked her as he stepped up to the table and pulled a chair near her as he sat down.

Bella shook her head. "It's not that I'm not eating, stuff just won't stay down."

"Stress, or are you…" he let his voice trail off as his question hung in the air.

"Am I what?" she asked only for her eyes to widen when she understood his unfinished question. "God, no, Jake," she told him. "Edward and I, we haven't…that's not an issue," she told him awkwardly with a shake of her head. "No, just…just stress," she said with a sigh as she calmed. "What's with you?" she asked as she studied him. "I swear you're twice the size that you were the last time I saw you."

"Just filling out," he grinned at her. "Things are weird," he confessed to her as he helped her up from the table and walked with her tucked under his arm as he led her to the living room. "Sam keeps looking at me like he's waiting for me to join his little band of followers. Quill and Embry have been following him around like puppies, so has Seth for that matter and I don't remember any of them being particularly fond of or close to Sam before."

"Life comes with surprises," she said with a shake of her head.

"You want to go back to sleep, don't you?" he asked her when he saw her eyes droop. "I can watch out for Angela," he told her and nodded to the stairs. "Go on, go lay down before you fall down. We'll be fine."

"Are you sure?" Bella asked as she looked back at her friend sitting on the couch.

"I'm sure," Jake promised her as he led her to the stairs. "Go on."

He watched Bella ascend the stairs slowly, her steps lethargic and precarious at times. He waited until he heard her bedroom door close before turning his eyes on Angela. She wasn't sleeping, but she wasn't moving either. She didn't seem to be aware of anything around her and it worried him. He had never seen anyone in a depressive state like hers and wasn't entirely certain what to do. Moving over to sit next to her on the couch, he put his arm along the back of the couch, surprise registering on his face when she tucked herself against his side.

"Well," he said slowly as he wrapped his arm around her. "At least you're aware of some things."

Not knowing what else to do, he began to tell her stories of his tribe, legends that his father had told him. Angela pulled back a few times, seeming to him to be repositioning herself, but it was his body heat that made her uncertain. His warmth had brought her out of the fog of her sorrow, her mind somewhat more alert though she remained quiet and still against him. He was hot, his skin almost burning to the touch where her family was cold as ice. She missed the cool marble skin and though his skin felt like fire, there was something comforting about him too. Something about the body she was curled against reminded her of Seth, though she found the boy's bear-sized wolf form to be somehow more soothing than his human form. Her eyes fell closed slowly, sleep pulling at her brain as she felt caught between the desire to see Marcus and her want to see Seth. She didn't understand why she found them, and now Jacob, to be more comforting to her than she did Charlie.

Looking down when he felt Angela grow heavy against his side, Jacob found her to be asleep. She and Bella were both so thin that it was frightening. He knew that to anyone else they probably just looked a little thinner than normal, but he had been seeing subtle details more clearly lately, his eyesight and hearing becoming sharper and far more sensitive than he could ever remember. He didn't understand what was happening to him, but he didn't think he was getting sick; the elevated body temperature just seemed to be part of all the other changes. He only hoped that it would all make sense to him soon.

**:::::**

Carlisle carried the MRI through the house with him as he walked toward the library to retrieve the newest fax that had finished printing. Holding the film up to the light as he studied it, he nearly ran into Marcus as he passed through the doorway. His friend looked at him, a dark brow lifted in question, his shoulder length hair pulled back at the nape of his neck.

"I didn't hear you come in," Carlisle told him in apology as he lowered his hand holding the MRI and walked to the fax machine.

"I've been here almost an hour now, my friend," Marcus told him as he watched the blond vampire retrieve the document. "Thank you for opening your home to me," he said sincerely as he watched Carlisle gather the papers. "I can't say that I'm surprised to see you still practicing medicine. You have greater control than any other vampire I've met."

"It takes practice," Carlisle said with a nod. "We didn't get to speak much before you left last night to hunt. I regret that I must ask you," he began only for Marcus to finish his thought.

"If there is more than just I of the Volturi in New York? No," he answered easily. "I am alone."

Carlisle nodded and bid Marcus to join him as he walked back to his office. He was silent as he led the way across the house and set the medical film and papers down before moving to the cold fireplace. Placing a few cedar logs within the stone hearth, he placed the starter log on top and struck a match, lighting the wood and tossing the long matchstick into the flames.

"Keeping up with human customs?" Marcus asked curiously as he stared at the red-orange flames.

"I find it soothing," he answered as he motioned to the wing back arm chairs that sat in front of the fireplace. "Please, join me," he said as he sat down. "You're different than I remember," Carlisle observed as he studied Marcus. "You seem…alive."

Giving a soft snort of amusement, Marcus nodded and chuckled softly. "Yes, I suppose I am," he answered. "You however, seem greatly troubled. Does my presence disturb you?"

"I believe that worried, would be a more apt description," Carlisle answered cautiously.

Marcus studied Carlisle for a moment, remaining silent as he looked over the friend he had not seen in a little more than two hundred years. He was pleased to find that Carlisle had not only survived, but seemed to be doing quite well for himself. He knew that his friend still maintained his diet of animal blood, his conversation with Angela concerning the color of her family's eyes having told him as much. To know that he had continued to practice medicine as well was somehow comforting.

"I will answer any questions that you have," Marcus said slowly. "If first you answer one for me." He waited for Carlisle to nod his agreement before he continued. "Though this is not the question I wish to ask you, I need to know if you are aware of the communication that has taken place between Angela and myself."

"I am," Carlisle nodded slowly and breathed in deeply of the warm cedar scent filling the air.

"Roughly a month ago," Marcus continued with worry and displeasure furrowing his brow. "Angela appeared to me. I could see her and I could hear and even touch her, but she did not seem aware of my presence. For the few moments that I was with her, she spoke of maltreatment she had suffered as a child. She spoke of falling asleep during a test taken in Washington. As her scent is nowhere in this home, I must assume that you are here alone. How extensive was her abuse?"

Carlisle sighed sadly and looked away from Marcus, staring at the dancing flames as he thought best of how to answer the man's question. Pursing his lips as he took in a deep steadying breath, Carlisle turned his head to meet Marcus' gaze once more. He spoke slowly, his voice low and full of the anguish of a worried parent as he relayed to his friend the story of the memories Angela had revealed to his family. He knew that what she had told them was not the extent of what she had been through, but only a scattering of some of her worst memories. He watched his friend's reactions, the ancient man remaining silent and expressionless as he was informed of the human girl's abuse suffered at the hands of her human parents, though he could see the anger flaring in his crimson orbs.

"Where is she now?" Marcus asked once Carlisle had completed his tale.

"In Forks, Washington. She is staying with a friend at the moment," Carlisle said hesitantly as he stood and stoked the fire. "Marcus, in what capacity are you here?"

"You have nothing to fear from me," his friend assured him. "I am here to visit Angela, to help her in any way that I can. I am no threat to you, nor do I come here as a member of the Volturi. I am here as a friend, Carlisle. Your friend and hers. Tell me, it is more than just you, is it not?" he asked "How large is your family, my friend?"

"It grew from nothing," Carlisle said as he reclaimed his seat before the fire, "into a large family seemingly overnight," he chuckled.

He told Marcus of how he met Edward and each member of his family to follow. He spoke of each of his children in turn, his pride of their growth and character palpable. Jasper's story was the most humbling, while it was Edward's who filled him with the greatest mix of pleasure and sorrow. Edward had been the first, his son bringing him companionship and an end to his loneliness. Marcus listened with interest as he told of their histories, the pivotal moments that brought each one into his life. He stopped though, hesitating when he came to their most recent return to Forks only three years prior.

"Carlisle," Marcus looked upon his friend with sincerity. "I assure you that I am not here in any official capacity, nor do I know when I will return to Volterra. Your family has nothing to fear from me."

Nodding as he took in air to speak, Carlisle's voice was hesitant as he began the story of how Bella met Edward. He was certain to make it clear in his telling that Edward had not spoken of their secret, but only confirmed what Bella had been able to deduce herself. He waited for a brief moment, the room silent save the crackling of the fireplace as he looked down at his hands before meeting his friend's gaze once more. He told of the encounter with James, Victoria and Laurent, the threat they posed and what had happened to Bella. Though his regret for the life lost was apparent in his words, he spoke of the actions taken by his family to end the threat James had made after they had come across the vampire and his human daughter in the ballet studio.

"He had the strength to stop?" Marcus asked with wide eyes. "I have never known anyone with that kind of strength before. Even you," he shook his head as he looked at Carlisle. "You spoke of spitting out the blood after every bite upon those you turned, you have never ingested human blood, but Edward drank of her, removed the venom and found the will to stop. It is unheard of."

"He loves her," Carlisle said simply. "She will be one of us, Alice has seen it, but it is not yet her time."

"And Angela?" Marcus asked and watched as both sorrow and anger filled his friend's eyes as he clenched his jaw. "What haven't you told me about her?" he asked Carlisle.

Looking down at his hands as he thought best of how to explain the situation, Carlisle shook his head slightly and met Marcus' gaze once more.

"Angela is being hunted," he said, his steady tone darkened with worry and displeasure.

Carlisle began slowly, watching as anger tightened his friend's face as he told him first of the discovery of Angela's stalker and took him slowly through everything that had happened in the past several months. Though the dark haired man remained seated and outwardly calm, Carlisle watched his right hand tighten into a fist as his crimson eyes began to take on the quiet rage of bloodlust. He told Marcus that he had sent two of his children out to track the man and make certain that he was taken to the human authorities only to find that it seemed as though one of the FBI agents was somehow helping the man escape capture.

"You did not issue a kill order?" Marcus questioned Carlisle's decision.

"No," Carlisle said as he held Marcus' challenging gaze. "Not only because I find such an action abhorrent, but also because I believe it may draw undue attention on our family. Angela is the most recent to be attacked, if he were to turn up dead…"

"Your family would be the first the human authorities questioned," Marcus finished for him with a sigh. "I understand your caution. How many lives has he taken?"

"Twenty-three," Carlisle said. "Always in the same manner, always dressing them the same and leaving them to be found by either the police or the victim's family. He is a far greater evil than any of our kind."

"Yes," Marcus agreed. "Carlisle," he began slowly. "You must know that I have come all this way to see Angela."

"I do," he nodded. "I will be returning home shortly, if you would be willing to wait and accompany me."

Marcus nodded silently before turning to look at the films held on the lighted board behind Carlisle's desk. He stood smoothly, stepping over to the desk as Carlisle followed behind him.

"Explain this to me," he requested. "Angela made mention only once of suffering migraines, but never to what extent."

Carlisle began slowly, watching Marcus as he began to describe the ailment his human daughter suffered. He described the pain she was in, going back over any medical or scientific words that his friend appeared ignorant to and describing them in layman terms. He spoke of the severity of the migraines, how the worst ones had made her pass out and informed his friend of the medical study taking place there in New York. Even though he was certain Marcus understood, he told his friend why he hadn't changed her and why it would be unwise to make her one of their kind before she graduated high school. He watched Marcus nod, the man's interest growing as he held one of the medical films up to the light and studied it.

"It is an amazing thing to see inside a human body without having to open it up to do so," Marcus commented as he stared at the brain MRI.

"Yes, it is," Carlisle smiled. "Medical knowledge and techniques have advanced greatly since the beginning days of bloodletting with leeches, but there is always more to learn."

"It still amazes me that with your constant work with medicine that you have never once desired to drink human blood," he commented as he handed Carlisle the film.

"I've always known who I wanted to be. I have only ever wanted to help people. Even in the beginning, in the very first days and months after I was changed I knew that I didn't want to feed on humans. It took time and practice, but human blood is not a temptation for me," he said as he gathered the papers and reports into much neater and more organized stacks on his desk.

"And my diet," Marcus asked Carlisle as he looked at his friend with curiosity. "Would you ask that I change it while I stay with you?"

"That is a choice that you must make on your own," Carlisle told him. "Were you to make yourself a permanent part of our coven, I would ask that you consider it as we do live very closely with humans and feeding on animal blood makes that easier. The transition is not without difficult, but it does offer us a greater sense of peace and strengthens our ability to love instead of feeling the need to dominate."

Marcus nodded quietly. "_Stregone Benifico_."

Carlisle chuckled. "I haven't been called that in a very long time."

"It still holds true," Marcus grinned. "And now, not only for yourself, but for your family as well. I find that I am looking forward to meeting them all."

Carlisle nodded and smiled before removing his buzzing phone from his pocket. He smiled at the sight of Alice's text. It seemed that his old friend no longer worried her, but instead seemed to be making the future a little bit brighter. He doubted that Marcus would become a permanent part of his family, but for however long his friend decided to stay, he would be welcome among them. Tucking the device back into his pocket, he found his friend to be looking at him, but his gaze was such that he knew the man was distracted by his own thoughts. Though he knew that Marcus was more alive now than he had been in centuries, he was doubtful that the man's pain had been completely abated. He only wished that Angela's innate ability to heal allowed Marcus to find true peace after all this time, his friend deserved to be happy.

"Am I keeping you from something?" Marcus asked, his voice breaking Carlisle from his thoughts.

"Not today, no," Carlisle chuckled at himself. "I found myself lost in thought is all."

"Tell me about the work you are doing here," Marcus requested. "Do you believe it will help Angela?"

"I honestly don't know," Carlisle sighed as he looked back at his desk. "At this point, I am beginning to feel as though hope is the only thing guiding me. Her migraines are growing more severe with each passing day, and it is still several months before I could change her without having her absence incite a federal investigation among the human authorities. I am beginning to see time as an enemy."

Marcus nodded quietly. "What is it that you used to tell me back when you lived with us in Volterra?" he said as he looked at Carlisle. "Ah, yes. '_Have faith, my friend, never lose hope_.'"


	42. Chapter 40

Chapter 40

A soft whine and a low breathy woof was all it took, the sounds barely loud enough to be heard. He watched her head turn, the girl's dark eyes full of sorrow and regret even as they remained somehow vacant. Leaves and twigs were mashed into the pliant damp earth beneath his massive paws, his light sandy brown fur, tinted with lines of darker almost black coloring, made him stand out amongst the browns, greens and reds that decorated the edge of the forest surrounding the Swan home. She walked toward him, her feet bare, her body clad in a pair of yoga pants and a loose fitting cotton shirt. He stood tall, his shoulder coming to the top of her head as he waited for her to approach him.

Seth remained quiet, being careful not to alert anyone else to his presence as he watched Angela walk through the night. Her breath misted heavily in the air around her, the cold night making her warmer exhalations appear as a dense fog. No one else was awake in the house, all the lights turned off, and he wondered if Angela had closed the door this time. His tail moved slowly, the bushy length wagging gently as she stepped closer to him. He backed up slowly, leading her to an area where he would be able to lie down comfortably in this large form and where the ground would also be soft enough to provide her some comfort. He felt the soft tug as her hand fisted gently in the fur in the middle of his back and he woofed softly to let her know that he had stopped moving.

Bowing his head down, he nudged her gently with the flat top of his muzzle against her torso. Her hand fell from his fur with a lethargic grace and she stepped back slightly to allow him room. Seth released a deep breath, the warmer air puffing around his muzzle like smoke as he stared at her for a short moment. She needed a friend. Right now more than anything else, she just needed someone who wouldn't judge and wouldn't ask anything of her. Turning back to his task at hand, he walked in a slow tight circle, his paws pressing deeply into the cushioning earth as he made a soft bed for them. Turning a few more times, he laid down and looked up at her, his tail thumping against the ground gently.

Angela took in a shuddering breath, tears stinging behind her eyes as she stepped up to the giant wolf's side and sat down, resting her upper body against him. His thick fur was soft, despite its bristly appearance and she took comfort in its pillowing warmth as she folded one arm up on his side while her other hand fisted in his sandy brown coat. Her eyes closed as he used his bushy tail as a blanket and laid it across her legs. Turning his head back to her, Seth's pink tongue came out to lick her face once and she gave him a trembling smile as sleep claimed her. The others didn't understand that she wasn't sleepwalking. The simplicity of locks wouldn't stop her from wandering, but at least he could keep her safe at night.

_Seth?_

He lifted his head, turning to look at the golden eyes that were peering at him from the thickness of the forest almost fifty yards away. Uttering a low woof, the sound telling his pack mate that he was welcome to approach, he turned his attention back on the human girl sleeping against his side. He didn't care that she had been adopted by a family of vampires or that one day she would be one of them. They weren't his enemies and neither was she; they were people, just like anyone else.

_Hey, Quil_, Seth greeted his friend and pack brother. _Try and be a bit more quiet, would you? I want her to sleep._

The dark chocolate colored wolf stepped cautiously closer, his face and muzzle a lighter color closer to milk chocolate and it was a running joke among the pack that his coloring as a wolf denoted his sweetness. Quil stilled as he looked down at the human girl curled against Seth's side. Her delicate frame and the way with which her body was folded and hidden against his fur made her look exceedingly fragile and tiny. He leaned closer, craning his neck out as his front legs stretched out to the sides to offer him balance as he lent close to sniff at her. He pulled back quickly, snorting at the lingering traces of the sweet vampire scent that remained upon her skin, growling low and shaking his head. Seth answered him with a quiet growl, his black tipped blonde-brown ears folding halfway back as his lip curled up to reveal a deadly white fang.

_Be quiet! She needs to sleep!_

_Sorry, sorry!_ Quil whined low as he dipped his head. _She smells like vampires. How can you stand to be so close?_

No matter that he was in his wolf form, the look of annoyance was clear on his face and in his thoughts as he stared upon the slightly older wolf. Lifting his head to look up through the canopy of the trees overhead, he saw that it was still several hours before dawn and turned his attention back down to Angela, curling his neck around her as he laid his giant head on the ground beside her, guarding her within the circle made by his massive body.

_What do you want, Quil?_ He asked without moving.

_Sam sent me out to look for you. He's been calling you, didn't you hear him?_ Quil answered as he sat on his haunches and studied the way the younger wolf was folded around the human girl.

_I heard him, but I'm not leaving her until sun up. He must have sent you when I told him that through the telepathy._

Seth knew that Sam didn't like the fact that he could fight against the commands he issued as Alpha of their pack. He knew that the older man thought that he was too young, too impulsive and maybe even too trusting, but he didn't care. There was only one thing that he would ever willingly fight Sam on and that was defending someone that he considered his friend. The only reason that Sam had beckoned his return though, was because Harry had asked him to. Leah still had yet to phase and their father was worried that Seth was getting into trouble when he ran off on his own. His father was still too bigoted against the Cullens for him to tell him of where he was going each night and while he may not have imprinted on Angela, that didn't mean that he would leave her unprotected either.

_I don't get it,_ Quil said as he sat on his haunches before sliding down to lay flat on his belly with head between his paws. _No one can fight Sam's orders, not even Paul. How can you?_

_Really?_ Seth's eyes moved, glancing at his friend without moving his head. _You think I have the owner's manual to this thing? I don't know how it works. Sam hinted that there was something to do with grandpa and that I need to speak with Dad about it, I just haven't had the time between school, patrols and –_

_And acting as a pillow for a human? _Quil joked with a breathy woof.

_Idiot. _Seth rolled his eyes, the end of his tail twitching with his amusement. _Things aren't easy for Angela right now and she tends to wander at night when the others are asleep. I just want to make sure that she stays safe._

Quil snorted, his tail thumping against the ground with amusement before his head lifted at the sound of Sam's howls. The observation of their encounter had allowed Sam to see what he needed to through the wolf telepathy and now he was calling Quil home. Moving smoothly to stand on his feet, Quil stepped close to breathe in Angela's scent again, ignoring the burning sweet scent of the lingering vampires as he captured her natural human scent beneath. Nodding to himself, he tipped his head to Seth, his tail wagging slowly at half mast before he moved away and disappeared into the forest. Seth sighed, able to feel both Sam's displeasure and understanding, while only feeling Paul's anger. Paul hated it that he could fight Sam's orders and didn't understand why he felt so protective of Angela if he hadn't imprinted on her.

Rolling his eyes before closing them, Seth decided to nap lightly for the remainder of the night as he kept watch over Angela. He honestly didn't care whether they understood his reasons or not, but he refused to back down. He moved quickly, lifting his head at the sound of Sam's voice calling to him through the pack telepathy and looked back toward the forest. He didn't have to wait long before the giant black form of his alpha appeared through the thick foliage and stepped toward him slowly. He waited silently for Sam to speak, knowing that whatever Sam had to say, they would need to at least hear each other out.

_Protecting her at night as you are right now is this important to you?_ Sam asked as he stepped close enough to sit next to the younger wolf.

_Yes. I know you all don't understand..._

_Seth,_ Sam cut him off. _I've been reluctant because of her tight relation with the Cullens,_ he said as he looked at the younger wolf. _I suppose Harry's influence hasn't helped much either, but if it's this important to you,_ Sam said as he laid down, curling close to enclose Angela between them, _then I will guard her with you. My problem isn't with you being out here with her, it's with you being out here alone._

_I can take care of myself,_ Seth said as he looked down at Angela when she whimpered in her sleep and nudged her gently with the tip of his cold nose.

_Against an animal, maybe,_ Sam allowed as his dark eyes studied the human girl half-hidden in the thickness of Seth's fur. _But not against either one of the vampires that have been hunting through these parts or a hunter with a gun. We're not the most dangerous things out here and I think you forget that too easily. After she's awake, when we get back to the reservation, you need to talk with Harry about your grandfather. Don't put it off any longer. _

_Ok,_ Seth agreed. _Thank you for understanding._

He wanted to say more, but was silenced as a deep yawn pulled his jaws wide apart, his ears folding flat against his head as his tongue curled up. His teeth snapped together loudly, Sam's chuckles filling his head and he blinked tiredly. Rolling his pitch black eyes and telling the younger wolf to sleep, Sam watched as Seth curled his head back around Angela, tucking her tight against his body as he protected the sleeping girl. He watched Seth's eyes blink slowly a few times before he finally gave into the pull of his growing exhaustion and fell asleep. Seth wasn't willful or defiant for the hell of it, there was always a reason behind his actions and if guarding Angela in this manner was important enough for him to refuse his orders, then Sam would show him his support and try to understand why it meant so much to him.

Sniffing the air and growling low, Sam nudged the side of Seth's neck with his muzzle before standing and moving quickly to the edge of the forest line. He remained in the cover of the trees as he looked out to follow the burning sweet scent of the vampire that was growing closer. He breathed in again, taking in the scent as he listened to Seth's worried questions. Whoever this vampire was, they weren't one of the Cullens and from the lingering traces of human blood in the air, they weren't 'vegetarian' either.

_Stay here,_ Sam commanded Seth. _Guard her and guard the house._

_Sam? Their scent…it's not friendly._

_No, it's not. _He turned his head back to stare at the open backyard of the Swan home before his ears folded back in anger. _Son of a bitch! It's the one with dreads. He's back. Stay here, Seth!_

Sam shot through the forest, running after Laurent as his snarls filled the air. He was supposed to be gone, at least that's what Edward had told him. But as his eyes narrowed when he gave chase, he also remembered that Edward had requested he protect Angela and Bella at all costs, even if it meant killing this dark skinned vampire. Snorting as he stopped short almost three miles from Bella's house, he looked back and looked up into the treetops trying to determine where Laurent had disappeared to. The man was quick, doubling back and twisting around to confuse the leader of the wolf pack. If he was back then it would take more than just himself to take the vampire down. He would need the entire pack. Just when things had seemed to settle down, Sam thought as he raked his claws through the ground.

**:::::**

"Hey, Dad," Seth stepped out of the bathroom, a towel around his lean hips and another drying his short thick hair. "Give me a minute to get dressed and then I need to talk with you, ok?"

"In other words, don't leave for my fishing trip with Charlie yet," the older man said with mock scowl, amusement twisting his lips to the side.

"Right," Seth chuckled. "I'll be right out," he said as he closed his bedroom door behind him.

He appeared a few moments later, barefoot and in a pair of jeans while he struggled into a fitted t-shirt that had been loose on him six months ago. Frowning when the cotton fabric ripped, Seth sighed and pulled it off, leaving himself bare-chested as he moved into the kitchen. Tossing the ruined shirt into the trashcan with a sigh, he looked up to find his father drinking a glass of iced tea at the table. He moved to the fridge, grabbing a can of soda before stepping closer to his father and sitting down across from him at the wooden table.

"I wanted to ask you about grandpa," Seth said as he popped the aluminum top and took a drink of the carbonated beverage. "Sam said there were things I needed to understand. Things you needed to tell me. He called grandpa the - "

"The Peacekeeper," Harry interrupted his son with a nod and heavy sigh. "Yeah, his name was Peter and he was also Ephraim Black's second. The Uley and Lahote men, they have always been the warriors, the defenders of our tribe, but they were never in the actual command structure. Sam was the first to phase, Paul was the second and that's how they formed the pack right now, but…this is going to take awhile. Let me call Charlie and let him know that I'll be late. Go make yourself something to eat while I do that."

Seth nodded, finishing off his can of root beer before moving to the fridge. The flimsy aluminum crushed easily in his hands and he dropped it into the recycling bin as he moved to the cupboard. Taking out a bag of butter rich popcorn, he tore away the cellophane before tossing it into the microwave and leaving it to cook. Moving to the fridge, he gathered another can of root beer and took a wood bowl from the cupboard next to the microwave. Returning to the table with the bowl of popcorn and his can of soda, he waited for his father as the man hung up the phone and returned to the table.

"You didn't have a chance to get to know your grandfather too well," Harry said as he sat down and took a drink of his tea. "But you, Seth, are exactly like him. In fact, he took his wallet from his back pocket and removed an old black and white photo before handing it to his son. "You look just like him, too. He was a good man, kind and fair. He didn't see things the way that I do, in that manner I'm much more like your grandmother. He didn't see a difference between humans, wolves and vampires. Everyone was equal until they proved themselves otherwise; at least that's how he saw it. And if he called someone a friend, it would take an act of god to keep him from protecting that person. He was the one who convinced Ephraim to make the treaty with the Cullens the first time around."

Taking the photo of his grandfather back, he tucked it into his wallet and looked at his son. There was a lot to tell Seth, a lot that his son didn't know and he wondered just how the boy would take the news. Leah didn't hold any of the power his son did, he knew that without having to wait for her to phase so that he could bear witness to it. Leah didn't have that natural calm, the ability to easily center herself and control her emotions the way Seth did. His daughter was also far more like him, disliking the Cullens without ever having met them.

"As legend holds," Harry began again, "at one time, many generations ago, the Black and Clearwater lines were one. According to the stories of our tribe, River Black, wife of the chief almost five hundred years ago, gave birth to twin sons. It is an ancient custom, a forgotten belief of our people that if an infant to one mother dies in childbirth while another mother gives birth to twins, then the second twin will be given to the mother whose infant has died. I understand that in these modern times that custom doesn't make very much sense to you or anyone else and it isn't practiced anymore. But back then it was believed that the soul of the dead child was still trying to find its way to their mother. As the story goes, the Clearwater family at that time was unable to bear a child though they had tried many times and suffered many losses."

Harry paused in his story to look at his son and make certain that the boy was understanding what he was telling him. Seth's eyes were wide, but he nodded his understanding and waited for his father to continue.

"The boys were raised very close together, and eventually when the responsibility of Chief was passed down to the son, he took his brother as his second in command. The children were never told that they were related until many years later when the old Chief was dying. By then they had taken wives and had children of their own. Though the story was passed down through the generations, the brothers chose to live as friends and separate families instead of as brothers. A son has been born to each generation down the line and while the Clearwaters have always chosen to live as friends with the Blacks, the bloodline of the men in our family still runs as true as it did five hundred years ago."

"So you're saying that we're…that I'm…" Seth shook his head. "Is it more than just a story?" he asked confused and Harry chuckled.

"Take it as a story, a legend told by old men, or an ancient truth of our tribe; but know that the reason you are able to stand against Sam when you feel the issue is important enough, is the same reason that Jacob will one day be leader of the wolves." Harry stood from the table and carried his glass to the sink. "I've got to go, the fish are waiting," he said and picked up his fishing gear before heading out the front door.

"I have absolutely no idea whether to believe him or not," Seth said with a disbelieving shake of his head. "Did that make any sense to you, Minnie?" he asked the grey tabby cat as she purred and rubbed herself against his leg.

The cat gave him a purring meow in response before hopping up onto his lap and swiping a piece of the fluffy popcorn from the bowl. Rolling his eyes as the cat jumped to the floor and began batting the weightless food around; he sighed and ate the rest of his snack.

**:::::**

Bella looked up at the clock hanging on the wall at the front of the classroom. It was Friday, and while she was grateful for the coming weekend, she felt impatient for it to begin. Her exhaustion had been growing all day, a headache settling in behind her eyes as the biology teacher carried on his lecture and all she wanted to do was leave. There was still a little more than thirty minutes left to the school day and she wondered if Mr. Neidermeyer would notice if she simply put her head down and slept the rest of the class. He probably would, she thought and rolled her eyes at herself. Angela looked exhausted too and it didn't help either one of them that Mike Newton and Tyler Crowley, the students they had been partnered with for their current lab, were both sick with something and constantly coughing. Leaning away from Mike as he coughed, Bella felt her phone vibrate in her pocket and retrieved the device to look at her new text message.

_My dad and your dad are going fishing this weekend. So, my house or your house?_

Smiling to herself at the sight of Jacob's text, Bella glanced up at the teacher before answering him and telling him that it would be nice to spend time on the reservation. Her phone buzzed once again and she looked down to see a picture of Jacob standing against her red truck in the school parking lot and bit her lips to keep from laughing out loud. He was all ready for them and his enthusiasm made her smile. The bell rang and Bella breathed a sigh of relief as she began packing her supplies away into her backpack.

"So, do you want to?" Mike asked her and Bella frowned in confusion.

"Do I want to what?" she asked as she stood from the padded stool.

"Do you want to go to a movie with me this weekend? I thought we could go see 'Love Spelled Backwards is Love'. Dumb title, I know, but the previews have been pretty good," he said and watched her look at Angela. "You could bring her too, I guess."

"We already have plans for the weekend," she denied his request as she moved over to walk beside Angela. "Thanks though. You should ask Jessica though, I know she's been looking forward to seeing that."

Bella almost growled when Lauren moved to block her path out of the classroom. As much as she tended to hide away from standing up for herself, there was no way that she was going to let that girl have a go at Angela. She moved without thought, tucking Angela behind herself as she stepped forward slightly while still keeping hold of her friend's hand. Asking Lauren to move, only to be laughed at, Bella ground her teeth together and tried to walk past her only to be stopped once again.

"You know it's interesting," Lauren mused. "You can't keep one boy happy and Angela…well, she couldn't keep anyone happy. Chased the Cullens right out of town didn't you, Weber?" she directed at the silent girl.

There was no thought, no foresight into the action that she took. In fact, Bella realized as she looked down at her hand and then at the girl sprawled on the floor, she hadn't even thought of moving to hit Lauren until after the girl was already on the ground. She certainly didn't remember moving at all, but her hand hurt and Lauren's cheek was red so obviously she had. Shaking out her hand to relieve the stinging of her knuckles, Bella led Angela out of the classroom and down the hall. No one had said anything, no one had even seemed to notice and she wasn't about to stop and say anything about the incident. Answering her ringing phone as she opened her locker and took out the necessary items before closing it again, she tucked the device between her ear and shoulder as she packed the items into her schoolbag.

"That was well deserved and I'm only upset that I wasn't able to be there to witness it first hand," Alice's cheerful voice sounded over the line and Bella laughed in spite of the irritation Lauren's words had left her with.

"I apparently thought so," Bella said as she walked down the hallway with Angela. "Don't remember doing it, but my hand certainly hurts enough."

"Yes, well, next time turn your whole body into the punch and it won't hurt so much," Alice responded and Bella rolled her eyes. "How are you two doing?"

"One day at a time," Bella said with a sigh. "About to head out for the weekend with Jake. Angela and I are going to spend some time on the reservation while Charlie goes fishing. He needs a break from everything."

"You're eating more," Alice said with approval. "It shouldn't be too much longer, Bella. I think Jasper's ready to come home soon."

Bella fell silent, feeling the guilt and remorse well up inside her again, the emotions twisting her stomach in knots.

"It wasn't your fault," Alice said, the tone of her voice leaving no room for argument. "It was an accident, Bella. Jasper's going to be making peach cobbler when we come home," she promised Bella with a giggle. "He's going to fatten you both up."

"Yeah, just don't go throwing us in any ovens," Bella joked and listened to Alice giggle. "Hey, I think Angela wants to talk to you," she said with surprise at the way her friend was watching her and glancing at the phone.

"Angela," Alice asked after she heard the phone pass between hands. "Sweetie, can you hear me?"

"Alice?" Angela said slowly, her voice raspy with misuse. "Jasper?"

"Here he is, sweetie," Alice said.

"Baby girl?" Jasper's voice came over the phone a second later and Angela bit her lip as Bella led her to the truck.

"Jasper?"

"Hey, baby girl," he said, his voice sounding infinitely pleased. "I miss you, little one. It won't be too much longer, I promise. Are you still wearing my crest?"

Angela looked down at her right wrist, saddened by the leather wrist cuff's absence. It wouldn't stay on anymore, her arm was thin enough that it had become difficult to wear without it spinning around her wrist all day. She heard Alice's voice in the background, not realizing that she had been projecting the mental images to her vampire sister until Jasper soothed her distress. He told her that he loved her, promised her that he wasn't upset with her for anything and told her that he would be home soon. She listened; her lip caught between her teeth as she remained silent and took comfort from the sound of his voice. School made it difficult to shut herself away inside the mental cocoon, and for once she was grateful as it allowed her to speak to her vampire siblings.

"I tell you what, Angela," Jasper said to her. "How about you work on something for me while you wait for us, ok?"

"Work on what?" she asked slowly, her throat sore from not having spoken in so long.

"Bella?" Jacob asked as he saw the tears in his friend's eyes as she watched Angela. "Are you alright?"

She nodded quietly. "That's the most she's spoken in almost a month," she told her friend. "She's actually fully alert and responsive," Bella said her voice choked with emotion.

"Who's she talking to?" he asked her as he took the backpacks from each girl and put them into the bed of the truck before opening the passenger door for Bella to climb inside.

"Jasper, I think," Bella said and smiled when Angela stepped up to her and handed her back the cell phone. "Hey, how's he doing?" she asked her friend hoping for a response.

Angela nodded quietly, not saying anything, but Bella could see the smile in her friend's eyes. Closing her eyes against the sting of tears, Bella stepped away from the truck and hugged the girl tightly, trying not to cry as she felt like she might. It didn't seem like much to Jacob, but to Bella that little bit of response meant the world. Telling Jacob that she needed to make a call once they got home, she told him that she would pack their bags at the same time.

"You've got your cell phone," he said in confusion. "Is the number at home?"

"No, Angela's laptop is," Bella told him as he drove through the town. "It's a video call," she said when he shook his head.

"Oh," his eyes were wide as he nodded. "That's pretty cool," he said as he turned down the street that Charlie's house was on.

"You ok?" Bella asked as she touched his arm. "Jake you're burning up!"

"I know," he said as he parked the truck and gathered the bags from the back as Bella and Angela climbed out. "I've been hot like this for almost two weeks now, but I feel fine. It doesn't make much sense and dad doesn't seem concerned so maybe it's nothing."

"Are you sure you're up to having us for the weekend?" Bella asked as she unlocked the front door and ushered Angela inside as Jake followed behind her and closed the door.

"I'm fine," Jake laughed. "I'm not dying or anything, I'm just…hot."

"Nice play on words," she chuckled at his grin.

"I thought so," he laughed. "Go get ready."

"Come on, Angela," Bella said and took her friend's hand as she led her up the stairs. "We need to make a call."

**:::::**

"Dr. Ramanajan called me in to assist him to today with a surgery," Carlisle told Marcus as he came down the stairs dressed in light grey slacks and a twilight blue button down shirt. "Feel free to use the computer if you like. The video chat program I use is set to auto-answer for my family though, so if a call rings through don't be surprised if it answers without you prompting it to."

"Carlisle," Marcus said patiently with an amused smile. "I'm certain that I can entertain myself. You have a library full of books to keep me busy with and if nothing else I may be able to learn something from your vast collection of medical texts. Now go," he said and watched Carlisle gather the coat he wore for appearances sake as well as his medical bag.

"Alright," Carlisle said and checked his pockets to make certain he had his phone and keys. "I should be home by eleven."

"Do I look like a child?" Marcus chuckled. "Go."

"I am honored to know this side of you," Carlisle told his friend sincerely before disappearing out the front door.

Marcus shook his head and listened to the sound of the car starting up and pulling out of the driveway. Shaking his head as he looked around the house, he tried to think of what he wanted to do as the last several days had been spent in conversation with his friend. He turned, stepping toward the library only to be stopped by the digital chiming coming from the office behind him. Curious as to the source of the sound he stepped into Carlisle's office and rounded the large desk to look at the computer. He fell gracefully to sit in the high back, leather chair, as the image on the screen robbed him of the ability to speak.

"Angela," he said after a long moment of silence as he stared at the girl on the screen. "Angela, can you hear me?"

"Marcus?" she spoke his name slowly, her voice timid and disbelieving. "Marcus?" she said again as her voice began to shake and tears filled her eyes.

Angela couldn't believe her eyes. What she was seeing, the person whose face was filling the screen of her computer, could it be real? Was Marcus really there? She hadn't seen him in weeks and felt the absence of his presence deeply. He smiled at her, the faint expression soothing and familiar. She reached out to touch the screen, wishing that he was truly with her and not bound by the distance of the computer. She had thought that Bella was calling Carlisle, but instead her friend had somehow called Marcus. She tried to speak, but couldn't get her voice to work and found herself awash with tears instead.

"Oh, little one, don't cry," Marcus tried to soothe her. "You do not look well," he mourned her appearance. "Are you eating?"

No matter how hard she tried to speak, she couldn't and the more she tried to reach him with her voice, the stronger she felt the pull to escape inside her mind to find him in their secret place. The sight of her dear friend soothed her and broke her at the same time and before she realized what was happening, she found herself standing inside their private library, her desire to see him tugging him to her forcefully. He seemed surprised to find himself standing there, but accepted her immediately when she wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his shoulder.

"Shh," Marcus soothed her, petting her hair as he held her. "It's alright, Angela, I'm here."

Her hold was tight; her hands clutching fistfuls of his shirt as she sobbed against him and Marcus kissed her hair as he lifted her into his arms. He carried her over to the sofa, sitting down with her in his lap as he held her tightly and rocked her slowly. Rubbing her back and wincing at the feel of how thin she was, he sighed and turned, lying back on the couch when it became clear that her tears would not be stopping anytime soon. Though he was greatly troubled by her startling loss in weight as well as her distress, he was glad to feel her in his arms once again and held her tightly as she dampened his shirt with her tears.

"I'm here, little one," he promised her. "I'm here."

**:::::**

"Angela, are you ready to…Angela?" Bella's eyes grew wide as she stepped closer to her friend. "No, no not this, not again," Bella said as her breath came too fast for her to take in.

The computer screen was dark; the cord of her laptop somehow having fallen out of the computer, and Angela was sitting in the chair with her eyes closed. Bella shook her shoulder, called her name, tapped her cheek, tried everything but was unable to bring her friend out of the state she was in. She fell to her knees beside the chair, her head shaking as she denied the unresponsive state that her friend was in. She had had Edward to help her the last time this happened and Angela had remained unresponsive and unconscious for four days. She couldn't do this again, she couldn't.

Feeling her stomach twist violently, Bella scrambled to her feet and ran for the bathroom, barely making it to the toilet in time before her stomach emptied itself violently. She didn't hear the footsteps on the stairs or Jacob's voice when he called out to her, but jumped slightly at the feel of his warm hands gathering her hair back from her face and holding it while she vomited. He rubbed her back gently, speaking to her softly as he tried to soothe her upset, tears falling unchecked down her cheeks. It was too much, everything that was happening had just become far too much for her to handle. No matter how hard she tried, nothing seemed to get better and Bella felt as though she were fading away, the sensations of touch, sight and sound fading into nothing but black.

"Bella!" Jacob cried out, catching her as she passed out in his arms.

Thankfully her stomach was no longer demanding to be emptied, but he couldn't rouse her. Reaching up and yanking down on the handle of the toilet, Jacob scooped Bella up into his arms and carried her limp form back into her bedroom. Laying her down on her bed, he gathered a damp washcloth and wiped her face. He turned back to look at Angela only to find her in the same condition that Bella was. What the hell was going on? Why were they like this and why, _damnit_, why was the sweet scent emanating from Angela making him angry?

He could feel himself begin to shake violently, nearly dropping Angela twice as he moved her from the chair at her desk to lie next to Bella on the bed. The room felt suffocating and he knew that if he didn't step outside for at least a moment he would end up breaking something or hurting one of them. He didn't think about the action he took as he stepped closer to the open window, his muscles trembling and the anger coursing through him beginning to make him feel as though his skin was so tight it would tear. He forced the half open window up, the wood breaking in his grip as he perched on the sill before jumping to the ground.

He expected that he might get hurt. A twisted or broken ankle wouldn't be unheard of. What he didn't expect, what he never could have anticipated, was landing on all fours in the form of a giant wolf. As strange and frightening as the new form was it was somehow comforting as well. The same restless energy as before coursed through him, demanding that he run and without thought to the human girls sleeping upstairs or anything else, he fled into the cover of the thick forest.


	43. Chapter 41

Chapter 41

Carlisle looked up from the chart in his hands as he stepped into the open door of the hospital room. Emily Menkis was the name of the patient he had been called in to assist with. She was barely seventeen and had joined the study only a few weeks ago. He had spoken with her only once before, her standing in the medical study as an outpatient limiting the time he was able to see and work with her. He knew her chart better than any of the other patients' simply because it was an almost exact copy of Angela's. Her age when she first experienced a debilitating migraine was nine, though her parents had brought her into her pediatrician at the age of seven when she complained of having a headache for more than three days in a row. Unlike Angela though, her parents doted on her, spoiled her and were as affectionate toward her as he and Esme were to Angela.

He saw her nod as Dr. Ramanajan explained the procedure to her and her parents, though the terms and manner he was using were anything but personable. The man was an excellent surgeon, but he had no idea at all of how to relate to people, to make them feel comfortable or safe. When he began listing off the possible risks, Carlisle's keen sense of hearing pulled him forth when Emily's heartbeat shot up dramatically. Shaking his head and releasing a deep sigh, Carlisle stepped into the room and sat down on the bed beside Emily. He offered her his hand and she took it immediately, her fingers as cold as his, her grip tight and frightened.

"How are you doing, Sweetheart?" Carlisle asked Emily, ignoring the fact that the doctor and her parents had turned to look at them.

"Scared," she said so softly that he was certain the others in the room hadn't heard her speak.

Carlisle nodded. "It's a lot to take in, isn't it?" he said gently and rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand to soothe her. "Having any surgery done can seem frightening," he told her calmly and watched her bite her lip. "But having brain surgery done…well, the only thing that would be more frightening would be heart surgery. What would you like to know?"

She reminded him so much of his own daughter. Though her hair was a gorgeous red, highlighted with golds and strawberry blondes where Angela's was a deep mahogany black-brown, her mannerisms and personality were very similar. Her blue eyes looked up at him, the fear still present even as she began to calm, her heartbeat slowing to a more normal rhythm. A light blush dusted her cheeks and the bridge of her nose as she looked down at their joined hands before meeting his butterscotch eyes once more.

"What's going to happen?" she asked and he could hear Dr. Ramanajan's impatient sigh behind him.

"Well," Carlisle began with a soft comforting smile. "In about thirty minutes, Nurse Jenny will come in here. She's going to inject a little cocktail into your IV tube and the drugs will put you to sleep. You will feel drowsy and relaxed, perhaps even a bit warm, but you will be asleep within a few minutes, five at the most. Then, once we are certain that you are completely sedated and are not experiencing any adverse reaction to the medication, we will take you into OR one. An incision will be made, roughly, right around here," he said and lifted his free hand to the crown of her head, marking a short lateral line in the middle. "How much of the details do you want?" he asked her and watched her take in a deep shaking breath.

"All of it," she requested quietly after a moment and he nodded to her, glancing to the other side of her when her mother sat down next to her hip.

"Your head will be put into a circular vice and small cushioned clamps will tighten here," he touched both of her temples, "here," just behind her ears, "and here," he said touching her forehead. "They will keep your head from moving while the surgery is performed. A clamp will be used to hold your scalp apart and a section of your skull will be removed for the procedure." He rubbed her hand when she took in a trembling breath. "You'll be asleep so you won't feel any of this, but when you wake you will have quite a bit of a headache I would expect," he told her gently, soothing her with his voice and the care he was taking to make her feel safe. "Once your brain has been exposed, we will be inserting a neuroendoscope, do you know what that is?"

She nodded, "I've watched a little bit of Grey's Anatomy," she said with a blush.

"Dreamy or Steamy?" he asked with a wink and she giggled softly as she calmed further. "There will be a monitor right next to your shoulder that will display every move that is happening with the instrument inside your brain. There will also be another camera that records every second of your surgery so that we can review it afterwards."

"Could I watch it?" she asked softly and bit her lip.

"If you would like. I could sit with you and your parents, explain to you what you are seeing and what's happening," he offered her and she nodded. "Doctor," he turned his attention on the man behind him. "Could you please hand me the film?" he requested and accepted the MRI with a nod. "Do you see this small cluster?" he said when he held the film up to the light for her and watched her nod. "This is a still image, magnified roughly fifty times, that was taken last week during the video MRI we performed while you were experiencing a migraine. As near as we can tell, it's this little tangle, no larger than the top of a pin, that's causing you the most pain."

"If it's that small, how can it cause so much pain?" she asked as her eyes remained focused on the film.

"Do you celebrate Christmas?" he asked her and she frowned in confusion when she nodded. "Have you ever had to take a string of lights and turn the bulbs to figure out which one in the series is bad?" again she nodded. "This little cluster is a lot like that, but instead of it turning out the lights it sends out strong pulses of electricity that cause you pain. Now that we've found which bulb is causing the problem…"

"You can remove it," she finished with a slight tone of wonder coloring her voice. "Will I be ok after this? I mean, I-I won't be…it won't damage my brain?" she asked cautiously, stumbling over a few of her words.

"No, there shouldn't be any adverse affects," he soothed her. "The only real risk comes from the area that this cluster is in. There is a possibility that you may forget a few things, but nothing major, if it affects your memory it should only be a slight loss mostly of your short term memories from today. You might notice a difference in your sense of smell, but that risk is very minor as well."

"There could be bleeding," she said thinking over what Dr. Ramanajan had told her.

"There could be," he nodded once, "but every precaution will be taken to ensure your safety. There will be one nurse whose only job will be to monitor your pulse and blood pressure; there will be another one who will keep constant watch over the display for the neuroendoscope to watch for any bleeding as Dr. Ramanajan will be focusing on getting to the nerve cluster. There will be an anesthesiologist who will be constantly monitoring you to make certain that you stay under for the entire procedure. We will be doing everything to maintain your safety and health."

"Can my mom or dad be there?" she asked, her fingers tightening around his hand.

"No, I'm sorry," he told her. "Due to the sensitivity of the surgery, non medical personnel would not be permitted inside the operating room; however they will be able to watch from the observation room above as this is a teaching hospital. If you would like," he said and looked up at the kindly nurse who had grown to be a favorite among all the patients in the study. "I'm certain that Nurse Jenny would be willing to join us and hold your hand while we perform the operation. You wouldn't be able to feel her there, but-"

"Please," Emily interrupted, her voice trembling as she looked between him and the nurse in question.

"Of course," Carlisle nodded. "Are you ready now?" he asked Emily as Nurse Jenny stepped up next to her mother with the prepared syringe.

"Yes," Emily said calmly with a nod. "Thank you, Dr. Cullen."

"Anytime, my dear," he said as he stood from the bed. "Hopefully, in a few hours, you will feel much better. Try not to worry," he told her as he watched her eyes droop. "Go to sleep, little one, it will all be over soon."

He stood next to her, watching as she blinked heavily and listened to her heart slow, her breathing deepening as she fell asleep under the effects of the drugs. He looked up at her parents; saw the gratitude in their eyes even as lines of worry etched both their faces. Telling them that it would be another ten minutes before she was moved into the OR, the time allowing them to monitor her for any adverse affects to the chemical sedation, he promised that they would take the best care of her possible.

"I know that there are always great risks involved with any surgery," Emily's father said as he looked at his daughter before glancing up at Carlisle. "But thank you for making her feel safe and explaining everything to her the way you did. In all the years that we've been taking her to different doctors and hospitals to help her with her migraines, there hasn't been a single doctor who took the kind of time and care that you did. So, thank you. It means a lot."

"You're most welcome," Carlisle assured him and shook his hand. "I must go scrub in now, Jenny you should scrub in with us."

"Of course, doctor," she said, and combed her dark blonde hair back into a ponytail with her fingers, securing it with the band from around her wrist as she followed him and Dr. Ramanajan out of the room.

"I love being a doctor," Dr. Ramanajan said with a shake of his head as he followed Carlisle down the hall, "but I hate dealing with the patients. I don't know how you do it."

"I have seven adopted children," Carlisle chuckled. "Being a parent makes you see things differently."

"Seven?" Nurse Jenny chuckled with wide eyes as she nodded her thanks when he held open the door leading to the operating rooms for her. "You spoil them all, don't you?"

"I have been accused of such, yes," he laughed. "Jenny, while we are in there, you may feel her stir before it registers on her pulse or to the anesthesiologist. Let us know at once if she begins to move her fingers or squeeze your hand."

She nodded and he stepped into the small side room to change into fresh blue scrubs. Stepping out into the preparation room, he nodded his thanks to the nurse who placed the sterile booties around his shoes and took the cloth hat, tying it around his head before reaching for a mask. This surgery was not going to be easy, the risks may be minimal, but the brain was an unpredictable organ. Taking the sterile scrub pouch from the container on the wall, he removed the plastic wrapping and thrust his knee against the sink to turn on the water. His hands were pristinely sterile already, a trait of vampirism as no living organism, bacteria or otherwise could live on his skin.

"Carlisle, I told you on the phone that you would be assisting me, but I need you to perform the surgery if you're able," Dr. Ramanajan said with a sigh.

"I am," Carlisle said slowly. "Why are you not performing it, if you don't mind my asking?" he said as he looked at the Eastern Indian man.

"I've been experiencing numbness in my hands. Three weeks ago it was just my fingertips, but now it's extending up to the knuckles and up almost to the wrist. I'm having a few tests done next week, but until I know what's causing it, I don't trust myself with the instruments. When we first began corresponding I looked you up. According to your record, you've removed a brain tumor from the parietal lobe before. This shouldn't be much different."

"I'm well versed in this procedure. I've reviewed all of the videos from the surgeries that you have done previously on other patients in this study," Carlisle said as a scrub nurse held out the gloves for him and he slipped his hands through the latex.

"I checked up on you," the man told him. "Everyone said that you're the best doctor they've ever worked with and the fastest to learn anything, whether it's a surgical procedure or not. Let's do this."

**:::::**

Carlisle had to remind himself to breathe as he carefully guided the complex instrument into Emily's brain and watched the monitor. Though the action was unnecessary, it made him appear more human while also allowing him to focus on the girl's scent. His three hundred years as a doctor had taught him how to recognize the changing scents in his patients and what those subtle changes meant. All of his preternatural senses were focused solely on the girl lying on the operating table as he moved the instrument slowly and precisely. There was no other doctor with better focus, greater experience or a steadier hand than he.

His lips parted, brushing slightly against the cotton mask as he neared the cluster of nerves and began the delicate process of carefully isolating them in preparation for removal. He carefully clamped one nerve fiber leading into the cluster and breathed in deeply to monitor her scent as he listened to her heartbeat and breathing. Watching the monitor, he waited while he held the clamp in place and a moment later snipped it before cauterizing it. He repeated the process three more times before he was able to remove the cluster.

Removing the neuroendoscope was a slow process and he carefully handed the instrument aside to a surgical nurse as he asked for another instrument. The tool was long and flat, bending into a forty degree angle at the handle for ease of use and he inserted it slowly into the same track he had pulled the neuroendoscope from. He was gentle and infinitely careful as he probed the area of the brain he had cut the cluster from. There were no signs of bleeding, torn tissue or anything that may cause complications. Carefully extracting the tool and setting it aside. He stood back while a surgical nurse delicately irrigated the area before he took the section of skull and replaced it, using pins in the three tiny holes he had made in the bone to hold it in place so that it would remain stationary as it healed.

He checked and rechecked all of his work before carefully laying her separated scalp back in place and carefully stitching the wound. There would be only a tiny white line for a scar, nothing that would be noticeable to anyone except another surgeon. Cutting the final stitch, he nodded to the nurse next to him and looked up at the observation window, offering a comforting nod to the couple standing at the glass. The procedure was done and she was ready to be moved into a post-surgical room as they waited to transfer her to recovery. The surgery itself had taken him ten hours to perform, but he felt far more confident having performed it himself. There should be very minimal to no side effects whatsoever, except for the pain of her migraines to be gone.

He waited for Emily to be wheeled out of the room before he stepped out, followed closely behind by Dr. Ramanajan. The man wanted to say something, Carlisle could tell that easily, but for whatever reason he was remaining silent. Removing his latex gloves and his cotton mask and surgical bonnet, Carlisle stepped over to the sink and began the rigorous process of his post surgical scrub. Once his hands were washed and the paper towels in his hands, he turned intending to speak to the older human man, but nodded to the nurse as she removed the booties from his feet. Thanking her, he dropped the used towels in his hand into the waste bin and followed Dr. Ramanajan into the hall.

"What's on your mind?" he asked when it became clear that the human doctor wouldn't be speaking first.

"Your technique is flawless," the man finally said after a long moment, his admiration clear in his voice. "You have a steadier hand than anyone I've ever worked with. How would you feel about moving your family to New York and continuing your practice here? I'm sure that we can offer you far more money than you're making back in Washington. You'd be a good addition."

"The offer is flattering," Carlisle said with a soft grin and a nod.

"But?" the man prompted.

"Let's just say that I've grown quite fond of what Forks has to offer both me and my family. Thank you, but my answer is no."

"Well," Dr. Ramanajan said with chagrin, "can't say I didn't try."

**:::::**

Carlisle pulled into the driveway of his Manhattan home with a worried frown marring his brow. The surgery had gone well and he had been able to speak with Emily for a few moments in recovery before he left, but it was Alice's voicemail that was troubling him. Her vision had been unclear save for the fact that she said he needed to return home at once. Something had happened that had worsened Bella's condition dramatically. All he had been able to hear before his phone battery died was that Bella was unconscious and alone. He hadn't realized that he had left his mobile charger in Forks until he had looked for it inside the rental vehicle. He hadn't lived in Manhattan since the early forties and a mint condition vintage Rolls Royce was not the kind of car he could easily drive through the city streets without attracting unwanted attention.

Taking his medical bag from the passenger seat, he stepped out of the car and shut the door before locking it with the remote on the keychain. He needed to speak to Alice to find out what was going on before he could make firm plans to return to Forks. He also had an appointment to watch the video of Emily's surgery with her in eighteen hours, a commitment he didn't feel comfortable breaking. Stepping into the house and shutting the door, he was surprised by just how quiet it seemed to be. Walking through the house, he looked up as he entered his office and stilled at the sight that greeted him.

Marcus was sitting in front of the computer, but his body was completely still and the absent look in his eyes made it clear that the ancient vampire was aware of nothing. Dropping his bag into one of the arm chairs that sat in front of the cold fireplace, Carlisle ghosted to his friend's side and called his name to gain his attention. Marcus remained frozen and unresponsive as Carlisle called out to him and shook his shoulder and without having to be told Carlisle knew that his friend was with Angela. If his human daughter was once again trapped inside the coma that visiting with Marcus left her in and Edward and Esme were away from home, then it meant that Bella was left alone with Angela. He couldn't imagine the affect that her unresponsive state would have on Bella.

His computer rang through with a call, the program answering it immediately and he turned the monitor when Alice's voice sounded. Her expression was heavy with concern, her eyes a darker, burned honey color as she looked at him and implored him to return home at once. She continued speaking before he could interject and informed him that she knew of the appointment that he wished to keep, but that Bella was alone, not even Charlie was with her.

"Where is he?" Carlisle asked his daughter, alarmed that the girls would be left alone in their conditions.

"He's out with Harry Clearwater and Billy Black. They're fishing, but won't be able to return until the middle of next week because of a storm that will wash out the back roads they use to get to the lakes. Bella and Angela were supposed to go to the reservation with Jacob, but they didn't," she told him, her words spoken in a rush due to her worry. "Carlisle, I don't know what happened, but my vision went completely black while I was watching them. One second Bella was sitting Angela down in front of her laptop and the next they were both lying unconscious in her bed. Something is wrong!"

"Marcus is immobile and unresponsive," he told his visionary daughter. "He's with Angela."

"What about Bella?" she shook her head.

"I don't know. Would you be able to make it to Forks before I would?" he asked her as he considered the time it would take him to fly back to Washington and drive from the Seattle airport versus the time it would take her to drive or run.

"I don't know," she shook her head with a sigh. "Neither one of us has made the decision yet. I can't see."

"I'll leave as soon as I'm able," he promised her. "Keep watch over them form me and let me know the moment anything changes."

"I will," she nodded. "Jasper's going to be ready to return in two weeks. We'll be coming home soon," she assured him. "Oh and Carlisle," she watched him as a slow smile spread across her face. "Emily's going to be just fine. The surgery had the desired effect."

"Thank you," he smiled and watched her nod before the screen went black. "Now, my friend," he said turning to Marcus, "I just have to wait for you to come back to me before we can leave."

**:::::**

Seth stepped outside his house, his sister asleep within as he closed the door behind him. Something felt off, wrong and while he couldn't quite put his finger on what that something was, he knew it was bad. His brow furrowed deeper as he pushed into the feeling and tried to understand what it was. The damp packed earth was elastic beneath his feet, the slightly muddy ground cushioning his feet only to act as suction against it with each step he made.

"What is it?" Sam asked with a frown as he jogged over to the younger teen.

"I don't know," Seth said as he looked at the night. "Something just feels…wrong," he shook his head as he looked out into the dark night. "I feel like I'm being drawn somewhere."

"Then follow that feeling and run," Sam told him before phasing into his wolf form. _I'll follow you._

Seth nodded as he felt the vibrations take hold, the energy spiraling up his spine to tingle through his limbs and skull. The energy seemed to explode from within him like a supernova a second before he was standing on all fours. The fur on the back of his neck bristled; his ears folding back instinctively as he growled low before racing for the tree line. He set a punishing pace, his spirit telling him that he needed to hurry. He pressed his paws into the earth, digging deeply with his claws to gain speed as he ran. He didn't see the approach of the other wolf, didn't have time to respond with anything more than a sharp yip as their bodies crashed together violently and they both fell to the ground.

_What the hell?! _Seth looked at the russet colored wolf as he shook himself and scrambled to his feet.

_Seth? Is that you?_

_Jacob?!_ Seth's head turned sharply to look back at Sam before he snarled and shot off into the woods.

If Jacob was there in his wolf form then that meant that Angela and Bella were alone. It was no wonder he had felt that something was wrong. He had seen Bella; he knew that her condition was no better than Angela's and for them to be left alone together while Charlie was out fishing with their fathers meant that they were unprotected. He snarled, barking angrily twice at Sam's voice calling to him through the pack telepathy. Let Sam stay behind with Jacob, but he wasn't going to stop or wait. He pushed himself to run faster, breaking through the trees and brush as he ran.

He could feel Paul, hear his thoughts before the pack's second in command moved in front of him to block his path but he refused to be stopped. Seconds before it looked as though he would collide with the wolf, he pushed hard off the ground and leapt into the air, easily jumping over Paul as though his presence meant nothing. He was smaller than the others, that was true, but he was also the fastest of all the pack so far. There wasn't a single one of them that could beat him in a race and pushing himself as he was, there wasn't a single one that would be able to catch up with him before he arrived at Bella's house.

_Let him go, Paul!_ He heard Sam command through the telepathy, _Seth, I'll meet you at Charlie's later. Wait for me there._

He didn't answer Sam as he continued to run, his ears flat against his head with the effort it took and the fear that pushed him faster. He heard the thundering of another wolf running close behind him, the pounding of his heart almost blocking the sound as he pushed himself to go faster. He wouldn't be slowed down or stopped before he got to the girls; he refused to leave them unprotected. They were in danger, he roared inside his mind. How could the others not see that?

_Seth, Damnit, slow down!_ Quil's voice filled his head. _I'm not here to stop you, Sam sent me to help you! If you don't slow down you're going to make yourself sick!_

_I won't slow down until I'm closer to Charlie's place,_ Seth snarled, his fear overriding his logic. _I'm not even at the boundary line yet!_

He panted, snarled as he neared the cliff edge overlooking the river that divided their territory from the Cullens'. He pushed his feet into the ground, not bothering to stop as he leapt into the air, actively ignoring Quil's urgent voice behind him. His impact with the ground on the other side of the divide was hard and jarring and he whimpered sharply in pain as he continued to run despite the burning pain in his right front paw and shoulder.

_You're hurt!_ Quil yelled at him, a moaning bark sounding from the wolf as he urged his pack brother to stop. _Seth!_

_I'm not stopping, Quil!_

Seth was breathing harshly, bile beginning to burn in the back of his throat as he kept up his grueling pace. His right shoulder ached terribly, the pain only growing worse as he refused to stop or slow down. He was whimpering constantly in pain, though he was deaf to the sound as mud and leaves were thrown into the air with each racing step he took. He was within one hundred yards of Charlie's house when he finally slowed down, his jaws opened wide as he choked on the air he was having trouble breathing in. He coughed several times, his ribs expanding and contracting almost violently as he sought air to breathe and before he could stop himself, he vomited. He shook his head a moment later, panting harshly as he was finally able to breathe once more and ran unsteadily to the edge of the tree line, limping as his right front leg became increasingly difficult to move.

He phased back to his human form, his left hand gripping his right arm tightly as he jogged up to the house and found the front door unlocked. Stepping inside with Quil close behind him, he jogged up the stairs and followed Bella's and Angela's scents down the hall and into Bella's bedroom. He felt close to passing out, the pace he had set on the run exhausting him beyond anything he had felt before and shook his head to dispel the growing vertigo as he stepped up to the bed. They both looked to only be asleep, but he couldn't get a response from either one of them.

"Sit down," Quil told Seth as he pulled out the desk chair and thrust it at the teen that was only a year younger than himself. "Sam should be here soon."

As soon as he fell into the chair, all the energy he had left seemed to leave him at once and he blinked heavily against the feeling that room was spinning around him. Breathing heavily as he tried to fight against the dizziness engulfing his brain, he blinked quickly as his vision blurred in and out. Time had no meaning to him at all as he tried to regain his focus, his stomach churning as the vertigo only grew stronger. He thought he heard another voice, but wasn't certain as he realized that it was becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish one sound from the next in the deafening roar sounding in his ears. He thought he heard someone call him name, an imposing figure blurring before his eyes seconds before he passed out.

Sam caught Seth as he fell forward and ground his teeth against the desire to growl. Hoisting the unconscious teen up over his shoulder, Sam carried him out of the room in a fireman's carry as he instructed Quil and Jacob to get the girls. In moments Jacob was sitting in the driver's seat of the truck with Bella tucked against his side, Seth pressed against the opposite door and Angela tucked in between. Sam and Quil were in the bed of the truck, and Jacob turned the key in the ignition as he tried once more to wrap his mind around all that had happened in the past four hours. He didn't understand any of it, at least not yet, but he didn't feel afraid of it either. Things certainly were getting interesting.

"Drive us back to Emily's place," Sam commanded, thumping on the roof of the cab to make certain he had Jacob's attention.

"Seth's going to be ravenous when he wakes up," Quil mused aloud and looked at Sam.

"And in a lot of pain. He pushed himself to the point that he couldn't breathe," Sam said with a deep frown. "He's going to be lucky if he isn't sore for the next few days. You said he hurt his arm when you crossed the cliffs?" he asked for more information.

"His right arm," Quil nodded. "By the time we phased back to human form, he couldn't move it at all. He was in a lot of pain, but he wouldn't stop running or slow down. It seems impossible that he could move that fast."

"He's descended from the second son," Sam said though he knew that the others understood less of what Harry had told Seth about his heritage than Seth did. "Unmatched speed, great wisdom, compassion and incredible control are his gifts passed down through his bloodline."

"Oh yeah?" Quil asked though he truly didn't understand what it meant. "Is stubbornness one of his gifts, too?"

Sam laughed; the irritation in Quil's question bringing levity to the moment and he felt the anger lift though his worry remained. No, stubbornness wasn't necessarily a gift so much as it was a curse of The Peacekeeper. In order to stand firm in their beliefs when others refused to understand, the second son – the one who kept the peace between nations, had to be stubborn to a fault. He felt a sense of love and calm infuse his being when saw Emily waiting for them on the porch. Her expression was worried, Paul and Embry standing next to her as she waited for the truck to come to a stop. As soon as it did, she moved toward them and watched as Paul opened the passenger door, catching Seth when he fell out of the cab.

"Be careful with him," Sam commanded Paul. "His right arm is hurt, I'm not sure how severely."

"Lay him down on the couch," Emily said as Paul carried the boy inside. "I've prepared the guest room for them," she said with a nod toward Bella and Angela as Jacob and Sam carried them from the truck.

"Thank you," Sam said as he carried Angela up the wooden steps and stopped to kiss Emily before moving past her into the house.

**:::::**

Carlisle sighed silently with uncertainty and displeasure as he walked down the hallway of the neurosurgery ICU. He carried a black computer bag in one hand and compact disc in a clear plastic case in the other. He didn't like the idea of missing the appointment, especially not considering that he had promised Emily he would be with her and watch the recording of the surgery to better help her understand it. Rounding the corner and continuing down the hall, he hoped that the compromise he had thought of almost an hour ago would suffice. He smiled at the young girl when her eyes found him and stepped into her hospital room when she smiled at him tiredly.

"Dr. Cullen," Emily's voice was tired and somewhat slurred with exhaustion. "I thought we were going to watch the video tomorrow."

"We still are," he told her as he nodded to her parents before sitting down next to her on the bed. "However it will be a bit different than originally planned. I have been called home, my family is need of me," he told her and saw her frown with disappointment. "Now, now," he soothed with a smile. "I will still make our appointment," he promised her.

"How?" Emily asked. "Nurse Jenny said you're from Washington State."

"I am," he affirmed. "This," he held up the disc, "is a copy of your surgery. And this," he brought the rolling bed tray close and lifted the black bag onto the faux wood top. "Is for you." He opened the bag and removed the laptop, bringing it out of sleep mode and watching her eyes widen. "The video communication program that I use is already downloaded on here for you. At the time of our appointment, I will call you, simply answer the call when prompted and the blue light here," he pointed to the slim rounded rectangle next to the webcam, "will alert you that video feed is turned on. We will be able to both see and hear each other. I have a copy of your surgery as well that I will be taking with me. I will answer any questions that you have and talk with you for as long as you like," he promised the girl. "I just won't be able to be with you physically."

"You bought me a computer?" she asked with wide eyes and he could see the surprise on her parents' faces as well.

"I didn't want to miss our appointment," he told her smoothly. "Feel free to keep it if you like or give it to the hospital once you are discharged, whatever you decide the choice is yours to make."

"Dr. Cullen," Emily's father drew his attention. "I don't know how we can thank you for this."

"There's no need to," he told the man. "One of my daughters, Angela, she has the same history of migraines that Emily does," he nodded to the girl in the bed and glanced at her before meeting her father's gaze once more. "I understand the worry and fear that comes along with these migraines better than any of the other medical staff here."

"Is she going to have the surgery, too?" Emily asked him with wide eyes.

"No," Carlisle said with a sigh. "Unfortunately, the source of her migraines is not as easy to identify as yours was," he told her. "In fact, of all the patients here for this study, you were the only one that had an identifiable source. You were very lucky, Emily," he told her kindly. "Hopefully very soon you will no longer need anything stronger than Advil."

"You mean I might not have migraines anymore?" she asked him.

"That's exactly what I mean," he told her and looked up at her parents as well. "This is my card," he said and handed one to Emily and one to her parents. "Feel free to call me if you like. Your migraines should abate completely within the next six to ten months. If they don't, or if you still feel any pain from your surgery," he met Emily's gaze, "call me."

"Thank you, Dr. Cullen," Emily's father shook his hand. "Thank you."

He smiled and nodded before turning to leave the room. He hoped that Emily would feel comfortable enough with the video call, but it was the only option available to him that would allow him to essentially be in two places at once. The only thing he had left to do was either wake Marcus from his unresponsive state or gas up the Rolls and load his ancient friend into it. One way or the other, they would be returning to Forks together post haste. Stepping into the elevator as he pulled his vibrating cell phone from his pocket, he found that he had a new text from Alice.

_Get back to Forks now! I can't see either of them in my vision anymore._

He felt his heart constrict with worry. He didn't know what it meant for Alice to be completely blind, but he wasn't willing to wait and find out either. It would take him roughly an hour to drive back to the house, the evening traffic on the Manhattan highways moving at forty miles if he was lucky. In a city that never sleeps, their traffic seemed to always be maddeningly slow.

**:::::**

Bella woke to the feel of a warm hand brushing her hair out of her face and sat up quickly at the feel of the unfamiliar surroundings. Scrambling back against the headboard, she stared at the dark faced Quileute man with wide eyes. He was gentle, his voice calm as he introduced himself to her as Sam. He told her that she was safe, Jacob asleep on the couch in the living room. She stared at him with a guarded expression as he told her of why she had been brought to his house and that while Jacob may not be around all the time during the weekend, he would be a frequent visitor. Nodding quietly, Bella grimaced at the feel of her mouth and the pressure in her bladder and asked to be shown to the bathroom. Her steps were slow and unsteady as she followed Sam out of the bedroom and down the hall. Frowning at the sight of the two new toothbrushes on the counter, still in their original packaging, she looked back at Sam.

"Jacob said you would want a toothbrush when you woke, but he didn't tell me why," he told her omitting the fact that it took nearly twenty four hours before the wolf telepathy kicked in after a wolf's very first phase. "I'll leave you to it," he said and turned to walk down the hall.

Bella closed herself in the small bathroom and tended to her needs before moving to the sink. She washed her hands and her face before opening the purple toothbrush and running it under the warm water. Applying a generous amount of the mint paste, she scrubbed at her teeth for almost five minutes before deciding that her mouth felt clean enough. She was still exhausted, but knew that she would be unable to sleep and returned to the borrowed bedroom to check on Angela. Her friend moaned softly, moving slowly when Bella shook her arm gently and Bella felt a dizzying sense of relief at the knowledge that Angela was no longer in the unresponsive comatose state.

Brushing her hand over Angela's face as she smoothed her hair back, Bella met her friend's dark eyes when they opened slowly. Her eyes were almost alert, the exhaustion and grief in her eyes chasing away the vacancy that usually filled the dark orbs. She bit her lips against the urge to cry and folded down to hug Angela before helping the girl from the bed. She led her down the hall and into the bathroom, noticing the sunshine that was beginning to cast the window in a warm golden hue. It was morning, they had slept through the night, but at least Angela was awake and responsive. Stepping inside the bathroom, she stood against the door and rubbed her hand tiredly over her face as she waited while Angela tended to her needs, staying with her in case her friend needed any help.

"I think I'm ok," Angela said, her voice barely audible though Bella heard every word. "Bella?"

"I-I'm sorry," Bella choked out, tears falling from her eyes even as she tried to stop them. "You haven't really spoken to me in a little more than a month. I was…I'm ok."

Angela nodded. She really hadn't been certain how much time had passed since her friend's birthday. When she shut down as she had, time lost all meaning to her. Seconds could feel like hours and the reverse was true as well. Following Bella out of the bathroom and back down the hall, they found Emily waiting inside the room, her expression worried but welcoming.

"Boys don't seem to know the first thing about packing, so these are a few of my outfits. I hope they fit you both," she said as she handed over the clothing. "Are either of you hungry?" she asked, unable to keep her eyes from trailing over their too-thin frames.

"Something really light," Bella said. "We're both having trouble keeping food down right now."

"Ok, so no muffins then. I've got some fruit I could slice or toast, would that work?" she asked, moving forward to help Angela change when her arm got caught in her sleeve.

"I think toast is probably the best bet," Bella said with wry grin. "Honestly, it's hard to keep much of anything down, so Angela and I will probably just share a piece."

"That's not very much," Emily hedged, her brow furrowed with worry.

"Believe me, it's better than it has been," Bella sighed.

"I'll take your word on that," Emily said, offering a smile to break the tension. "Your truck's here," she told Bella as she led the girls into the kitchen. "Jacob drove you over here. Since he didn't pack anything for you, I thought you might like to go pick up some clothes."

"Where's, what was his name? Sam?" Bella asked as she looked around at the empty house.

"He went out with the boys for a morning run. They'll be gone awhile," she chuckled. "I'd go with you to your house, but I can't. I do ask that you both come back here though," Emily said as the slice of wheat bread popped up from the toaster and she applied a light smear of butter before handing it to Bella and watching as the girl split it in two. "Are you sure you don't want more than that?"

"Positive," Bella said once she swallowed. "Right now our stomachs are pretty much rejecting anything that isn't water. Flu," she shrugged hoping the woman would arrive at the intended conclusion, but unwilling to tell an outright lie. "We're not contagious or anything, but it's still hard to keep stuff down."

"Been there myself," Emily said with a nod. "The stomach flu that's going around is a nasty thing, it's worse than it was last year."

"Yeah," Bella said and reached out for the keys lying on the counter when she recognized them as being hers. "We'll be back," she promised. "I've driven to Billy's a few times."

"Drive past his house and take a left at the Clearwater place," Emily smiled. "When you leave, you'll find that I'm the last house on this particular dirt road."

Bella chuckled. Nodding to Emily before turning to Angela, she helped her friend up from the chair and walked with her out of the sliding glass door that led to the yard. Rubbing her hand against her forehead as she moved to the passenger side, she paused, her breath catching as a smile formed when she watched Angela open the door and climb in on her own. It seemed as though her friend truly was back. Looking up at the sky and blinking quickly to fight away the sting of tears, Bella opened the driver side door and climbed behind the wheel.

It took her twenty minutes to find her way through the maze of dirt roads and back to the main road of the reservation. Looking over at Angela and making a last minute decision, she took a different route back to the city and turned down a side road. Angela turned her head, looking at Bella silently even as a question furrowed her brow. Telling her friend that she wanted to show her the meadow she and Edward went to, she hoped that the rich grasses thick with wildflowers would bring Angela a bit more peace as she was alert enough now to fully appreciate it.

It didn't take long to reach the turn off, and she followed the quiet road slowing her speed once she caught sight of the twisted tree that marked the entrance of the forest that the meadow sat behind. Parking her truck and turning off the engine, Bella checked her mirrors for traffic before climbing out of the cab and watched as Angela stumbled to the ground. She had forgotten to warn her friend that the ground was lower than it should be and winced when she saw Angela catch herself as she fell.

"It's really pretty," Bella assured her. "I think it will do us both some good."

Leading Angela through the trees and holding up branches as they passed underneath them, Bella led her through the thick foliage. Her smile fell, her excitement fading into sadness as they stepped into the clearing. Her beautiful meadow, always having been a rich emerald green with the wildflowers scattered throughout, was now nothing more than dried, dead grass. She couldn't reconcile the image of the land in front of her with what she had always known it to be.

"Bella, who's that?" Angela gasped.

"Laurent," Bella whispered with wide eyes as she pushed Angela behind her back. "I thought you left," she said to the man as she tried desperately to keep her voice from shaking.

"I came back," he told her, his eyes flicking to the girl behind her. "I went to see the Cullens, but the house was empty," he told her as he stepped forward.

"You must have just missed them," Bella said as she fought against her fear, she refused to let him get Angela. "I'll let them know you stopped by."

"Bella, Bella, Bella," he sing-songed and clucked his tongue before darting forward in a blur only to stop in front of her and caress her face. "The house smelled…abandoned. They have been gone for awhile. None of them are here," he assured her. "Esme doesn't even know I left Alaska."

"Don't!" she shouted with false vibrato as he stepped closer. "Edward will be upset if you do anything to either of us!" she said in a rush.

"I don't think so," he shook his head as he looked at her with patronizing amusement. "In fact, I don't think he will care at all. How could he? He abandoned you here. You are all alone and unprotected. He must not care for you at all. And Victoria…she is very cross with you."

Bella pushed Angela back, making her friend step away as she tried to maneuver them both away from the advancing vampire. His eyes were red, bright red, but he looked…hungry. Her breath was coming in pants, an uncontrolled rush as she tried to keep her panic from taking over. She had to protect Angela. It was her fault they were in this mess and she wasn't about to let Angela get hurt.

"Victoria asked me to find you and bring you back to her," he purred as he lifted a lock of her hair to sniff it. "But I think that I will kill you myself," he mused as he breathed in deeply of her scent. "You are so appetizing and I will make your death swift. Victoria wanted to take her time with you to punish you for what happened to James. I promise," he told her as he stepped closer once more. "You won't feel a thing."

Bella pushed at Angela again, encouraging her friend silently to run, but she didn't move. She heard a cracking sound to her right, a soft rumbling sound like thunder filling the air, but didn't risk taking her eyes off of Laurent to see what it was. One wrong move, one distraction and he could kill her, Angela or both of them and she couldn't let that happen.

"I don't believe it," he whispered and stepped back from her, his eyes cast to the side.

Finally chancing a look, Bella felt her eyes flare wide at the sight of the giant wolves that emerged one by one from the trees. She stared at them, not making a sound as they moved closer. It was an odd thing to realize that she could feel Angela relax completely, even as the sight of the wolves terrified her. A large wolf, his shoulder coming up above her head stepped closer to her the wind rustling his russet colored fur. He turned his massive head toward her, looking at her with large dark eyes and she felt strangely calm, her mind filled with thoughts of Jacob as she stared back at the impossibly large animal. He disappeared a moment later with the rest of the pack, chasing after Laurent and she turned, grabbing Angela's hand as she ran for the edge of the forest at breakneck speed. If they were going to make their escape, it had to be now.

She dropped her keys twice before she was finally able to hold them securely enough to unlock the door and climb inside. Angela was already inside the truck, her friend not having locked her door and Bella's hand shook furiously as she jammed the key into the ignition and turned it. She was panting, almost crying as she turned the key again and again in an effort to get the engine to start. Sobbing with relief when the ancient truck finally rumbled to life, Bella jerked hard on the gear shift and punched down on the gas pedal as she pulled away from the edge of the road. She was breathing harshly, trying to control her rising panic as she glanced at Angela. She was going to tell her friend to call Esme or Alice or someone, only to remember that both of their phones were in her backpack and her backpack was at Charlie's house. They had no way to call anyone until they got to the house and she shook her head. It was still at least an hour's drive back to Charlie's, and it was then she realized how much she had always taken Edward's insane driving for granted as he had always made the trip in twenty minutes or less.

"Bella, who was he?" Angela asked, her voice finally breaking the silence.

"Laurent…" she said as she took in a slow deep breath. "Remember how I told you about James and how he attacked me?" Angela nodded. "Laurent ran with him and Victoria. Let's just say they're not my biggest fans."

"He was going to kill you," Angela said, shaking her head as she tried to understand the situation they had only just managed to escape.

"Yeah, he was."

"Bella," Angela's voice shook, her next words bringing back the sting of tears to her friend's eyes. "I want Papa."

"Me too," Bella rasped as she guided the truck through the side streets and pulled onto the highway. "Me too."

It felt hours later that Bella finally pulled up in front of Charlie's house and parked her truck. Stepping out of the truck, she nearly fell to the ground, so profound was her relief. She walked with Angela up to the house, unlocking the door and stepping inside. She felt lightheaded, weightless and was certain that she would fall down if she didn't sit down soon. She nodded when Angela informed her that she was going to call Carlisle with her computer and barely made it to the couch before she fell when her legs refused to support her any longer. She was out moments later, her depleted system and extended adrenaline rush leaving her unconscious as her body fought to recover from all that had happened in the past ninety minutes.

Angela sat upstairs in front of her laptop, staring at Carlisle's face in the screen as she looked at him with a relieved expression on her face. She spoke to him sparingly, her words few and far between, but smiled when he told her that he would be coming home soon and had someone that he would be bringing with him. She nodded, before frowning deeply and telling him about her encounter with Bella in the woods. She saw his face tighten, watched as his brow furrowed with both concern and anger before smoothing out as he sought to comfort her.

"Were either one of you hurt?" Carlisle asked her intently.

"No," Angela shook her head. "But he kept telling Bella that he was going to kill her," Angela bit her lip and frowned. "He said he would make it quick and told her that someone named Victoria wouldn't."

Carlisle nodded silently, the tight lines between his brows and along his jaw reappearing once more. He told her that he loved her, promised her once again that he would be home soon before ending the call. Angela sat silently for a moment before closing the laptop and walking down the stairs. A large part of her still wished to escape into the nothingness that had surrounded her mind for most of the time since the night of Bella's birthday, but it felt to her that there was almost a block now preventing her from finding that peaceful oblivion. Stepping down the stairs, she found Bella asleep on the couch and pulled the throw blanket from the back of the sofa over her friend. Sitting down in the armchair that Charlie normally occupied, she leaned back against it and was asleep within seconds.


	44. Chapter 42

AN: For those of you trying to nail down the timeline, at the start of this chapter it has been roughly two months since Bella's birthday party. Yes, things are progressing faster timeline wise here than they did in the books, but remember: in the books, Bella fell into a deep depression that was nearly catatonic, in this turn of events, she did not.

Chapter 42

Sam walked out of Emily's house with Jacob at his side. Nodding to him, he watched as Jacob turned and ran for the trees, phasing into his wolf form mid step. His attention turned to the side, his dark eyes coming to rest on the youngest of the pack. Seth's shoulder was still hurt from his run earlier, the late morning patrol and subsequent chase after the dark skinned vampire had only made his pain worse, though he knew the stubborn boy would never admit as much out loud. He sighed deeply with worry as he jogged down the wooden steps and walked through the soft muddy earth toward Seth. The boy had been in so much pain, pushing himself stubbornly through it when Sam thought he should've held back, that once they had returned to Emily's house he had been too exhausted to phase back to his human form before he collapsed.

"Sam."

He looked back over his shoulder at Quil, raising an eyebrow and nodded as he waited for the boy to speak his thoughts.

"He's not going to be happy when he wakes up and finds that Angela's not here. He's really protective of her, Bella too, but…well you know how he's been about Angela," Quil said as his eyes slipped to the side to glance at his friend and pack brother.

"I sent Jacob to watch them," Sam stated needlessly.

"Yeah, I know," he said as he looked at the exhausted heap of fur that was his friend. "The point is, you could be there guarding them yourself and he would still be upset that no one woke him up and told him. We all know that he's not imprinted on her or anything like that, but he's…"

"Fiercely protective of her," Sam finished with a sigh. "Yes, I know." He looked back at the wolf in question before turning his attention back to Quil. "What happened when he jumped over the divide? Do you remember hearing anything? A snap or a crunch?"

"No," Quil shook his head as he thought back over the journey. "I don't think he broke anything, but he was so far ahead of me that I wasn't actually next to him when he landed. I saw him land, heard his cry, but…I wasn't close enough to hear the injury itself. I don't know exactly how he hurt himself, but I do know that when he phased back to his human form, he couldn't move his right arm at all. I figured he was fine, since he went with us on patrol and all, but then I felt his pain."

"I know, we all did," Sam sighed. "We can't take him to a regular doctor and he won't let anyone close enough to look at his arm. I can't believe I'm saying this," he said as he rubbed his forehead, "but I'm actually wishing the Cullens were here if only so that I could take him to Carlisle."

Sam growled as he looked back over his shoulder at Paul. He could feel his anger, the blind bigotry and hatred that they had all been raised with in regards to the Cullens. It was only Seth who seemed to be immune to the prejudice of the elders. Sam shook his head as he moved away from Seth's sleeping form and turned to walk toward Paul and Jared. It was Seth who had quieted his own bigotry, and while he didn't see them the same way the boy did, he was no longer as jaded toward the Cullens as he had been. Vampires were the enemy, but the Cullens were not lumped into the category, at least as long as the treaty remained unbroken.

"Why are we guarding her?" Paul nearly hissed as he fought against his rising temper. "She's practically one of them! It's like protecting a vampire."

"Paul," Sam's voice was edged with steel, his resolve and the authority he held as alpha coloring his words. "She's human, whether or not she's been adopted by the Cullens," he continued, staring at his second in command with a quelling glare when Paul opened his mouth to speak. "She's also Bella's friend and staying with her and Charlie. Regardless of who her family is, she's still human and we will guard her because _I_ say."

"And when they bite her? When they make her into one of them?!" Paul raged, unwilling to see the Cullens as anything other than creatures that needed to be killed.

"She's made her choice, Paul. Whether or not she becomes a vampire is not our business. From the time that they took her into their family, human though she is, she became a Cullen and is protected under the same treaty that protects them."

"You're a fool!" Jared yelled, his own prejudices taking hold, Paul's rage only serving to fuel his. "Look at what she did to Seth!"

"_She, Angela,_ did not do that to Seth, _he_ did. It was his will, his actions, not hers that caused his injuries," Sam growled as he looked at them both. "Go, get out of here. Patrol the borders and take Embry with you."

They were both mad, their glares burning into him as he stared into their eyes and waited for them both to look down or away as they submitted to his leadership. Paul growled, snorting in anger as he slapped the back of his hand against Jared's shoulder before trotting away toward Emily's house. He knew they had the hardest time controlling their tempers, their prejudices stronger than anyone else's simply because of the way that their fathers and grandfathers felt, but Sam also knew that even though they wanted to neither of them would ever be able to defy his orders like Seth could. He had come to accept the fact that Jacob would never take over his rightful place as alpha of the pack, but was beginning to wonder if Seth might. He feared what would happen if Seth asserted his ancient alpha blood over the rest of the pack, would they follow him, or would they attack him?

Turning around, he walked back over to where Seth laid unmoving on the ground. His fur coat was thick with mud and he shook his head. Even in his sleep he was in pain, the soft whimpers sounding in a steady rhythm. Kneeling down next to him when he found Seth's eyes to be partway open, he brushed his hand over the short fur along the flat of his muzzle.

"Can you move at all?" Sam asked and stood quickly, stepping back when Seth fought to get his legs under him. "Stop," he said after a few moments when Seth's unsuccessful tries had only resulted in bringing the boy more pain. "Phase back," he commanded and watched as the wolf closed his eyes.

It took longer than he thought possible, his body aching terribly as his muscles protested the change between his larger wolf form to his smaller human form. He was too tired to care that he was laying in the mud, too tired to move on his own and felt unable to even muster enough energy to protest when Sam picked him up and carried him into Emily's house. He wanted to tell Sam that he was fine, tell him that he could walk on his own, but he knew that he wouldn't be able to if he tried. Short moments later he felt the softness of the couch beneath him as he was laid upon it; his vision too blurred by pain and exhaustion to make out much of his surroundings.

"Will he be alright?" Emily asked as she stepped into the living room, watching as Seth returned to his exhausted slumber.

"I don't know," Sam said quietly as he sat down on the coffee table and stared at the boy. "Sleep should help, but I don't know how bad his injury is or how exactly he injured it. I know what happened to cause it, but not what the actual injury is; he won't let any of us close enough."

"But you just carried him inside," she said with a confused frown as she handed her fiancé a mug of hot tea.

"True," Sam nodded his thanks as he took the fragrant beverage from her with a worried half smile. "But if I were to touch or try to examine his shoulder, he would wake and move away, just like he's done before when anyone's tried to get near it. I should've left him home this morning; I shouldn't have let him patrol with us. He only aggravated it further."

"Jacob called while you were outside," she told him as he rose from the table and followed her into the kitchen. "He said that he couldn't reach you through the pack telepathy. He wanted me to tell you that both Angela and Bella were out cold, sleeping like the dead. He's going to stay with them."

Sam nodded and looked back at the living room. His brows lifted in an expression of surprise when he glanced at the clock only to find that it already been close to an hour since he had brought Seth inside. It was closing in on seven o'clock; the sun was already beginning to set. He hoped that Seth would sleep through the night, but was also fairly certain he wouldn't. The youngest of his pack seemed to have developed a sixth sense for knowing where Angela was and if she was feeling safe. He knew without any doubt that Seth wouldn't leave her alone, even if Jacob was guarding them. He heard a groan from the couch and sighed, shaking his head as he watched the boy in question struggle to a seated position and rub his hand tiredly over his face and across the back of his neck.

"Seth," Sam cautioned as he walked into the living room and reclaimed his seat on the coffee table. "You should go back to sleep, get some more rest."

"Where's Angela?" the boy groaned out around the pain screaming through his muscles as he stood with difficulty. "Her scent's weak, she didn't come back here. Where is she?"

"Jacob's guarding them at Bella's house. She's fine, Seth," he said as he stood to follow the boy as he made his way outside. "Would it make any difference if I ordered you to stay here tonight?" he asked with a heavy sigh.

Turning his head back to look at Sam, Seth raised his brow. Angela was the one and only reason that he ever defied Sam's orders and they both knew it. Shaking his head as he closed his eyes, Sam relented. He could command Seth until he was blue in the face, but they both knew that it would do no good. Seth would follow any other command, any other order, but he wouldn't leave Angela unprotected, even if she was being guarded by someone else.

"At least sleep at some point tonight," Sam said as he walked with Seth out of the house and down the steps to the ground below, night having already darkened the world to a deep blue-black. "Give me that, at least," he said, his voice at once both a request and a command.

Seth nodded tiredly as he made sure that he was a safe enough distance from the house to phase without causing any damage. Movement of any kind hurt. His right shoulder felt stiff and ached terribly when he put any kind of weight on it, but he refused to stay away from Angela and she responded to him far better when he was in his wolf form. Running seemed to be the only thing that didn't make him feel the pain of his injury and though he knew that once he stopped running the pain would return, he also had no intention of leaving Angela unguarded. Blinking heavily against the exhaustion that made his muscles tremble, he phased back into his wolf form, the change both welcomed and hated. He could move faster in this form, regardless of his injury or aching muscles, but it also seemed to make him feel the pain more acutely.

"Be careful," Sam said as he watched Seth move carefully as he readjusted to being in his wolf form. "We don't know how bad your injury is, if it's more than just a pulled or torn muscle."

_I'll be fine_, Seth said as he moved toward the tree line, his movements hampered by his injury before he ground his teeth against the pain and disappeared in a run. Sam shook his head as he watched Seth until he moved out of sight. If he wasn't careful, he would push himself too far, too hard and could possibly do permanent damage, depending on what the injury was. Closing his eyes as he silently prayed for Seth to be safe, he turned back into the house and wrapped his arms around Emily. This night alone with her had been planned for weeks and he knew that he wouldn't get another chance to have some time alone with her for weeks to come. Kissing her as he closed the door and locked it, he let her lead him back to her bedroom.

**:::::**

_You shouldn't be here,_ Jacob said through the wolf telepathy.

He didn't turn his head to look at Seth, keeping his attention focused on the house in front of him instead. The sound of his pack mate's limping steps behind him made him turn his massive russet head back with a sigh as he stared at the younger sandy brown wolf. Seth was still in pain, his right shoulder aching with each step, though he refused to stay away from Angela. Jacob, just as the rest of the pack and even Emily, knew that Seth's attentiveness had nothing at all to do with romantic intentions; rather it was the friendship that he had formed with the human girl. Seth seemed to understand her on a level that no one else did and a very tight near-sibling companionship had been formed between them.

_I'm fine_, Seth denied Jacob's worry. _It's just a little stiff._

_Stiff nothing,_ Jacob said as he issued a groaning bark, the sound a gentle reprimand. _You can barely put any weight on that leg and you're exhausted to the point of collapse. I'm surprised Sam let you come._

_Only because you're already here, besides, it doesn't ache so bad if I run. He knew I wouldn't stay away. I think Emily had something to do with his decision, too. _

_Yeah, and once you've stopped running, you're in pain. _Jacob sighed, rolling his eyes before he turned his massive head to look back up at the soft glow coming from Bella's bedroom window.

_Are they awake?_ Seth asked, his right front leg curled up off the ground, leaving him standing on only three legs.

_I don't think so;_ _they left the front door unlocked. I went in about two hours ago and moved them both to Bella's bed. _Jacob's attention was drawn to the front door as it opened, a curious sighing moan sounding from him as his jaws moved just enough to make him look as though he were talking. _What's she doing?_ He asked as Angela stepped outside in socked feet.

_She does this a lot,_ Seth answered as he stepped forward, grinding his teeth in an effort not to whimper as he forced himself to put weight on his injured leg and move with a normal gait. _Sometimes she just wanders. I think it's hard for her to sleep. She told me once that the Cullens usually held her while she slept and she doesn't have that anymore with them gone._

_Seth! Where are you –_

_It's fine;_ he cut Jacob off as he left the cover of the woods and moved to the edge of the grassy yard as he trekked closer to Angela. _I'll worry about Angela, you take care of Bella._

He trotted to Angela's side, his movements appearing natural even as he ground his teeth against the pain. Nudging the top of his head against her side, he waited until she fisted her hand in his fur. He didn't know where she was going, but he wasn't going to let her go alone. Her eyes were drooping and Seth began to wonder if she wasn't entirely awake as her steps were slower than they normally were. Bending his neck in front of her to bar her movements with his massive head, he looked up at her in question. Her voice wasn't very loud at all, barely more than a whisper, but he heard her spoken desire to go home. Home, he knew, meant the Cullen's place and their house stood well over ten miles from where they were. Nudging her back by turning his head and pressing into her abdomen, he slowly laid down on the ground in front of her and looked up at her before looking back at himself.

"You…you want me to…ride you?" Angela questioned him in confusion and he thumped his tail gently against the ground in response.

He waited patiently as she stepped closer and carefully straddled his back. He closed his eyes, nudging her back a few inches when she sat too close to his shoulders for his comfort, but never once uttered a sound of pain. His pink tongue came out, brushing against her hand once she was settled and he rose slowly, waiting for her to gain her balance on him before he walked away from the road and toward the woods. He stepped back to the edge of the forest next to Jacob, stopping beside his friend and pack mate for a moment.

_She wants to go back to the Cullen's place, so I'm going to take her there. We'll be fine,_ he promised at Jacob's worried thoughts and gave a breathy sound of amusement when Angela reached out and petted Jacob behind his left ear.

_Take care of her,_ Jacob commanded. _If the Cullen's come back…_

_Don't worry,_ Seth chuckled; _I'm pretty good with Esme and Edward. I'll be fine around them._

_I don't understand how you can be so comfortable around them,_ Jacob denied and groaned softly in pleasure when Angela found a particularly itchy spot behind his ear. _Doesn't their scent burn your nose?_

_They're just people, Jake,_ Seth said. _I don't see things as black and white as you and the others do and I probably never will. I don't care what they are or if we're supposed to be natural enemies or not. They're just like everyone else, some people are good and kind, like Carlisle,_ he offered the example, _while some people shouldn't be in this world, like the crazy guy who's after Angela. The 'what' doesn't matter to me, it's who they are that determines whether or not I'll protect them or stand and fight against them._

Jacob snorted, flicking his ears back and shaking his head before Seth moved away. He didn't understand the pup, or how he could see things as easily as he did. To Sam, Paul, Jared, and even some extent to him, vampires were vampires. The only thing that protected the Cullens was the treaty. But to Seth, and he was beginning to believe to Quil and possibly Embry too, form took on shades of grey. If they weren't aggressive and didn't act evil or bad, then Seth didn't care what they were, but if the person attacked someone or sought to do harm for harm's sake, then Seth would act in response. Though he didn't fully understand it, Jacob thought, he could respect it.

_You sure you can handle her like that?_ Jacob asked when he looked back to see that Seth hadn't moved completely out of sight yet.

_Yeah, I've got her,_ Seth said as he continued to stand still, his nose turned to the ground. _I'm just tired. I'm fine,_ he said looking back at Jacob when he could feel his concern and caution through the bonds of pack. _Just take care of Bella._

_Get out of here before I decide not to let you go,_ Jacob said, a growling moan following his words as he moved his jaws in a motion that looked as though he were about to yawn.

Seth nodded, moving deeper into the thickness of the forest as he adjusted to Angela's weight upon him. Shaking his head and giving a soft breathy bark to Angela, he fought against the pain as his slow trot turned into a run and he sped through the trees. He would deal with the pain and exhaustion later; right now he had other things to worry about. He found his vision blurring more than once as he carried Angela across the distance between Charlie's house and the Cullen's place. The closer he moved to the house, the more he reduced his speed until he was barely trotting.

As he came through the edge of the trees, he felt the muscles and joint of his shoulder stiffen to such a point that it denied him use of the limb almost completely. He was blinking heavily, darkness closing in as exhaustion pulled at his brain. He couldn't lie down though, if he stopped moving before he got Angela inside the house then he would fall asleep before ever knowing for certain that she was safe. He tried not to groan, ground his teeth together against the desire to whimper as she slid off his back and moved toward the front doors. He moved to step away when she opened the door, but her voice stopped him. Turning his eyes back on her, he watched the motion she made at him through blurred vision and struggled up the steps and in through the front door with difficulty. He knew that there was absolutely no way he would have enough energy to phase back to his human form.

Every step he took was made with extreme caution. He had no desire to break or damage anything as he followed her through the house. He sat on his haunches, unable to follow her as she moved to the stairs. The path was too narrow and he knew that his shoulder would never survive the trip. He blinked tiredly, watching her as she asked him to wait before she disappeared from his sight completely. She reappeared a few moments later, his eyes barely open as she came back down dressed in different clothes. He couldn't see clearly what they were, but he could smell the burning sweet scent of vampires permeating the cloth. Though he knew that she must be wearing their clothes, he couldn't see what it was as his couldn't get his eyes to focus on anything at all.

"Come on," Angela said, motioning for him to follow her once again.

It was difficult to move, the muscles of his hips and back protesting the movement as he struggled to stand and follow her once more. She led him through the house, into a room that was quite large and open, holding only a piano though there was enough room to have a kind of dance floor if it was wanted. He blinked heavily, falling to lie on the floor with less than his usual grace and waited patiently while she curled up against his side. Laying his bushy tail over her legs, he wrapped his neck around her and let sleep claim him without struggle.

**:::::**

"Oh, it stinks!" Rosalie said as she climbed out of Edward's Volvo, Emmett and Edward following suit behind her. "The wolves have been here."

"Seth has," Edward said as he looked up at their house before shutting his door. "He's still here, he's with Angela."

"Why?" Emmett asked as he followed Edward up to the house, Rosalie hanging back as she growled at the too strong smell of wet dog.

"She's taken to him," Edward chuckled as he stepped inside. "Kind of like she took to you, except," he grinned with amusement. "She seems to like him best in his wolf form."

"He's in our house!" Rosalie hissed, her voice low as she moved to attack the wolf only to be stopped by Edward's grip on her arm.

"He won't hurt her, and if he's here with her, it means that she brought him here," Edward said. "Let Emmett and I handle this, I don't want you causing him to attack or break anything."

"What?" Rosalie shook her head at the last part of his statement.

"Look at the floor, Rose," Emmett said when he saw what had alerted Edward. "There's fur, he's in his wolf form. One swipe of his tail and he could probably break the furniture."

Emmett dropped his travel bag on the couch as he moved ahead of his wife and brother through the house. He wanted to see Angela, he needed to see her and hold his little sister again if only to know that she was safe. Edward had discovered that the FBI Special Agent Redding was indeed helping McGinnis to elude authorities, but what had been more disturbing was to find out that shortly after Edward arrived, the serial killer was no longer in Canada. They hadn't needed to wait for a plane as Edward had driven to them, but they had all hated the fact that they couldn't simply run across the border, having to wait instead for the man at the checkpoint to approve their crossing back onto American soil.

"Now, that's actually kind of cute," Emmett said with a silent chuckle as he looked at Angela, half hidden in the thick fur of Seth's side as his tail and head formed a circle around her. "A girl and her dog," he joked only loud enough for the other members of his family to hear. "Hey, half pint," he greeted, stepping closer when he saw her eyes blink open.

"Em," she moaned his name tiredly and he smiled at her. "Am I asleep?"

"You're not dreaming, if that's what you're asking," he soothed her and reached out to run his hand over her hair. "Damn, half pint, you need to eat."

"Too tired," she denied as she snuggled deeper into her wolf friend and held out her hand to Emmett.

"You want me to lay against him?" he asked her with wide eyes, the familiar motion of her hand being held out telling him that she wanted him to hold her.

"Please," she said, though the word was slurred and barely recognizable.

Emmett snorted, shaking his head as he toed out of his shoes. He took off his jacket; the garment only needed for appearance's sake and stepped cautiously closer. He expected Seth to move or wake, but the wolf never did either. Stepping over the bushy tail, he sat down behind Angela and leaned against Seth as his human sister settled against his chest.

"The things I do for you, half pint," he said with reluctant amusement as he rolled his eyes. "Either one of you takes any pictures and I'll flatten you."

"Too late," Rosalie said as she typed quickly, sending the picture message to Esme. "The moment had to be captured to be believed."

Angela whimpered softly as she burrowed deeper into the familiar coolness of Emmett's stone like body while enjoying the contrasting softness and warmth from her wolf friend they were resting against. Chuckling silently with amusement, Emmett reached out and gently grasped Seth's bushy tail, pulling it further over Angela, the movement serving to cover him as well. Kissing her temple, Emmett promised her that he wasn't going anywhere and encouraged her to sleep. Her hand fisted in his shirt, the gentle tug welcomed and familiar. Tucking her head beneath his chin, Emmett held her close and closed his eyes as he focused on the feel of her in his arms.

The gentle touch of his hand rubbing down her back served two purposes: one, it brought her comfort and two; it allowed him to assess her condition. He could feel her ribs and spine too easily through the thin cotton shirt she was wearing. He knew that she had lost weight before he had left, before Bella's birthday even, as the nightmares that had been plaguing both his human sisters had caused them each to lose weight. He opened his eyes and looked up at Rosalie with sadness and worry filling his dark golden gaze.

"Oh good, you're all safe," Esme's relieved voice sounded as she appeared in the hall outside of the room, a cool breeze following her arrival. "Alice saw you three disappear and…" her voice trailed off as she looked at the floor and began to chuckle with amused affection. "Only my daughter could cause that," she said as she met Emmett's gaze.

"Seth's been sleeping with her like that every night since we've been gone," Edward informed them all as he read Angela's thoughts, "though all the previous times have been in the woods outside Charlie's house."

"Edward," Esme looked at him as she stepped closer to the open doorway.

"Right," he nodded reading his adoptive mother's thought. "I'll be back soon with Bella. I can't imagine that she's in any better condition."

"I want my daughters here where they belong," Esme thought aloud as she looked at Angela.

"And so they will be," Edward promised with a single, slow nod of his head, the gesture almost regal. "You should call Alice and let her know that we're all safe while I get Bella."

"Done," Rosalie said with a smirk and held up her phone. "Full picture evidence."

Emmett narrowed his eyes on his brother's retreating form, able to hear his chuckles, before looking at his wife. She looked at him, her expression one of false innocence and humor. Rolling his eyes, he turned his attention back down on the girl in his arms and kissed her hair. He hated that they had been gone so long and that they had left her the way they had, but they were back now. Even the devil himself wouldn't be able to pull him from Angela's side, Emmett thought as he rested his cheek on her hair, or Bella's. Both of his human sisters would need delicate care, he doubted very much that the past eight weeks had been easy on either of them at all.

Esme stepped closer into the piano room and looked down at the giant sleeping wolf that was currently being used as a pillow by Emmett and Angela. Her son looked absolutely content and peaceful to be holding Angela in his arms once again, though his nose would wrinkle every now and again. Seth was young, and though he was technically a werewolf, the boy reminded her very much of Carlisle. He had made it clear to them that he didn't see any of them as a threat or hold any of the prejudices against her family that the rest of the pack did. In fact, the few interactions she had had with Seth, he was completely at ease with them as though there were no differences at all between them.

Kneeling down next to Seth, she reached out and ran her hand gently over the fur covering his brow and head. Even in this animal form the boy looked absolutely exhausted and she found herself as worried over him as she was over both Angela and Bella. Her brow furrowed as he tilted his head and brought his ear closer to her hand though he remained asleep. She couldn't help wondering just how it was that he had become part of her family, or at least when it was that she began considering him as such. He was a werewolf, and while she had never felt any prejudices toward anyone no matter their species, color or creed; she wondered once more how it was that she had come to have such an eclectic family.

She looked up at Emmett, meeting her son's eyes and returning his lopsided smile with a motherly grin. Angela was tucked under his arm against his side, her human daughter seeking the familiar comfort of her vampire brother's arms while remaining tucked against her wolf friend. She shook her head in bemusement as she looked at Angela. Eleazar had said that the girl would turn their world on its ear, she just wasn't entirely certain what he had meant, but she was beginning to understand. If one frail human girl could amass herself a vampire army without ever trying and find a dear friend in a werewolf, a wolf who felt none of the prejudice for the vampires that were supposed to be his natural enemy, then Esme was beginning to believe that Angela may just be able to do anything.

"She looks thinner than she did before we left," Rosalie said as she looked down on her husband.

"She is," he said sadly and gently shushed Angela when she stirred against him. "I'm right here, half pint, I'm not going anywhere," he soothed her and petted her hair. "I can feel her bones easily."

**:::::**

Edward could hear Jacob's thoughts before he pulled up to Charlie's house. He was worried about Bella, the memory from when he had found her and Angela lying on the couch and the chair playing through his mind on a repeating loop. Edward had to admit that the picture the girls had made wasn't pretty and despite the fact that they had only been sleeping, they did look almost dead. He pulled into the driveway and parked the car. He saw the moonlight reflected off of Jacob's eyes from the edge of the forest and stepped toward the wolf before moving to the house.

"Jacob," he nodded and waited as the trees moved.

"Are all of you back?" Jacob asked as he stepped out of the trees wearing only his denim shorts.

"Not all of us, not yet," Edward said as he watched the werewolf. "How've they been?"

"Seth's spent the most time over here with them; Angela only seems to sleep when she's curled up with him," Jacob sighed. "He took Angela over to your house a few hours ago."

"Yes, he's still there, he's sleeping," Edward said only to look at Jacob with concern. "He's injured?"

"His right shoulder," Jacob said as he thought over what he had learned about Seth's injury through the pack telepathy. "He won't let anyone near it though; we don't know how bad it is. You're taking Bella with you?" he asked

"Yes," Edward nodded. "Charlie?"

"With Billy and Harry Clearwater out on the lake. They were supposed to be back tonight, but no one's been able to reach them. Sam sent Quil their way to see if he could figure out why," Jacob said as he glanced up at the house. "The few times I've seen Bella she hasn't been able to keep food down, she looks…dead."

Edward nodded solemnly. "None of this has been easy on her. Would you be able to arrange a meeting with Sam?" Edward asked him. "I need to discuss what we found out. Angela's stalker isn't working alone."

Jacob trembled, the rage rising fast and uncontrolled through him causing him to feel close to phasing. Closing his eyes as he fisted his hands by his side, he took in a deep breath, holding it until he was once again in control of himself. He looked at Edward, nodded once before sprinting to the woods, phasing into his wolf form seconds before disappearing through the tree line. Edward watched him go, feeling the same anger that Jacob had and hoping that Sam would agree to a modification to the treaty. This man, this human monster wasn't only a threat to Angela, he thought. Pursing his lips, he stood silent for a moment before slipping along the side of the house and ghosting in through Bella's open bedroom window.

She looked tiny and frail where she lay tucked beneath the thick blankets on her bed, only her head visible. She was turned on her side and when he stepped forward to sit next to her, he watched her eyes open slowly as the mattress dipped gently with his weight. He doubted that she was truly awake as her eyes didn't open very far, nor did she turn to look at him, but he petted her hair all the same, speaking to her softly until she returned to sleep. He bent low over her, pressing a kiss to her temple before standing and moving the covers back.

"I never should have left you," he thought aloud as he lifted her from the bed and held her cradled in his arms. "Everything will be alright now," he promised her as he carried her down the stairs and out the front door. "I won't leave you again."

Bella moaned in his arms, but remained asleep with her head tucked into the crook of his shoulder. He held her in one arm, cradling her easily as he opened the passenger door of his Volvo and tucked her into the front seat. Securing the safety belt around her, he kissed her and closed the door before ghosting around the car and climbing behind the wheel in less than a fraction of a second. He drove back through the town, his thoughts consumed with the worry he felt in regards to Bella's and Angela's health. While he was more than capable of examining them himself, he truly wanted Carlisle to look at them, his father's experience and knowledge far surpassing his.

"Edward," Bella moaned, her voice only loud enough for him to hear as he was unbuckling her from the car.

"I'm right here, Bella," he promised her, smoothing his hand over her warm cheek.

"Edward," she said again as she grew more awake at the sound of his voice. "You're back," she choked out, her arms wrapping around his neck her face pressing into his shoulder. "You came back."

"I promised you I would," he told her as he lifted her from the car and closed the door with his foot. "Did you think I wouldn't?" he asked her and saw the look she tried to hide. "What?" he asked her with worry.

"Bella," Esme greeted them as they walked in through the front door, her expression full of sorrow at the sight of the human girl's condition. "Oh, Sweetheart," she mourned as she smoothed Bella's hair away from her face. "Oh honey, don't cry," she soothed when tears slipped from the corners of Bella's eyes.

"I'm going to take her up to bed," Edward said, his voice too low for Bella to hear.

"I'll see you in the morning, sweetheart," Esme said and kissed the girl's forehead before Edward moved away. "I think Bella may have lost more weight than Angela has," Esme said when Rosalie came up to her side.

"Carlisle called," Rosalie told her. "His plane got stuck in Montana. They're repairing the engine and he's expecting to be back in the air in a few hours. What are we going to do about Seth? I know he said that Marcus isn't here as a member of the Volturi, but he is one of them all the same."

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it," Esme said as she released a heavy sigh. "I'll talk to Carlisle first when they arrive. He'll decide how to handle things. Right now the girls are my top priority, Seth as well."

"You're worried about the wolf?" Rosalie asked, her eyebrows rising high on her forehead.

"Look at him, Rose," Esme instructed as she walked back into the room he was in, Emmett and Angela still curled against his side. "Even in this form, he looks painfully exhausted."

"Jacob said he's hurt," Edward said as he came down the stairs. "From his thoughts it appears that the injury is fairly serious, but he won't let anyone near enough to assess it."

He crossed behind them through the house and moved into the kitchen. They would need to go shopping again, the fruits and vegetables past the point of being edible and he opened the fridge to gather a glass of water for Bella. She was asleep again, tucked in his bed, but from her exhausted mumblings she seemed to have a headache. He wanted to be certain to have the medicine and something for her to drink nearby in case she woke again soon. Esme's thoughts stopped him and he turned to look at her, his expression saddening.

"I don't know," Edward shook his head. "Bella seemed surprised that I was back as well. I don't know what happened to convince them that we weren't returning, but I fear Angela will be the harder one to convince that we are staying. She already believes that the reason we left was her fault entirely."

He watched as Esme closed her eyes, her jaw tightening against the anger that coursed through her. Her gift, her talent was that she loved passionately and cared deeply, but it also meant that she was as equally fierce in her desire to protect. Her thoughts were filled with anger, worry, and defiance. Whoever had done this, convinced Bella and Angela that she and the rest of her family wouldn't be returning, Esme planned to deal with that person herself. Nodding to her, Edward moved back to the stairs and returned to Bella's side. Setting the glass of water and the two Advil on the bedside table, he laid down next to her and curled his body around hers.

"It will be alright now, Bella. We're home."


	45. Chapter 43

Chapter 43

Her heart ached painfully, constricting mercilessly inside her chest as tears stung at her eyes. She kept her eyes closed; refusing to relinquish the last images of her dream world, even as she admitted that she was fully awake. She didn't want to open her eyes; she didn't want to leave her dream behind. In her dreams Edward had come back, he was holding her, kissing her and comforting her every time that she stirred. She could even still smell his sweet scent surrounding her. If she opened her eyes…if she opened her eyes she would be alone again. The tears that had gathered behind her closed eyes spilled onto her cheeks and she swore she felt cool fingers brushing them away as Edward's scent grew stronger. If she held onto the dream for just a few moments longer, maybe she could return to sleep, return to the world in which he was with her.

"Shh, it's alright, Bella," Edward soothed as he moved slowly from his position sitting against the headboard to lie down next to her. "Shh, don't cry, my love."

"Edward," she whimpered and swore that she could feel him kiss her.

"Open your eyes, Bella," he soothed her gently, his fingers brushing against her cheek as he held her close.

"I can't," she whimpered, refusing to let go of the dream she knew she must be having. "If I open my eyes you'll be gone."

"I won't, I promise," he told her, brushing away her still falling tears with the backs of his fingers. "Open your eyes."

She could feel herself trembling; feel her tears falling faster as she struggled against the pull of the waking world. She didn't want to lose this dream Edward; she didn't want to open her eyes to find him gone. His gentle encouragements continued and she felt unable to deny his request any longer. Whispering that she loved him, believing that she would find herself alone, she opened her eyes. She blinked twice at the image in front of her, Edward's face hovering so close to hers. Her breath caught in her throat, her lungs burning with the desire to breathe even as she felt unable to do so.

"Breathe, Bella!" Edward demanded of her sharply, worry heavy in his eyes as his hand rubbed insistently over her arm.

As though shocked by electricity, her breath came quickly, her gasps too shallow and fast to truly be beneficial as her tears came faster, burned hotter and words failed her completely. She was lying in his bed, he was next to her and his scent surrounded her in a gossamer embrace made of the satin and silk bed coverings. She struggled to sit up, his guiding hand in the small of her back helping her as her brown eyes never left his warm honey-gold gaze. She reached out, touching his arm, his shoulder and then finally his face as she assured herself that he was indeed in the bed with her, that she wasn't dreaming. Her sobs came then, her arms wrapping around his neck as she cried into his shoulder, her body shaking terribly through the onslaught of emotions too powerful to be controlled.

"Shh, I'm here, my love. I'm right here," Edward promised as he petted her hair and held her frail body as tightly as he dared. "I'm right here."

She couldn't stop crying, couldn't gain enough control of her emotions to speak and in lieu of words that wouldn't come, she held him tighter. Edward looked up at the feel of his sister standing in the doorway, her brow furrowed with equal bits of concern and confusion. She didn't understand why both Bella and Angela were reacting the way they were. They had all promised to return, but the human girls were both reacting as though neither one of them had ever expected to see any member of her family again. What had happened? What had made them believe they wouldn't be returning?

"I don't know," Edward said sadly, his voice too low for Bella to hear as he continued to comfort her. "Angela's mind is silent to me right now," he voiced his concern.

"She hasn't woken once or stirred at all since falling asleep against Emmett. Poor thing doesn't look like she's slept in days. We told them we were coming back," Rosalie said, shaking her head in confusion.

"Something made them both believe we weren't," he said, his low voice turning into a growl.

"What?" Rosalie asked Edward. "Do you know what did this?"

"Let's just say that I have my suspicions," he hedged. "Would you be willing to do something for me?" he asked her as he read her mind while she stared at Bella, her thoughts heavy with concern for both her and Angela.

"What?" Rosalie asked as she stepped further into the room.

"It's almost time for school to be out," Edward said as he turned his wrist to look at his watch. "Would you go down to the school and collect their class work? Try and get near enough to Lauren Mallory to hear what she's saying, too."

"You think Lauren did this?" Rosalie asked as she looked at Bella and found that the girl's heartbeat and breathing had returned to the deeper rhythms of sleep.

"Who else seems to have tried so hard to break them both?" Edward asked her in return. "I'm not leaving Bella," he said stubbornly. "Besides, if I were to go, I don't know that I'd be able to hold my temper around the girl. What is it you always say?" Edward looked at his sister with a decidedly unkind smile though she knew the gesture was not directed at her. "There's more than one way to communicate."

Rosalie snorted in amusement and nodded. She understood what he wasn't saying. He wanted to know if Lauren was truly the cause for the girls' upset, and if she was, he wanted Rosalie to make certain she knew it was unacceptable. Where he or Emmett would find themselves battling against a desire to show exactly how dangerous they could be, Rosalie seemed to have a knack for knowing exactly which buttons to push and how to get a message across without ever appearing to be outwardly mean. She nodded, projecting her thoughts and plans to him through his talent.

"Thank you," he said and Rosalie nodded again.

"I may occasionally still have my reservations regarding Bella becoming one of us, but that doesn't mean that I'm going to let some little human trash be cruel to her. Only I'm allowed to be mean to her," Rosalie said and Edward hid his smirk against Bella's hair.

He watched her leave the room, chuckling to himself without making a sound. Rosalie would always be bitchy that would never change, but his sister had just given her promise of protection for Bella. Her tone of voice had been such that she sounded angry and rude, but he could read her thoughts and knew that behind her normal façade of anger and disapproval, she had come to see Bella as one of the family. She just wasn't willing to admit it out loud yet. His attention returned to Bella, the girl in his arms uttering a soft groan when he eased her back to lie on the pillows. Shushing her gently, he curled his body around her and called out to Esme.

"Sam and Jacob are close," he told her, keeping his voice low and knowing that she could hear his every word. "They're worried about Seth."

"Emmett and Angela?" Esme asked, a cool breeze announcing her presence before he met her calm worried gaze.

"I don't know," Edward sighed softly. "Even Alice wouldn't be able to see their reactions to that, but leave them as they are, let them see what Seth has chosen."

"What he's chosen?" Esme asked with a confused shake of her head.

"He chose to protect her, Esme, to befriend her. In a way, he's chosen to protect all of us, let them see that," Edward advised. "They're coming through the woods behind the house now. It should be less than a minute."

Esme nodded, her eyes slipping down to look at Bella before she moved out of the room. It was an odd symmetry that had happened, she thought, Seth had chosen to protect Angela and in doing so he had chosen to protect her family as well. But what amused her with the irony of it all was that a werewolf had the protection of an entire vampire family and vice versa. She shook her head as she moved toward the back door and opened it as Sam and Jacob stepped out of the trees in their human forms. Did 'eclectic' even apply anymore as a term to describe her family? 'Unique' even seemed to somehow be lacking.

"Sam, Jacob," she greeted them both with a nod even as she remained in the doorway.

"Mrs. Cullen-"

"Esme," she interrupted Sam.

"Esme," he nodded to her. "We didn't come here to harm you," he said hoping to relieve the tension he could see in the way she held herself.

"I know," she nodded once, "Edward can read your thoughts. He said you were worried about Seth."

"Yes," Sam said as he stepped closer, but waited to ascend the stairs of the patio until she nodded.

"Come with me," Esme said as she led them inside the kitchen. "Seth hasn't woken once, if it weren't for his heartbeat and breathing," she said letting her statement hang unfinished in the air as she took them down the hall and turned toward the piano room.

"It's been almost twenty four hours since he left Charlie's place with Angela," Jacob said, his voice heavy with concern.

"We've been home for almost eighteen," Esme nodded. "Please don't disturb them," she requested as she led them into the piano room. "Angela needs her sleep."

Sam and Jacob stopped just inside the doorway, their eyes large as they stared with disbelief at the scene in front of them. Seth was curled on the floor in his wolf form, while that might have been impressive enough being that he was inside a house, it was the fact that Emmett was holding Angela while the human and vampire rested within the protective circle created by Seth's massive body. Emmett's gold eyes looked up at Sam, the expression on his face telling them both that he would protect Seth the same way that he did Angela. The wolf he was leaning against had protected his human sisters in his absence, Seth had stayed with the girls and guarded them both, in Emmett's way of thinking that made Seth as close to family as a werewolf could get to a vampire.

Sam nodded once, stepping closer slowly as he moved to kneel by Seth's massive head. He reached out, his attention split between the wolf and the vampire as he ran his hand over Seth's muzzle and face. The youngest member of his pack didn't wake, not even halfway, but he did whimper softly and curl himself tighter around the two resting against his side. His tail flicked at the tip, moving just enough to brush against Angela as his nose tucked into the edge of her thigh. Movement of any kind was painful for him, but his actions spoke louder than any words ever could have. In pain or not, exhausted beyond waking or not, Seth had chosen to protect them. Sam released a sigh and stood reluctantly. Meeting Emmett's gaze and nodding once in a sign of understanding, he moved toward the open doorway of the room.

"Would you let us know when he's awake?" Sam asked Esme. "We should be able to hear him through the pack telepathy, but depending on how tired he is when he wakes…"

"We'll let you know," Esme nodded with a cautious smile. "Edward said that he's hurt?"

Sam nodded and told of the events that had led up to Seth's injury and how hard he had pushed himself to run despite the pain. He had pushed himself far past what his body had been able to handle and was now suffering for it. His refusal to let someone else keep watch of Angela had been telling enough, but the way he had taken to protecting both Emmett and Angela in his sleep while staying in a house full of vampires was revealing. Seth was beyond Sam's ability to command, at least as far as Angela and the Cullens were concerned. He didn't know entirely what that meant, but he feared that it would make Seth harder to control.

Jacob snorted, finding himself suddenly amused by the words he had seen hand painted on the wall of Seth's bedroom. They were words the boy had often quoted, and though none of the pack had truly ever understood what he meant, Jacob realized that they were words Seth had chosen to live by. _The great enemy of truth is very often not the lie, deliberate, contrived and dishonest, but the myth, persistent, persuasive and unrealistic._ He didn't know if it was something that Seth himself had said, or a quote from someone else, but it was something the youngest of their pack had always said and tried to honor.

"JFK," Edward said as he walked into the room, Bella tucked under his arm. "The quote you're thinking of," he told Jacob, "it was said by John F Kennedy."

"Figures," Jacob said as he looked back at Seth.

He turned and looked back at Bella. She had been changed into a silken pajama set, the cobalt fabric making her pale skin and somewhat sunken features stand out in stark contrast. The sleeves extended well beyond her fingertips and the pant legs looked long on her as well, it confused him that she was wearing something that looked so big on her. Taking in a deep breath and narrowing his eyes, he couldn't quite distinguish if the clothes bore Edward's scent, or if she was just standing too close to him to tell. Something about Edward's scent seemed familiar; almost comforting if not somewhat appealing and he hated it, blaming the vampire in his thoughts for something that he didn't understand. Focusing on Bella's scent instead, he found the warmth and hints of earth and wind to be a soothing balm, calming him as it pulled at him and felt to ignite the edges of his desire. He pulled in another deep breath, their combined scents wafting in through his nose and pulling at something primal within him that he could neither identify nor understand.

"She wanted to see you," Edward said as he looked at Jacob, having read his thoughts since before the wolf had entered his home.

"Hey, Bella," Jacob said, his angry and defiant expression softening when she opened her eyes partway and looked at him. "You don't look so good."

"You keep telling me that," she said softly, her words thick with exhaustion. "I'm fine, Jake, I'm just a little tired."

"Downplay much?" he asked her with a chuckle. "Feed her, will you?" he asked Edward and watched the vampire nod.

"There was something you wanted to discuss?" Sam said as he looked at Edward.

**:::::**

"Carlisle?" Marcus questioned as he watched the blond man check his watch before gathering his carryon bags and exiting the plane quickly. "That's the third time in fifteen minutes that I've seen you check your watch. It's barely noon, are you late for something?"

"Almost," he told his friend as they walked into SeaTac International airport. "Excuse me," Carlisle approached the flight desk. "Is there a secluded lounge I might be able to use?"

"Tele-meeting?" the woman asked with a knowing smile. "There's a private business lounge just down the concourse there and to the left. There's a numerical keypad on the door, press six-one-nine and then hit the blue key and the door will open. It should be quiet enough in there and there's an open, unsecured WiFi connection."

"Thank you," Carlisle nodded and stepped away, Marcus at his side.

"Are you going to tell me what's so important?" Marcus asked as he followed Carlisle's hurried pace, the man almost running.

"I have a call to make and a promise to keep," he said vaguely, entering the office and waiting until the sound proofed door closed behind them. "The surgery before we left," he said as he nodded his thanks to Marcus for closing the blinds before setting up his laptop and a portable DVD player in just under five seconds, "I promised the girl that I would discuss her surgery with her."

"And this?" Marcus asked his curiosity peaked.

Carlisle chuckled as he inserted the video disc into the player.

"Well, I suppose you'll finally get to see at least a part of what I do," he said with a smile and turned to the computer as it finished loading. "Somehow, I doubt you would handle being in a hospital very well."

"No, I daresay not," Marcus said with a sniff and Carlisle chuckled.

"I don't know how long this will take," Carlisle said as he input the information for the account he had created for Emily. "She's a very intelligent girl so she may have several questions."

"Do your work, Carlisle," Marcus said with humor.

"Dr. Cullen?" a young girl's voice filled the room and Marcus glanced over to see a beautiful young redhead filling the screen.

"Good afternoon, Emily," Carlisle greeted as he looked at the computer screen. "How are you feeling?"

"Tired mostly," she admitted with a soft blush and Carlisle smiled warmly.

"And the pain?" he continued, knowing that she, like Bella, tended to downplay her symptoms.

"It's not as bad as the migraines were," she said and he saw her try to hide a wince.

"And are you taking the medication for your pain?" he asked her, the expression on his face as paternal as it was medical.

"I…take it sometimes," she answered slowly and met his gaze. "It makes me loopy!" she protested and he chuckled.

"Perhaps you can help us convince her to take it?" Emily's father asked of Carlisle and he nodded.

"You need your medicine, Emily," Carlisle told her patiently. "I understand that the medication can alter your perception a bit, but it also helps you sleep."

"Oh no, no, don't do that. That's not fair," Emily said and Carlisle's brow furrowed.

"What isn't fair?" he asked her curiously while Marcus sat just out of sight of the built-in webcam as he watched the interaction with interest.

"You've got the 'Dad' look," she told him and he chuckled.

"Well I do have children," he advised her with an amused grin. "Have you had a chance yet to watch your surgery?"

Emily bit her lip and nodded slowly. "Can we go through it though, from the beginning?" she asked and Carlisle smiled.

"Of course, my dear. I have a copy here with me and you have yours, are you ready?" she nodded. "Alright," he said and turned on the DVD player next to him.

"I'm kind of glad that you're the one who did it," she said to him. "I know it's probably a bit unfair, but Dr. Ramanajan seemed kind of uncaring and it frightened me."

"I know," Carlisle told her gently. "Ok, I'm making the incision," he told her as Marcus watched the portable DVD player with rapt interest.

"How long will it take for my skull cap to heal?" she asked as they both watched as he removed the cut round piece of bone in the video.

"It can vary as each person heals at a slightly different rate, but generally it will take three to six months for the bone to fuse back with the rest of the skull," he told her honestly, watching her reactions carefully as he sought to soothe her worry.

"And the holes?" she asked, biting her lip.

"Those are different. They can heal anywhere between six weeks to three months, or they may never close at all. Either way, you will be perfectly fine; the layer of skin covering your skull as well as the lining of tissue inside your skull will keep your brain safe." He watched her nod silently. "This part took longer than the rest of the surgery, do wish to accelerate through to the removal of the nerve cluster or did you have questions here?"

"Well…what are you doing?" she asked timidly as she watched the video.

"The nurse is irrigating your brain," he told her, hiding his amusement as he watched Marcus out of the corner of his eye, his ancient friend was absolutely fascinated. "The instruments that I am using are testing the area of brain tissue around where I will be inserting the nueroendoscope. I'm making certain that your brain tissue is properly elastic and not showing any signs of weakness or damage."

"Ok," she said and nodded for him to skip ahead. "And putting that in," she said as they watched him slowly insert the complex medical instrument into her brain and turn to watch the monitor. "I-it didn't damage anything?"

"No, Sweetheart," Carlisle assured her gently. "I was very careful. The brain also has a remarkable ability to protect and heal itself. Can you see the monitor?" he asked her as the video of the surgery switched its focus to what the nueroendoscope was viewing inside her brain.

"It seemed to take a long time to remove something so tiny," she said as they watched the instrument move inside her brain.

"Removing a nerve cluster from any part of the body, but most especially from the brain, is a very delicate task to undertake. The first step was locating the nerve cluster. The second, and admittedly most tedious," he smiled and watched her expression relax, "was isolating it from the surrounding tissue, blood vessels and nerve fibers. And the third step, was removing it."

"What are you doing here?" she asked when they accelerated the recording again and the video showed him clamping off a part of the fiber leading into the nerve cluster.

"One cannot simply cut without first testing the waters so to speak," he told her wisely. "What you see me doing here is clamping off a line of the nerve cluster. It allows me to assess what will be affected before I make the cut as well as giving the brain enough time to adjust to not having use of that pathway. The clamps were held in place for five minutes before each cut. The severed lines of the nerves were cauterized to seal them completely as well as keep them from bleeding. It took twenty minutes to completely sever the nerve cluster."

"And there's really nothing left?" she asked with a slight hitch in her breath. "Nothing that will cause the migraines to come back?"

"No, it was removed," he assured her gently. "You should see a vast reduction in pain from now on," he promised her. "One other thing I would suggest," he told her. "Have your wisdom teeth removed. In the X-rays that were taken of your skull, I noticed that they appeared to be erupting at an angle. Though this would not cause the migraines that you experienced, it will undoubtedly lead to headaches later on."

"Ok," Emily said and he watched her hide a yawn behind her hand.

"Did you have any other questions?" he asked her.

"I don't think so," Emily said as she blinked tiredly. "Thank you, Dr. Cullen."

"Anytime, my dear. It was my pleasure. Now, you have my card, as well as a way to contact me through video if you wish. I'll always be here to talk to. Get some rest, Emily, and take your pain medication," he told her and she giggled tiredly before agreeing. "Sleep well."

The screen went black and Carlisle closed the video chat program a short moment later. Shutting down his computer and disconnecting it from the wall, he tucked it back into the travel bag and turned to Marcus. His friend was still watching the video of the surgery, his face a mask of rapt fascination and intrigue. Telling Marcus that he had a few other videos from surgeries that he had done over the past few years, he asked his friend if he would like to watch those as well.

"It is…fascinating to be able to look into the brain in such a manner," Marcus said with a nod as Carlisle took the disc and put it back into its case before turning off the DVD player.

"A little over five years ago and that would have been impossible. Technology advances quickly," Carlisle told him as he gathered his bags and stood from the couch. "Well, my friend, the only thing left to do is introduce you to my family."

"By all means," Marcus waved gallantly toward the door, eyeing Carlisle curiously. "I can tell that there is something you're holding back regarding your home," he told Carlisle and watched the blond man sigh.

"Yes, there is. But I believe that it is something better explained in a less public setting."

"Then let us leave," Marcus held the door open for Carlisle and they moved quickly toward the long term parking garage. "I see why you chose Washington," he approved. "Anywhere else and we would have need of the robes, but here the cloud cover is nearly complete."

"It is even more so in Forks," Carlisle said as he put his bags in the backseat before climbing into the driver's seat with Marcus by his side. "It's a little after three now, we should reach Forks just after school lets out."

"Why are you nervous, and don't tell me you're not," Marcus said as he watched Carlisle from the corner of his eye.

"My family has a very…unique history with this area," Carlisle offered. "The things you see may…"

"I've already told you that I am not here on an official capacity, only as a friend. What about your family is so unique that it makes you afraid of me?"

**:::::**

"There was something you wanted to discuss?" Sam asked, before his head turned toward the direction of the front door.

"More Cullens have arrived home," Jacob said at the sound of the car engine shutting off.

"Stay here, wait for me, we'll talk about this together in a few moments. Edward," Esme looked at him and he nodded.

"Come on," he nodded toward the kitchen as he carried Bella from the room. "Esme wants me to feed you both."

Esme was quick to move to the front door, her natural vampiric speed carrying her to the front steps within fractions of a second. It was a concern shared by her entire family, but most especially between herself and Carlisle, the reaction that Marcus would have to the wolves. For two humans to know about the truth of their family would be seen as bad enough, but to find that their coven had also formed a truce, a treaty with a pack of werewolves and had that truce in place for well over half a century would be even worse. She waited with baited breath, her worries ceasing the second she saw Carlisle approach, his gold eyes meeting hers across the distance between herself and the edge of the drive. She breathed in of his scent and in that moment, time ceased to have any meaning at all.

Marcus felt himself still, his body refusing to make any movement at all as his talent held him enraptured. Carlisle's descriptions had done Esme no justice at all, he thought as he stared at her. Her soft caramel waves shined with lighter natural tints of spun gold and darker strands of spiced ginger, the colors combining in waves of shimmering beauty that held no equal. Her face, pale and angelic, held him spell bound as he stared upon her. She held her heart in her eyes and when she had first looked at Carlisle he was reminded of the love and devotion that he had shared with Didyme. They were bound, unequivocally, irrevocably bound to each other in such a way that when seen together, they appeared to share one soul. His heart at once both ached with the sorrow of his lost love and burst forth with rays of hope and delight. Carlisle had found what he had lost.

He shook himself from his thoughts when he realized that the delicate creature that was Carlisle's wife was looking at and speaking to him. He bent forward slightly, bowing to her without knowing precisely why and apologized for his inattention. She smiled at him, her expression welcoming and warm as she invited him into her home. In her face was love, pure unadulterated, uncompromising love and he found himself unable to take a single step. She moved closer to him and when he breathed in he found himself lost in her scent, his attention too focused on her to notice the lingering darker scents of the werewolves populating her home.

"It's alright," Esme said as she stepped closer to Marcus and held out her hand.

Carlisle chuckled softly as Edward's words came to him from inside the house and he looked at his friend only to realize that his son was indeed correct in his observations made from the ancient vampire's thoughts.

"You've dazzled him, Esme," Carlisle told his wife with a smile.

"Carlisle," Rosalie appeared at the door. "Angela's awake, sort of."

The name of the human girl he had come to see pulled Marcus from his thoughts and he followed them easily into the house only to stop short when he caught the familiar and unwelcomed scent of the werewolves. He turned to Carlisle, intending to speak, only to find his thoughts answered by his friend.

"You were too distracted outside when I tried to tell you before," Carlisle said, his expression and voice advising caution. "What makes my family so unique, what makes me nervous about your visit my friend, is the treaty that we formed with the wolves of this region well over fifty years ago. I understand your loyalties, your laws, but I beg of you, experience it first and make your judgments when you are more informed."

"No," Marcus said as he forced himself to relax his posture. "I will pass no judgments; I have not come here to do that. You are not on trial, nor will you be. I am here as a friend, nothing more."

"Carlisle," Sam stepped into the room, his expression tense and worried. "We need your help."

"My help?" Carlisle asked as he looked at the man and followed him into the room that held Edward's piano. "Hello, baby girl," he greeted Angela, her eyes only half open, and her body nearly hidden between Emmett's body and Seth's thick fur.

"Papa," Angela whimpered as she tried to move, but found herself lacking the energy to do so.

"It's alright, half pint," Emmett said as he gathered her close and stood, moving away from Seth. "Let Carlisle help Seth first ok?" he said to her as he stepped over the wolf's bushy tail before looking at his father. "Seth hurt himself yesterday trying to get to Angela. He woke a few seconds ago. He's in pain and he can't move his right arm at all."

"Seth?" Carlisle knelt before the sandy brown and black wolf. "Can you phase back?"

"That's part of the problem," Sam said as he knelt beside Carlisle. "The pain is exhausting him to a point that he's unable to shift back to his human form."

Marcus' attention turned away from the wolf, his eyes finding Angela instead as she lay cradled in the arms of one of Carlisle's sons. He could read the relationship the two had, the sibling bond strong. Angela leaned on the dark haired vampire for support and comfort, affection and confidence and he was fiercely protective and equally devoted to her. There was no question in his mind that this young vampire could be as deadly as Felix if the need arose. He stepped closer, moving to brush his cool hand along Angela's cheek and she turned her head, her eyes barely open and unfocused. Her brow furrowed, her tired mind unable to comprehend that her friend was standing in the same room with her.

"M'cus," she murmured his name, unable to say it clearly.

"Yes, little one, I am here."

His attention was drawn away by the sudden cry of pain and he looked back to see a young boy of fifteen lying on the floor where the large sandy brown wolf had once been. His face was strained, his jaw clenched and eyes impossibly wide as he fought against the pain ricocheting throughout his body. Marcus listened as a bronze haired vampire began explaining to Carlisle in detail how the injury was made, all from the boy's point of view, and Marcus realized that this other vampire was Edward. He heard Carlisle speak low to Seth, comforting him even as he seemed to cause him more pain when he probed the injuries.

"Your wrist, elbow and shoulder are all slightly dislocated. Enough to cause you extreme pain, but not enough to hinder your movement or be noticeable to anyone but a doctor," Carlisle said as he turned to look at Sam. "Putting the joints back in place will be extremely painful especially in his current condition; I'll need one or both of you to hold him."

"Jacob," Sam nodded to the other cinnamon skinned teen and together they secured a gentle but firm hold around Seth. "We're ready."

"Breathe," Carlisle said as he met Seth's gaze and held it fast. "Again."

On Seth's third deep intake of air, Carlisle relocated the boy's wrist and Seth groaned as he tried to bite back the cry of pain. He didn't want to frighten Angela. He listened, whimpering softly and followed Carlisle's instructions to breathe deeply. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't stay silent and cried out when the blond doctor relocated his elbow and then quickly his shoulder. His entire arm felt to be nothing but fire and pain and the tears that had gathered in his eyes fell, his agony refusing to be hidden any longer.

"This will help," Carlisle said as he injected a large dose of morphine into the boy's arm. "His body temperature will burn it off soon. I understand that you may object, but I would like Seth to remain here so that I can monitor his progress as he heals, there could be other damage."

"He pushed himself too hard," Sam said. "He wouldn't listen to anyone."

"You fight for what you believe in," Seth groaned out seconds before his eyes closed. "Thanks doc," he mumbled as he gave into the pull of his exhaustion.

"Lay him on the couch," Carlisle instructed when Sam stood with the boy in his arms. "Angela," he turned to his human daughter after disposing of the syringe.

"Papa," she mumbled, searching for him even as her eyes refused to open.

She felt herself being handed to someone, turned her face into Carlisle's chest and breathed deeply of his familiar scent. She heard Edward's voice close to her a moment later, his smooth tenor relaying to Carlisle her desire to be read to. Marcus watched on with interest as Edward followed Carlisle up the stairs with Bella in his arms, the human girl mostly asleep in her vampire lover's arms. He shook his head as he stared at their retreating forms, understanding that whatever was happening held significance for them but not understanding why.

"Come on," Esme chuckled softly and motioned for Marcus to follow her. "This is Carlisle's favorite time of the day."

"Five thirty?" Marcus asked glancing at the clock.

"No," Esme chuckled again as she led him to the second floor, "story time. They may both be teenagers, but both the girls find great comfort in being read to by him and he…he loves being a father."

She came to a stop outside of one of the bedrooms and he looked in the open door to see Carlisle lying in the middle of the bed with Angela tucked on his right side and Bella on his left. He had his arms wrapped around each of the girls, his hands holding open a book over his chest as he read to them softly, his voice smooth and hypnotic. Edward was lying behind Bella, the bronze-haired vampire curled on his side as his hand rested on his human love's arm. He kissed her hand when she reached up for his and held their fingers intertwined. Marcus shook his head in bemusement. He had never been among so many vampires who were held together by such impossibly strong bonds of love and family.

It had to be their strange diet of animal blood, he surmised. No other coven could grow so large without destroying each other in competition for food. Even the Volturi, sophisticated and structured as it was, had to have their meals brought to them in a rather civilized manner just to keep the younger ones from tearing each other apart in competition. Carlisle…Carlisle had found how to be one of their kind and keep a coven together with the bonds of love. He had never imagined that his friend could become this.

"_Stregone Benefico_," he whispered aloud as he looked at Carlisle. "It is I you have honored, by allowing me to see this. Thank you, my friend."

Carlisle tipped his head slightly, a nod of recognition and gratitude to his friend even as he never stopped reading. He turned the page slowly, turning his head to kiss first Angela's brow and then Bella's. His human daughters were close to sleep, but seemed to still be fighting the pull of it as they laid against him using his chest for a pillow. He placed the ribbon Edward handed him between the pages of the book and folded it closed before setting it aside on his abdomen. He dropped his arms, tightening them around his daughters as he held them securely to his body.

"I'm not going anywhere, my daughters," he promised them. "We are home."

"Home?" Bella whimpered, her hand moving to rub at her eye tiredly before falling to rest on his chest next to her face. "For how long?"

"Bella, sweetheart," Carlisle turned his attention on her. "We're not going anywhere."

"But we both heard it," she mumbled tiredly, her voice thick as mud with the exhaustion pulling at her brain. "You accepted a full time position in New York. Angela's going back to her parents."

"Who told you this?" Carlisle asked her fiercely, fighting to keep the anger out of his voice as he sought to comfort her instead.

"We overheard Lauren talking with the school secretary. Her dad's the hospital administrator," Angela answered, her eyes closed and words slurred.

He couldn't suppress the growl that built low in his throat, rumbling through his chest even as the sound remained too low for the human girls cuddled against him to hear. Though they both knew what the vibrations were, Angela and Bella curled closer, the feel of it somehow comforting as they finally gave into the sleep tugging at their brains. He looked up at Esme, his anger reflected in her eyes and it was Rosalie who answered them. Lauren hadn't been at the school when she had left for the few short moments to pick up their school work, the foul girl gone for the day, but she would be there tomorrow and Rosalie had every intention of dealing with her personally.

Marcus looked between the Cullen family members, watched as Esme moved toward the bed and sat down behind Angela. If it hadn't been made clear to him before then, it was most certainly solidified in his mind now as he watched the family, Rosalie and Emmett having moved past him to stand just inside the room. This wasn't a coven, not like any he had ever known; this was a family in the truest sense. Their relationships were born of love, loyalty, trust and respect. There was admiration, affection and harmony flowing between them all, tying each one to the other. There was no competition, no struggle for power or need for dominance. There was no violence or subterfuge, no plots to usurp power or take over control. This, this was a family.

He watched them all as they gathered around the two human girls sleeping tucked against Carlisle. Even with the wolves downstairs, there was no doubt in his mind that Carlisle's coven – Carlisle's family – was quite a bit stronger than his family in Italy and all because of this…this love. He was awed and humbled by the insight his talent allowed him, the relationships making him feel somehow lacking and yet completely at peace as he stared with reverence at the family gathered around the bed. He had never known of anything so beautiful or breathtaking before. Is this what Carlisle felt every day, he wondered. Timeless as the ocean, as powerful and beautiful as the rising sun, this was the power of the _Stregone Benefico_, this was beyond any description he could think of. Even as he searched his mind for something to compare it to, the only thing he could think of was that this must be what heaven felt like.

He felt the vibrations of his cell phone in his pocket. He answered the call and brought the device to his ear without any thought at all to the actions. He heard Aro's voice, heard his ancient brother ask him where he was and as he looked upon the family in front of him, he answered Aro with only two words before ending the call, his voice wonderstruck.

"Touching serendipity."


	46. Chapter 44

Chapter 44

Edward pursed his lips, closed his eyes against the desire to tell her no. He didn't think she could handle it, her body was too frail and the bag too heavy. He had already tried to convince her three times to stay home from school, but Bella was more stubborn than ever. He couldn't help thinking that Bella seemed to believe she had something to prove. He sat on the side of his bed, held out his hand to her and waited until she placed her palm in his before drawing her to stand in between his legs. Meeting her gaze, he released her hand and placed his palms around her too small waist, his long fingers almost able to touch.

"Bella, please," he tried once more to reason with her. "I'm not trying to keep you away forever, just today. Just give me today. Let Carlisle examine you, get as much rest as you can and eat something, but please – _please_ don't go to school today."

"Edward," Bella shook her head as the stubborn set of her jaw gave way to the helpless misery in her eyes. "If I miss too much…I don't want to have to repeat senior year."

"Esme's going to the school today, arranging with the teachers to allow Angela to take a makeup exam to cover for the time that she's been out. I'm certain the teachers would be more than willing to schedule the same for you," he offered her. "Why are you so afraid to let me take care of you? Let me be the strong one."

Her heartbeat picked up speed, her breath hitching as it too became faster and Edward watched her in confusion and concern. Why was she so afraid to let someone else be in control? He pulled her closer, wrapped his arms around her back and buried his face in her chest as he breathed in deeply of her scent. He gave a resigned sigh when he heard Esme's thoughts as she entered the bedroom and he nodded against Bella's chest before he stood. Kissing her hair and touching her cheek, Edward promised Bella that he would return.

"Esme," Bella spoke her name softly with surprise.

"I asked him for a few moments," she said in reference to Edward's retreat as he closed the door behind him as he left the room. "I wanted to talk to you, Sweetheart."

"A-about what?" Bella asked nervously.

She had done her best to take care of Angela. She knew that her friend was in a more fragile state than she was, but she had done her best. Esme pressed her lips together gently in a sad line and stepped forward, wrapping her arms around Bella as she embraced the girl in a motherly hug. Stroking Bella's hair as she moved with her and guided her to sit down on Edward's bed, she took the girl's hands and held them in hers. It was all there in her eyes. Every fear, every doubt, every emotion Bella was trying to hide was shining clear as day in her eyes. Leaning forward and pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead, Esme lifted one hand to her face and tucked the girl's dark hair behind her ear.

"Do you remember, before Edward and I left, when you were sick and Renee called?" Esme asked softly and watched Bella nod. "She told me a lot more about that time than you did," she said and watched Bella's brows furrow with confusion before her eyes widened and she shook her head. "Don't do that," Esme admonished gently. "Don't hide on me, sweetheart. This is something you need to talk about. No one's mad at you; no one's upset with you. Bella, honey, you didn't cause this. What happened…what happened was an accident. Your blood or not, it was just an accident."

Esme sighed softly at the look of trepidation in Bella's eyes. She was still afraid, and Esme wasn't certain why. Rubbing one of Bella's too cold, too thin hands between her own, she let her eyes trail over the girl's body. Hidden beneath one of Edward's smaller t-shirts and her jeans, it was painfully obvious just how much weight the girl had lost. Feeling her heart constrict for the pain that Bella was going through, Esme met her gaze once more.

"I'm going to ask you a few questions, and I want your honest answers. Don't hold anything back, or downplay it," she instructed, the look in her eyes telling Bella that she would accept no argument and after a moment the girl nodded. "How long – truly – how long was it before you no longer had to take care of your mother in the manner that you did?" she asked and saw Bella's brows furrow. "Cooking, cleaning, doing the laundry, dishes, making shopping lists and helping her with her articles," she defined, "how long was it before your mother took that over again?"

Bella looked down, her eyes falling to rest on their joined hands as her fear spiked again. She was terrified that they wouldn't understand that they would only see that she hadn't done a good enough job taking care of Angela. Bella shook her head, clenching her jaw against her emotions before parting her lips to answer and looking up at Esme.

"She…she didn't," Bella answered hesitantly. "We just…we kind of fell into a routine, I guess."

"That's only half the answer," Esme said wisely as she studied the girl's face. "What aren't you saying?"

"I let her believe I liked helping her with the articles. I never told her that it bothered me," Bella said, her voice so soft that Esme wondered if she could even hear her own answer. "She changed jobs a few years later and the articles stopped, but I helped her with them until then."

"Helped her, or wrote them for her?" Esme probed further.

"Does it matter?" Bella asked, knowing that it was stupid to be trembling the way she was but unable to stop.

"Yes, Bella, I believe it does," she said as she rubbed her hand in an effort to soothe her.

"They…her bosses, told her that her new style of writing was refreshing and engaging," Bella said and bit her lip.

"You continued writing them," Esme said, filling in the blanks that Bella seemed hesitant to.

"Yes," she said, hiding her eyes.

Esme sighed silently and nodded. More pieces of the puzzle were falling into place. Bella's steadfast belief that she had to take care of Angela, the way Charlie said she had mothered her while she had stayed with him. Esme closed her eyes for a moment, listening to Carlisle's words as he asked his own questions from outside the room, his voice too low for Bella to hear. Opening her eyes and meeting the girl's gaze, Esme rubbed her hands over Bella's exposed arms.

"When did Renee meet Phil?" Esme asked Bella.

"Um…about two years before I moved here," Bella said, frowning in confusion at what she thought to be a change in topic.

"Did he ever take over any of the responsibilities?" Esme asked and saw the way Bella seemed to pull away from the question. "That's a no then."

"It wasn't…it wasn't like that," Bella denied, her words spoken fast as she began to fear the woman's disapproval. "We were just – we had a routine, a-a system. We were fine, I was fine, I-"

"Bella, Bella, stop," Esme said as she put a calming hand on the girl's arm. "I'm not upset with you or Renee," she told her hoping to quell the fear she could see in her eyes. "That's not what this is about. This isn't about blaming anyone, this is about support and helping you heal, sweetheart. You never had anyone there for you back then."

"I had my mom," she denied with a soft hitch in her voice.

"No, _you_ were there for _her_, that's not the same thing as having someone there to support you. You didn't have anyone there to tell you that it was ok to cry, or that things wouldn't fall apart if you took a few moments for yourself. You were too busy being the adult that you never had the time to realize you were the child. It was never meant to be your responsibility to take care of your mother and it's not your responsibility to take care of Angela," she said and saw the fear in Bella's eyes return brighter than before. "No, listen to me," Esme said as she gently took Bella's face into her hands and looked into her dark eyes. "You are not responsible for Angela's care. She is your friend, yes, but not your responsibility. We are here to support and take care of her the same as we are for you. That is what family is about. You are not alone, Bella, and it is perfectly fine for you to lean on someone else. Nothing will fall apart if you take time for yourself and let someone else be the strong one."

Bella closed her eyes against the sting of tears, tried hard to control her breathing as the kindness and love with which Esme spoke to her felt as though it were breaking her into pieces. Her heart hurt, her head hurt and the more she tried to fight against the pull of her tears the more they filled her eyes. She felt Esme move, felt the woman wrap her arms around her and pull her closer as the tears spilled onto her cheeks.

"It's alright to cry," Esme whispered in Bella's ear as she held her close and rubbed her back. "I'm right here, Bella, and I promise you I'm not going anywhere."

Esme's soft spoken assurances broke the last of Bella's will and she clutched the back of her shirt as she sobbed into her shoulder. Shifting her closer until Bella was practically in her lap; Esme petted her hair and rocked her gently as she cried. Bella had always had a strong will that much was true, but her stubbornness now in regards to Angela and her need to attend school was born out of fear, not obstinance. Kissing her forehead when Bella sat back, Esme smoothed away the traces of tears from her cheeks.

"Why don't you change into something more comfortable while I get some breakfast started for you downstairs," Esme offered and saw the confusion in Bella's expression.

"What?" Bella asked as she shook her head. "Esme, you don't have to call me in for school," she began only for Esme to gently interrupt her.

"You're right, I don't," she said with a patient, if not somewhat worried, smile. "Charlie already did," she told her and watched Bella's upset reappear. "Sweetheart, I had hoped that you would agree to stay home on your own, but he didn't think you would."

"What are you talking about?" Bella asked.

"You don't remember talking to him at all, do you?" Esme asked as she stared at Bella and watched her shake her head slowly. "He came over here last night, Bella. You two talked for nearly ten minutes. You don't remember any of it?"

"No," Bella shook her head in confusion.

"What is the last thing you do remember?"

"Before waking up this morning?" Bella asked slowly and Esme nodded. "Carlisle reading to us."

Esme sat back, staring silently with wide eyes. "Bella, that was two days ago."

"What?" Bella choked out, barely able to hear her own voice as her blood rushed madly in her ears. "What do you mean two days ago?" she asked somewhat woodenly.

"Exactly what I said, Bella," Esme told her with a worried frown. "Carlisle holding both you and Angela, reading to you and promising that we weren't moving to New York – that's your last clear memory before this morning?" she watched Bella nod slowly. "That was two days ago." She saw the fear on the girl's face and looked back when the bedroom door opened. "Come on in," she said to Carlisle, her voice too low for Bella to hear.

"Was I asleep?" Bella asked nervously as she tried to understand why she couldn't remember the past two days.

"No, not for all of it," Carlisle's soothing voice answered and she looked up, meeting his worried gaze. "Would you be willing to allow me to examine you, Bella?" he asked and watched her bite her lip.

"I don't want to go to the hospital," she said softly.

"You don't have to," Carlisle assured gently. "I could do it right here, Esme could stay if you'd like. I promise that it will be much faster and less invasive than your previous exams," he told her and watched her frown in confusion. "Heightened senses," he told her and tapped his nose.

"O-ok," Bella nodded and he smiled gently.

"It's alright, Bella," Carlisle soothed her. "Try to relax."

Carlisle breathed in deeply as he took her left hand in his. He focused his ears on the sound of her breathing, the rhythm of her heartbeat. Her lungs were clear, her breath sounds good, but her heartbeat worried him. Though the rhythm was slightly elevated it sounded a bit sluggish and he breathed in deeply once again as he focused on her scent. There was no question that she was malnourished, her loss in weight evidence enough of that, but the scent of her blood told him that she was low in iron and sugar. Her blood was thinned by her lack of proper nutrition and it took more effort for her heart to pump the fluid through her veins. He moved his fingers gently over the skin of her hands and arms to her elbows. She was dehydrated, anemic and when he pressed down gently on the skin of her arm, it took longer than it should have for the color to return.

"Ok," he said after a few moments and pressed a fatherly kiss to her brow before reaching for the medical bag behind him. "I'm going to give you a B-twelve injection," he told her and smiled softly to dispel her worry. "I need you to turn around," he said apologetically.

"What?" Bella shook her head.

"This injection is meant to be given in the fatty tissues, generally the shoulder, but with you being as underweight as you are," he said and watched her nod.

"Oh, ok," Bella said.

He watched her bite her lip as she moved slowly and turned around with one knee on the bed and her opposite foot on the floor. She unsnapped her jeans, and felt calmed when Esme gently rubbed her back to soothe her. It was over with in less time than she could truly process and Bella was grateful both for Esme's presence and Carlisle's professional and gentle demeanor. Turning back around after fastening her jeans once more, Bella sat on the bed and saw him close the black leather bag.

"I want you to drink cranberry cocktails for the next few days. I had Rosalie run to the store earlier to pick up a few for you and Angela to choose from. Cranberry-Pomegranate and cranberry-cherry will be drier to the taste but will have higher concentrations of the vitamins you both need. There are also cranberry-apple as well as orange juice," he told her. "No soda for the next couple of weeks."

Bella nodded quietly. "What about Charlie?" she asked after a moment. "Is he expecting me home?"

"No, sweetheart," he told her and rubbed her arm gently. "That's what he came here to tell you last night. He's been called away to help the Kitsnap county Sherriff with an investigation. He'll be gone at least a week. You'll be staying with us," he told her with a smile and gently tapped her chin at the look of worry in her eyes. "Don't fret so, it's not good for you."

"Alright," Esme grinned. "I'll get some food started cooking, and we'll leave you to Edward."

She watched them leave quietly; her adoptive vampire parents making her feel more cared for than she could ever remember having felt before. Renee and Charlie were good parents, but she had always been the one taking care of them. Esme and Carlisle, they doted on her, cared and looked after her in a way that was oddly comforting and she felt selfish for wanting more. Edward stepped into the room silently, closing the door behind him without a sound as he returned to Bella's side and watched the emotions play upon her face.

"They love it, you know," he told her as he sat down beside her on the bed.

"What?" Bella asked, turning her head to look up at him.

"Being parents," he grinned. "Even with the rest of us, before you and Angela came into our lives, it's not an act for the humans we live around," he told her with a touch of humor. "They really do love and treat us all as their children. There's nothing wrong with wanting that either," he told her and leaned closer to her.

Bella's eyes fluttered closed as he captured her lips with his and kissed her slowly. The taste of her lips soothed him, her scent enticing him as he swept his tongue across the seam of her lips and begged to be let in. She opened her mouth with a sigh, nearly weeping at the welcomed feel of his kiss, the love he bestowed upon her. Her hands moved of their own accord, her fingers combing and fisting in his hair as she tried to pull him closer. She felt cushioning softness beneath her and realized that she was lying on the pillows with him leaning over her as they kissed. He brushed the backs of his bent fingers against her cheek, broke away from her lips to give her a chance to breathe and planted a series of nibbling kisses along her jaw line until he reached her ear.

"I missed you; every day, every second, I missed you," he told her as he laid down next to her and pulled her to lie against his chest. "Never doubt that, Bella. Never doubt how very much you mean to me. I love you, of that there will never be a question," he promised her and stroked her hair. "You've caught me in your trap, little human, and I'm powerless against you."

"You're powerless against me?" Bella asked with a touch of humor and disbelief.

"I always have been, from the very second I met you, you sealed my fate. I love you, Isabella Marie Swan."

**:::::**

"Hey," Seth greeted Marcus groggily as he stepped into the backyard. "You're new."

"I'm actually very old," Marcus said dryly, though there was humor in his eyes.

"Not what I meant, but I'm sure you knew that," Seth returned and covered his mouth with the back of his hand as he yawned. "No animal for you, huh?" he asked upon seeing the vampire's red eyes.

"Does that bother you, werewolf?" Marcus asked as he turned to give the boy his full attention.

"Seth," he corrected with a lopsided grin. "Make you a deal," he offered. "Don't bite me, don't terrorize the town and I won't bite you. Fair enough?"

"You would extend their treaty to me?" Marcus asked with curiosity.

"Let's just say I'm cut from a different cloth. I don't too much care for that whole 'natural enemies' thing. There are good vampires," he nodded toward the house, "and there are monstrous humans. There are no absolutes. I'd steer clear of the rest of my pack if I were you, but you're fine with me. Oh uh, don't hunt in Forks or La Push, those areas are off limits as far as biting humans goes."

"How are you so comfortable with this?" Marcus demanded, confused by the young man's acceptance of his nature.

"Easy," Seth said. "Everyone's got to eat and if I hold your diet against you than that's like you being mad at me for eating beef. I don't see things the way everyone else does. For the most part, yeah, I'll tear a vampire apart, but the Cullens – they say you can be trusted then that's good enough for me."

Seth moved away from where Marcus stood on the porch and jogged down to the thick plush grasses that stood between the house and the tree line. He moved his right arm in a circular motion, testing the range of movement first in his shoulder and then down to his elbow and wrist. There was no longer any pain or stiffness and he smiled to himself. Once his arm had been properly tended to, his accelerated healing had kicked in and done the rest.

"Don't get jumpy on me," he cautioned the ancient vampire that still stood on the patio watching him with interest. "I need to run."

Marcus watched with cautious fascination as Seth seemed to explode from one form to another in just under a second. Standing in the familiar form of the large sandy brown wolf he had first seen curled up with Angela, Marcus watched as he moved his right front leg carefully before bracing his front paws wide apart and shaking madly as though trying to dry his fur. His ears pulled back, his jaws opening in a wide yawn as deadly white teeth were revealed and his long pink tongue curled up. Groaning with pleasure at the feel of this familiar wild form, Seth stretched out, his chest flat against the ground as his hips remained pointed in the air. Completing the stretch and prancing on his paws with delight, Seth wagged his bushy tail and looked at Marcus, yipping once and pawing at the air before charging into the forest at a full run.

"I'll admit it, he's nothing like any of the others," Emmett said as he stepped outside and looked at Marcus. "But he's a good kid and he protected Angela."

Though Emmett always came off as being easy going, he was still wary of this new vampire. He was Carlisle's friend yes, but he was one of the three leaders of the Volturi. If he wanted to, Marcus could bring the wrath of Italy down on his family and there would be nothing to stop him from doing so. Marcus turned to face him, able to sense the guarded caution that Emmett felt in relations to him and studied the man. He was the youngest of the Cullen family, aside from the two human girls that had yet to be changed, but this vampire was his coven's guardian. He would be the first to fight, the first to respond to any threat made toward the family. He found himself amused once again by the thought that Emmett and Felix could almost pass for brothers in that regard.

"I have no intention of bringing any harm upon your family, guardian," Marcus told Emmett, treating him with the same respect he always bestowed upon Felix.

"It's not you I'm worried about," Emmett said as he let the tension he felt show on his face. "It's the other one. Carlisle told us of his time with you all and how…quick Caius was to attack. Especially if it concerned werewolves."

Marcus nodded, but chose to remain silent. There was nothing he would be able to say or do to assuage Emmett's concerns, and he couldn't say that they were unfounded either. The Volturi's stringent laws on werewolves didn't come entirely at the reasoning of them being natural enemies, but mostly due to Caius' fear and prejudice of them. In fact, it had been his blond brother that had nearly wiped them out in the third century AD when he had decided to launch a formal hunt against the creatures. And it was because of that hunt that Caius had not only nearly lost his own life, but had very nearly caused the destruction of the Volturi as well. The surviving werewolves had retaliated violently, warring packs coming together as allies in their fight to end the hunts and had stormed Volterra. Besides himself, his brothers and their wives and a handful of other talented and abnormally strong guards, most of the Volturi had been wiped out. Their numbers had been cut down from three hundred, to just under fifty in one night.

He didn't blame the werewolves and surprisingly, neither did Aro. They both knew who the blame for the attack lied with and it wasn't the wolves. Once Caius had discovered that there were females who shifted as well, he had ordered the guards under his command to search for them in particular. He wanted the females dead and their pelts brought to him. If they were pregnant, all the better. When Aro had found out what it was that Caius had done and the vicious sadistic nature with which the female werewolves were being destroyed, he had not only ordered an immediate end to the hunt, but had very nearly taken his rage out on Ciaus. Their numbers had been destroyed, their clan nearly wiped out and the city of Volterra had taken two hundred years to forget what had happened that night.

He breathed in deeply and turned back to the open door of the house behind him when Angela's scent wafted to him. She was finally awake it seemed and he was infinitely pleased to see her. Her mahogany hair had been brushed until it shined, natural highlights of jet black and dark cherry shining in the morning sunlight. Carlisle had told him that Angela may either be silent and cautious or engaging and affectionate when she woke as he wasn't certain which. But nothing Carlisle had told him could have prepared him for the moment when she stepped forward with an excited grin on her face and wrapped her arms around him.

Marcus gasped; the action soundless as he felt his eyes flare wide. He had embraced her many times before in their mental hide away, but nothing, absolutely nothing had prepared him for how different the reality would be. In the dream world, all he had felt was her natural human warmth, but here in this moment as his arms wrapped around her in return, what he felt was far beyond his ability to comprehend. The moment, the very second, her arms had wrapped around him he had felt himself filled with a soothing warmth that grew until it felt to be almost burning him from the inside out. Strangely though, it wasn't painful or frightening. It felt as though every cell was alive within him, vibrating to the point of almost singing. He tried to remain standing, but fell to his knees when his legs refused to support him any longer.

He could hear Angela cry out, but the sound of her voice was removed and he could only vaguely hear the sounds of footsteps moving toward him. Her hands were on his face, her warm palms smoothing against his skin as she spoke to him. He could feel it, the gentle tendrils of her spirit wrapping around him, soothing his long dead heart even as he felt that he was being unmercifully destroyed. The love she held, the gentleness of her soul infused his being, and his heart, his still and always aching heart began to feel warm. The pain he had always carried with him, the sorrow that had kept him prisoner for nearly his entire immortal existence was being lifted as love and peace filled him instead. He gasped, his hand clutching at his chest as he fell forward only to find himself supported by Angela's gentle embrace around his chest and Carlisle's strong hand on his shoulder. This wasn't anything like Corin's ability to make someone feel an emotion that wasn't truly theirs, no; he knew what was happening even as his mind seemed unable to understand it. Angela…Angela hadn't influenced his emotions at all, she had healed his heart. She had _healed_ him.

"I'm sorry," her shaking voice came to him and it was then that he both smelled and saw the tears on her face.

"No, little one," he said breathlessly as he regained his composure and wrapped her in his arms as tightly as he dared. "Don't apologize," he told her as he stood slowly, bringing them both to their feet.

"But you're hurt," she said fearfully, crystalline drops hanging on her dark lashes before falling on her face to join the tears that had come before.

"No," Marcus shook his head, staring into her dark eyes with wonder as he smoothed her tears away with the pads of his thumbs. "You have not hurt me. You have not hurt me."

**:::::**

"Carlisle," Marcus looked at his friend, waiting for the blond vampire's nod before he stepped into the home office. "With your permission, I would like to ask…" he began slowly only to frown at the sight of his friend's warm smile.

"Yes, I know," Carlisle nodded and stood from his desk. "You forget that Edward doesn't need to touch you to read your mind, though he is only able to see surface thoughts, not anything to the depth that Aro's ability reaches."

Marcus nodded once, his dark brown hair pulled back at the nape of his neck. Carlisle couldn't hide the amusement on his face to see his friend dressed in his clothing, Marcus not having thought to bring clothing with him on his journey or to have purchased any along the way. Though vampires didn't need to change their clothes, as they never perspired or slept, Marcus' suit had become damaged enough to require a change of outfit. The dark blue sweater and black slacks were the darkest shades of coloring that Carlisle owned, but on Marcus the splash of color made him seem softer somehow.

"What?" Marcus asked Carlisle, arching a brow at the man's amusement.

"Aside from the golds you wore when I lived with you, I'm not used to seeing you in color," Carlisle said with a lopsided grin.

"Oh, do shut up," Marcus said and rolled his eyes when Carlisle chuckled. "Does she have any idea?" he asked in reference to Angela.

"None," Carlisle smiled. "And you're not the first she's done that to either, though you have had the most…profound reaction. With the others it's been far more subtle, but you have spent your life with the pain of a broken heart and all she has ever wished is for those around her to be happy."

"It seems impossible that she is this powerful while being completely ignorant to her talents, not to mention that she is still human," Marcus said with wonder.

"My friend," Carlisle chuckled, "you haven't seen anything yet."

"Do you have any objections?" Marcus asked, his expression growing serious as he returned their topic of conversation to the reason he had sought Carlisle out.

Carlisle took in a deep breath as he stared at his friend, marveling over the effect Angela's embrace had created. It had been five hours since she had embraced and healed Marcus and still Carlisle could hardly wrap his mind around the changes. His ancient friend looked freer, younger somehow, and more at peace than he had ever known him to be. His crimson eyes, once dark and vacant, were now vibrant and full of mirth and curiosity. Even the feel of Marcus' presence was changed for the better. He was quite anxious to get to know the man who stood before him. It was Angela's touch that had inspired Marcus' thoughts throughout the past five hours. His mind had been heavy with the thoughts of Suplicia and what bits of truth and shades of speculation that he had been able to piece together regarding her torment over the years. It had been his desire to have her visit them here in Forks that had drawn Edward to speak candidly with Carlisle while Bella had taken a bath.

"None, though I ask that you not speak of Angela's talents openly," he cautioned. "I have been advised that there is reason for concern of others knowing what she is able to do."

"From whom?" Marcus asked both curious as to who else knew her and worried that it sounded as though she was in danger from one of his kind.

"Eleazar," Carlisle said after a moment and watched Marcus' eyes widen at the familiar name of a man he had once called his friend.

"You have spoken with Eleazar?" he asked, not knowing that his lips had curled up at the corners in a soft, but excited smile.

"Quite frequently," Carlisle smiled. "Our families are very close."

"Is he nearby?" Marcus asked, finding himself speaking his thoughts aloud.

"In Denali, Alaska," Carlisle said and watched Marcus' expression fall into one of disbelief. "What is it, my friend?"

"My original travel plans," he told Carlisle. "I was supposed to take a cruise from the Bahamas to Alaska in order to enter this country, but the trip would have taken another six weeks to complete and I was impatient to see Angela."

"Fate works in mysterious ways," Carlisle said with a nod before growing still as a warm smile spread across his face. "Now that is a most welcomed feeling," he said as he stepped around Marcus and exited his office. "Angela," he greeted affectionately as he walked into the library and accepted her embrace happily.

"Hi, Papa," she said, her voice muffled as her face was still pressed into his shoulder and she selfishly drew in more of his comforting scent. "I had a question," she said when he released her.

"Carlisle," Marcus stepped into the room, his voice kept below the range of human hearing as his curiosity demanded to be answered. "How did you know that Angela was looking for you? I didn't hear her voice."

"That is an answer better left to time and experience," Carlisle said, answering his friend and matching the quiet tone before turning to Angela. "What was your question, sweetheart?"

"Jasper asked me to look something up for him, but it's difficult without having a little bit more to go on," she began as looked down over her hand written notes. "Do you know what Alice's human name was?"

"No," he said sadly. "Although we did discover from James that she was living in an asylum just outside of Biloxi, Mississippi when she was turned in nineteen-twenty; she was deemed insane for her visions. Though even she isn't certain of the age she was when she was turned, from all appearances she is somewhere between eighteen and twenty. Why?"

"Jasper thought it might help if I had something else to focus on; you know something other than…" she averted her gaze before shaking herself from her darker thoughts and meeting his gaze once more. "He asked if I could do for Alice what I did for Emmett. It's harder though because Alice doesn't have any memories at all from before she was turned."

"What you did for Emmett?" Marcus asked her intrigued.

"I made him a book," Angela said simply and Carlisle gave a soft sound of amusement.

"You did far more than that, my daughter," Carlisle told her with pride. "Ask Emmett about it," he instructed his ancient friend. "I'm certain he'd be more than willing to show you. He is extremely fond and proud of her gift to him."

"You, Miss," Esme said as she stepped into the room behind the men, her attention focused on Angela, "need to remember to eat," she said and set a bowl of cut fruit and a glass of cranberry-pomegranate juice on the table next to the computer. "Dinner will be ready about three hours."

"Thank you," Angela said softly and Esme hugged her from behind.

"You're most welcome," she returned and kissed the top of Angela's head. "Don't distract her too much," Esme said to Carlisle and Marcus.

"She is an amazing woman," Marcus said too low for Angela to hear as Esme left the room.

"Yes," Carlisle smiled. "I'm quite fond of her myself."

"Fond enough to marry me," Esme said with a laugh.

"Come," Carlisle said to Marcus. "Once Angela gets her teeth into something there's no pulling her attention away. We should leave her to work for awhile."

"I am truly amazed by what you have created here, Carlisle. I did not know that such a thing was even possible," Marcus said as he followed his friend through the house. "And all because you refused to ever drink human blood."

"There's nothing quite like it," Edward said, joining their conversation as Bella moved ahead of him into the kitchen. "I broke away for a few years, drank human blood," he said, his voice thick with guilt and self recrimination. "There is no comparison between the two, and if ever offered again, I would never wish to drink human blood. There is a…purity it offers us that human blood never could."

He moved away then, turning down the hall and waiting for Bella as she stepped out of the kitchen with her own bowl of fruit and glass of juice. Though her glass of juice was just as full as Angela's, her fruits were lighter, gentler on the stomach as there were still times that it was difficult for Bella to keep the food down. Thankfully though, the anti-nausea medication Carlisle was once again giving her was proving to be far more effective than before. With Edward's guiding arm around her waist, she let him lead her into the room that held his piano and sat down next to him on the polished bench as he exposed the keys of the grand piano. Kissing her temple and putting a napkin on top of the instrument, he took her juice from her and set the glass on the napkin.

"Eat," he told her softly, kissing her cheek, as his fingers moved gracefully over the keys and he began to play her lullaby.

**:::::**

He stared out of the window unable to contain the soft breathy chuckle of disbelief that sounded from him as he felt movement against his ankles. Catching sight of her reflection in the glass, the dark night outside turning the window into a mirror when he shifted his focus; he moved carefully and bent low as he swept the tiny thing into his hands. He rolled his eyes when he looked back at the woman sitting on couch, her expression of innocence amusing him even more. Looking down at his hand, the ball of grey fluff wasn't even big enough to fill his palm and he raised his eyebrow at his companion before sitting down next to her.

"It's not even smart enough to be afraid of us," he told her as he passed the creature to her.

"_She_," Suplicia corrected him. "And her name is Rain."

"A kitten, Songbird?" Felix asked her with a bemused shake of his head. "A kitten?"

"You were out hunting and I was lonely," she said primly as though it was all the explanation he should need. "Besides, she's the only one that didn't hiss at me in the pet store and look at her, Felix, she loves us!"

He wanted to argue with her, tell her that the tiny creature in her hands was too dimwitted to know that they were dangerous, but shook his head at the look on her face instead. If the kitten made her happy then he would suffer through it, he told himself with wry humor. Of course she would choose the only time that they had gone hunting separately to purchase the beast. He had only taken her into the pet store because she was curious to see, as she put it, how humans did it. He had never thought she would actually purchase one of the animals, not to mention the dumb little kitten that was purring contentedly in her lap. The only thing that amused him more than her having the kitten was the thought of the reaction from Aro when he discovered her to have adopted the beast.

"And I suppose you gathered all the supplies _Rain_ would need?" he asked as he emphasized the kitten's name.

"Of course!" Suplicia beamed up at him before returning her attention to the kitten that was batting at her fingers. "The boy at the store was very helpful. He told me it was his first day, but I didn't care, and he has a cat of his own so he knew just what to suggest for me."

"Mmhmm," Felix mused with a grin. "And which one of his suggestions did you buy?" he asked as he looked over the back of the couch to the toys and play area that she had set up for the creature.

"All of them!" she giggled and rubbed her fingers gently though the silken fur of Rain's belly, her petting causing the kitten's purring to escalate in volume.

"I doubt he meant for you to buy them all," he reasoned with a laugh. "How much did you spend?"

"A thousand dollars, I think. I didn't really pay that much attention, I was too busy with you, wasn't I, Rain?" she gushed as she lifted the kitten and rubbed her face into the tiny animal's belly. "Now," she turned to look at Felix, the expression on her face serious and cautioning as she held the kitten to her cheek. "No eating my baby. Rain is our pet, not our food."

"A thousand dollars for a kitten?" Felix couldn't hold back anymore and bent forward as he laughed so hard he was silent. "Only you, songbird, only you," he said after a moment through his chuckles.

"Do you think I missed anything?" she asked him as she looked back at the play area and wrinkled her nose at the scent emanating from down the hall, she would need to clean the litter box soon.

"No," Felix said as he stared at her, his humor never abating. "In fact, I'm pretty certain you made that boy's night."

"Come along, Rain," she said to the kitten when she stood from the couch, delighting in the almost silent thumps of her delicate paws on the carpeted floor. "Let's get you some dinner."

"Oh, I've got to see this," Felix said to himself as he stood from the couch and followed her into the kitchen.

It was as he suspected. The two cabinets nearest the refrigerator had been filled with canned food of every flavor imaginable. Though the names _Iams_ and _Purina_ stood out the most, he did notice that there were a few others as well. Opening the cabinet above the sink, he chuckled at the sight of the small five pound bags of dry food and rolled his eyes when she lifted the kitten up to the counter so that she could choose her own dinner.

"Animals can't read, songbird," he informed her patiently. "She has no idea what you're offering her."

"Yes, she does," Suplicia rebutted and gestured toward the kitten when she sat on top of one of the cans. "See? She knows what she wants."

"Yes," he told her as he chuckled. "Your hand," he said when the creature stood up on its hind legs and reached up for a petting.

"Oh hush you, stop being such a spoil sport," she said and put the other cans away before opening the one her kitten was perched on. "Don't listen to him, Rain. He's just jealous."

"I'm jealous?" Felix asked.

"See, he even admits it," she said and Felix laughed before turning and leaving the room.

"Two females against one of me," he said as he took his ringing cell phone from his pocket. "Those are not good odds. Hello," he answered the call, humor still heavy in his voice.

"What has you so amused?" Aro asked him curiously.

"Your wife," Felix chuckled.

"Oh? What has she done?" Aro asked only to be denied an answer.

"Oh, I think I'm going to let her handle that one," Felix mused and walked into the kitchen. "Songbird, your husband's on the phone."

"I heard," she said merrily. "Put him on the counter, I'm just finishing up. Hello, Aro," she said as she bent low to set the dish of cat food on the floor, knowing that her husband would hear her perfectly, despite the call not being put on speaker.

"Hello, my dear," Aro returned. "What is that noise?" he asked when the sound of Rain's purring carried over the line.

"That's Rain," she told him as she brushed her hand over the kitten's back a few times before standing and retrieving the cell phone from where it was resting on the counter.

"And who is Rain?" he asked having a feeling that he would find amusement in her answer.

"My new kitten," she told him as she disposed of the empty can of cat food and rinsed her hands in the sink. "Oh shoot, I forgot towels," she said and Felix laughed behind her when she dried her hands on her shirt tails.

"Suplicia," Aro's voice called her attention back to the phone propped between her shoulder and ear. "Did you say 'kitten'?"

She turned, narrowing her eyes on Felix only for her friend to raise his hands in defense and back away. The expression on his face was innocent, telling her that he had not influenced Aro's reaction to her new pet at all, but his eyes were filled with humor. Sighing as she rolled her eyes, she glanced back at her kitten and smiled adoringly.

"You and Felix both," she said with dry humor. "What, do men not like cats?"

"We're vampires, Suplicia," Aro told her patiently though there was a touch of humor beginning to sound in his voice. "We do not keep pets unless we intend to eat them."

"There will be no eating of my kitten!" she told him hotly and she heard the call grow silent.

Aro sat at his desk, the smile on his face easy and genuine as he laughed silently. He had called to speak with Felix, to let his friend and wife's guardian know how the progression of Jane's and Alec's sentencing was coming along. There had been enough loyalty among his guards and surprisingly even support from Caius that he was beginning to believe he would be able to leave Volterra soon and visit Suplicia. He still didn't believe it was quite safe for her to come back yet as he had yet to figure out exactly what had caused the deep rift in their relationship, but he did want to see her.

"Are you still there?" Suplicia's voice called him from his thoughts and he nodded before answering her aloud.

"Yes, my dear," Aro smiled into the phone he held pressed against his ear. "I'm still here, my sweet."

"Are you upset?" she asked softly and he chuckled.

"Amused," he corrected her. "Of all of our kind to obtain a very…human pet, it would of course, be you," he told her pleasantly. "I may be able to come see you soon," he told her and heard her delighted gasp.

"When?" she asked excitedly and he grinned.

"A few weeks from now perhaps," he told her as he looked down at his computer. "Things are settling down here and I believe I may be able to get away," he said, choosing his words carefully.

"I want to see you," she told him, her voice taking on a sad tone. "I miss you. I'm sorry," she told him as her heart ached with his absence. "I know running away wasn't very…"

"Suplicia," he interrupted her. "You did what you needed to. I don't fault you for that; I only wish you had never been hurt in the first place. It is I who should apologize, not you. I failed you."

"I love you," she told him. "I love you."

"I love you, my beautiful wife, more than I ever thought possible. I'll come to you as soon as I am able. Am I to assume that with your kitten comes a permanent residence?" he asked and she giggled.

"We have an apartment, but we're not in Montana anymore. It was too sunny," she told him as she smiled back at Felix.

"Where are you now?" Aro asked her as he let her smooth voice calm his aching heart.

"Seattle, Washington," Felix answered from behind her as he stared at the kitten winding around his ankles. "The weather sites reported more cloud cover and rainfall here than in Butte, Montana. We're near Pike Street Market," he said and relayed their address. "Your wife will stand for hours watching them throw the fish around."

"Only the first day!" she exclaimed and punched him in the shoulder lightly.

"I love you, Suplicia," Aro told her with amusement. "I will see you soon. Have fun with your…with Rain," he chuckled speaking the kitten's name before ending the call.

"A kitten," Felix mused to himself when Suplicia stepped into the living room and the creature pranced at her heels. "She got a kitten."


	47. Chapter 45

Chapter 45

Rosalie didn't speak a single word as she sat down at the small table and waited to be noticed. She studied the girl in front of her, sharp golden eyes taking in flaws that humans were, for the most part, too dull to see. The girl had been clever in her attempts to avoid her, but she had found her easily enough. It hadn't taken her much time at all to find her seated inside the Java Hut and she breathed out impatiently, the sound causing the girl to look up from her phone.

"Well now," Rosalie purred with a less than pleasant smile, "it looks like you're rather shocked to see me. Oh no," she shook her head when the girl opened her mouth to speak. "You won't be doing any talking here; you get to listen, Little Miss Mallory. That won't be too hard for you will it? Don't worry; I'll keep the words small so that you can understand them."

Lauren breathed in sharply, irritated by the not so subtle allusion that she was dimwitted. She may not have a high GPA, but she wasn't anywhere near failing either. That Rosalie Hale, adopted daughter of Dr. Carlisle and Esme Cullen, was sitting with her was bad enough. But the knowledge that the girl had intentionally sought her out was disturbing. She had a good idea that she knew what it was Rosalie wanted to talk about, but decided to play dumb in hopes that she would go away.

"Now, first off, that date you were supposed to have with oh…what was his name? Connor? Or was it Matt? No, wait," Rosalie's grin turned a touch dangerous. "That's right; it was Peter today wasn't it? Well, suffice it to say, that won't be happening anytime soon. In fact, it probably won't be happening ever again. I'm sure that right now those three boys are comparing notes about you."

Rosalie smiled at the sight of the girl's growing discomfort. She could see the outrage in her eyes, the embarrassment and fear. She looked down for a moment only for her hand to shoot out and take hold of Lauren's when the girl made move to leave the table.

"We're nowhere near done," Rosalie said with authority, her voice pleasant and smooth while her smile remained predatory and cold. "Sit," she ordered and watched as Lauren complied with her command. "You know, it was quite interesting when Carlisle went to the hospital yesterday and talked with your father about resuming his work. The man knew nothing of any offer Carlisle may or may not have been presented with while in New York. In fact, your father was happy to see him as Carlisle had returned earlier than expected."

Lauren's face paled and Rosalie's smile intensified, her lips parting to reveal deadly white teeth. Lauren would never know that she was a vampire, but with every breath she took, Rosalie could smell the girl's fear intensifying. She delighted in the scent. She hadn't hunted humans since she had killed her fiancée and his friends in revenge of the actions they had taken against her, but she didn't deny the dark pleasure in smelling Lauren's fear and knowing that she was the cause of it. Leaning closer as she lowered her voice and let just a touch of a growl roll through, Rosalie stared hard into Lauren's green eyes.

"Angela is part of _my family_ as is Bella. What you did, to them _both_, was not only heinous and uncalled for, but completely malicious." She sat back, releasing Lauren's hand only to pick up the metal spoon the girl had used to stir her tea with. "Now," she let her voice resume its normal pleasant cadence as she looked at the girl across from her. "I would say that your father should be calling you very soon, considering of course that several of the junior and senior boys from the high school have suddenly decided to go down to the hospital for STD testing, he will be concerned. But I do assure you, he will…displeased to learn that the one thing those boys all have in common is you."

Rosalie stood up gracefully, her honey blonde hair swept back over her shoulder, the eyes of the teen boy behind the counter fixed on her. Grace, confidence and poise, that was all a girl really needed to draw attention to herself. While her beauty had always been paramount and used to her advantage, Rosalie knew how to operate as though it weren't a factor. She could turn a boy's head with her smile alone, charm them into giving her whatever she wanted, but she had never once dropped down to Lauren's level. Dropping the spoon to the table, Rosalie placed her hand on the girl's shoulder and gave her a light squeeze.

"Go near either of my sisters again and I will show you exactly how vicious I can be," she whispered in the girl's ear. "Have a good day," she said pleasantly and walked out of the coffee shop. "Alice," Rosalie greeted without needing to look at the caller ID as she answered her cell phone.

"Beautiful! She won't be going near either of them or any of us anytime soon," her sister informed her. "The spoon was a nice touch."

Rosalie chuckled as she disconnected the call and tucked the phone back into her pocket. She certainly thought so. Looking back over her shoulder she caught sight of Lauren's frightened face as she held the bent spoon up to her face. She hadn't simply bent the bowl of the spoon back, no; she had bent the metal handle in half as well. The stiff metal had been formed into a nice little tri-fold accordion. Smiling to herself as she moved across the street and to the edge of the forest, Rosalie laughed in delight before disappearing into the woods. She was still chuckling when she stepped back into the house and greeted Marcus with a nod.

"Do I want to know?" he asked and she laughed.

"It's a girl thing," she winked before moving up the stairs.

**:::::**

Each day that passed made her grow that much more impatient and she could feel her temper nearing its breaking point. Taking in a deep breath, she catalogued the scents of the surrounding forest before taking off at a dead run. No one would be able to see her movements unless they were one of her kind, or one of theirs, she thought as her lip curled with anger and disgust. She was tired of waiting, tired of playing this game of cat and mouse. She wanted vengeance, wanted to taste the girl's blood, but more than all of that was the desire to watch the life drain out of her eyes. Because of _her_, that disgusting little human girl, both James and Laurent were dead. Because of _her_ she was now forced to hunt alone.

She veered quickly to the right, using the ball of her foot to launch herself off a nearby tree and vault over the black beast behind her. They had been careful enough this time to stay downwind from her, but no matter how they tried to hide their scents, their heartbeats gave them away. Bouncing from one tree to another, she narrowly avoided having her arm ripped off by the one with russet colored fur. They didn't stop. They never stopped coming after her, chasing her away from her prize, from the human girl that she would hunt until either she or the girl was dead. She didn't care what it took or how far she had to go, the girl would die. Perhaps even her vampire lover would die as well.

_Seth no!_ Sam called out the warning, but he was too late.

She breathed in sharply, flame red curls flying around her head like so many ribbons as she spun in the air and kicked out. Her foot connected solidly with the sandy brown wolf and he was sent flying back into a tree nearly fifty feet away. She heard his collision with the tree, the crack and crunch of bone and smiled with malignant delight as she launched from tree to tree escaping the hunting party. Sam watched her leave, snapped his jaws at Paul and watched as his second led the rest of the pack in a chase against the redheaded she-devil. Turning to look behind him, he trotted quickly to where the youngest of his pack was struggling to his feet, his ears folded back in both pain and anger.

It hurt to breathe, even the smallest breath sent fire lancing through his left side and made him feel dizzy. He had every intention of going after her, but in two steps he was once more on the ground, spots dancing before his eyes as he tried to shake off the ringing in his ears. She had kicked him in the side of the head, her foot connecting just under his right eye and it was all he could do just to get his feet under him. He looked up at the sound of Sam's command through the telepathy, realizing that he had stayed behind while sending the rest of the pack to finish the hunt.

_I can run, I just need a minute,_ Seth groaned, his jaw clenched tight against the pain and vertigo clouding his mind.

_The hell you can,_ Sam retorted, worry coloring his voice with anger. _We all heard that hit, Seth. You've got at least two broken ribs, probably more. You're fast and you've got good instincts, but you're reckless. Think before you attack, not the other way around. Come on, phase back and I'll take you to the doc._

_You want me to ride you? Really, Sam?_ Seth said as he stayed where he lay on the ground.

_And how are you going to get back, huh? Run? You can't even stand. Phase back, Seth. _

Seth groaned as his fur and fangs receded, his larger form growing smaller until he was once again in his human form. He felt stronger, less vulnerable in his wild wolf form, but this form – the one he had been born into – made him feel the pain stronger and he felt his breath catch in his throat. He heard Sam's command and struggled slowly to his hands and knees. Reaching up, he gripped a handful of thick black fur tightly and fought to stay conscious against the pain as he was lifted to his feet when Sam stood slowly. Biting back a groan, Seth felt himself being lifted, the deadly sharp teeth of his alpha impossibly gentle as they surrounded him and lifted him to rest in the pillowing fur along his back.

Making an amused comment about being slobbered on, Seth gripped the black fur tightly and told Sam he was ready. He bent forward as best he could, laying his body down in the fur when he thought he might pass out from the jarring motion of the run. They were too deep in the woods to call for a car and too far away from the Cullen's place to consider any other method of travel. Sam knew that he had to get Seth to Carlisle before the boy's bones started to mend, their accelerated healing making it almost dangerous to let an unset break go more than a few moments without being tended to. He heard Seth cry out, felt the boy's grip on his fur tighten and though he hated the pain it was causing him, Sam had no choice but to move faster.

"Leah's going to be pissed," Seth said, groaning with pain though humor colored his voice. "She and I were supposed to race today to see who was faster."

_It's not as though you intended to get kicked into a tree,_ Sam's voice filled his head.

"Sam, Leah phased while I was staying with Angela at the Cullen's place. We all know that she's pissed enough over that, but to be taken back there after only five days…" he let his words hang in the air. "She's more angry now than she ever was. It's not fair, we can't fight our nature, we can't choose who we imprint on. Why can't she understand that?"

_It's more than, Seth,_ Sam reasoned wisely. _It's all of it. Being a wolf, me being alpha, the telepathy that shares her thoughts with all of us; nothing is normal anymore for her. You're the only one of us to truly take to the phasing well. In fact, you're the only one who has been happy about it since day one, well, after you got over the initial shock that is._

"Go faster, Sam," Seth groaned as he fought to take in a breath. "It's a fight not to pass out right now. The last thing I want to do is be tossed around like a rag doll again." He shook his head against the vertigo tugging at his brain and tightened his grip on the black fur clutched in his hands. "As near as I could tell, you two were never that serious. I try not to pay attention to her thoughts, try to give her at least some sense of privacy, but even when I do listen I don't understand her anger."

_You're right, we weren't actually that serious, but serious or not it still hurts her. _Sam panted as he pushed himself faster and braced his feet before launching over the cliffs dividing the territories. _I can smell one of the Cullens coming closer; I'm not sure which one it is... Seth? _Sam turned his massive head back and looked at the barely conscious boy on his back. _Damnit, Seth, hold on!_

Seth groaned, falling to the side only to be caught by icy hands, the grip strong and gentle. His eyes were closed, but even still he knew it was Emmett who had caught him, the vampire's scent as familiar to him as his own. He was barely conscious enough to hear the words passed between Sam and Emmett as they talked for a few moments before Seth felt the wind rushing by him again. Emmett's run was different, smoother and almost floating. There were no jarring impacts with the ground, no bounding steps that increased his pain, the only way he could even tell they were moving was the wind whipping around him and the shift in his center of gravity.

"Lay him down here," he heard Carlisle say, but he was beyond the point of being able to respond to anyone, only barely conscious.

"What happened?" Esme asked as she stepped into the room, Marcus close behind her.

"Victoria," Emmett growled, nearly spitting the vampire's name. "Sam said that she kicked Seth into a tree. He's pretty certain at least two of his ribs are broken."

"Shattered," Carlisle corrected as he probed the injury as gently as he could. "The bones have already started to heal, but the breaks weren't clean."

"What does that mean?" Esme asked as Marcus stood silently watching the interaction with interest.

"I have to rebreak the bones," he sighed sadly. "Emmett, I'll need you to hold him. He's already in a great deal of pain and this will only make it worse."

Marcus was left silent and motionless as he watched the scene in front of him, his talent allowing him to feel what his mind nearly refused to accept. He watched as Emmett took hold of the Quileute boy in a tight grip, his nod to Carlisle telling him that he was ready. As impossible as it was, he watched in wonder and disbelief as Esme's maternal nature shined through the strongest, her hand gently petting the boy's hair, her voice soothing him as Carlisle placed his hands carefully along the boy's side and pressed down sharply. The sickening crack of Seth's ribs was followed by a deafening cry of pain and the strong scent of salt as tears of agony fell from his eyes. Marcus was glad that Angela wasn't home, the girl having left with Rosalie when she had insisted on taking her and Bella out of the house for awhile.

Edward had gone with them, only because of how afraid Bella seemed to be when he was out of sight of her. He had heard Carlisle's recount of the love story between the two, the tale fraught with tragedy and fear after the encounter with James and the other two nomads that made up his small coven. Seth cried out again, the sound pulling him from his thoughts and Marcus was only again surprised that even through all the pain the boy was experiencing, his trust in Carlisle was inexplicably strong. Esme continued to stroke his hair, talking to him gently as Carlisle finished setting the rebroken bones and wrapped his ribs tightly. Seth groaned softly, his eyes falling closed one final time as he surrendered to the exhaustion and pain clouding his mind and fell asleep.

"He'll be out for awhile," Carlisle said as he injected Seth with morphine. "Did Sam say how close they were?"

"She was right on the edge of the territory line when they came in sight of her," Emmett said as he looked at Seth's sleeping form. "They had chased her up nearly to the border before Seth got hit."

"She's getting bolder," Esme said with worry, her eyes meeting Carlisle's with worry.

"What does she want?" Marcus asked, his voice reminding the others of his presence.

"Bella," Carlisle answered his voice at once both hard with anger and quiet with worry. "She wants Bella."

**:::::**

It had been too late by the time that they had returned to the United States all those years ago to do anything about the unfortunate accident that they had been forced to endure. Everyone from their circle of friends and the congregation her husband tended to at the church had known about the baby which had meant that giving her up for adoption had no longer been an option. Rolling her eyes as she made her way through the stacks of books in the nearly deserted bookstore, Mrs. Weber stilled at the familiar sight of her daughter's dark hair. The girl was standing alone, no one was near her and it didn't look as though she was with anyone either. The ungrateful girl had brought she and her husband shame from their congregation when the word had spread around their small community that Angela had been taken in by the Cullen family. It seemed that the doctor and his wife, who had only lived in Forks for three years now, were far more respected and better liked than she and her husband.

Grinding her teeth against the desire to slap the girl for all the trouble that she caused them in the past year, Mrs. Weber stepped toward her. She wasn't certain how the idea had come to her, or when it had taken hold exactly over the years, but neither she nor her husband had ever wanted a child in their life. The same thought that had led their actions through the last seventeen years played in her mind once again as she stared at Angela: _to give up a child through adoption or abortion is to bring ridicule, but to raise a child who takes their own life you are given sympathy and surrounded by many people expressing their sorrow for your hardship._

She had come close, she knew she had, but something had changed. Angela had somehow grown more confident and she intended to undo that. She was tired of the looks and the whispers from the people of the town. Even the people that she and her husband traveled with now looked at them with contempt and whispered to each other when they thought she wasn't looking. Oh, she knew that Dr. Cullen and his wife had never said anything about her or her husband; it hadn't been they who had spread the information like wildfire. No, that had been done by the population of Forks high school. There was no news service or gossip circle that could spread information faster than teenagers. When a few of the students had found out that Angela had moved in with the mysterious and coveted Cullen family, they had told their parents and from then on all hopes for keeping the rumors silent had been lost.

"It really is quite disturbing to know that you've developed such a talent for lying and trickery," she told Angela as she stepped close enough to her to keep her voice low and their conversation intimate.

Angela looked up slowly from the paperback she was reading, her eyes growing impossibly wide as she came face to face with her mother. She felt her heart begin to race as her blood seemed to freeze inside her veins, chilling her to the point that she began to tremble. She had never told any of them that her mother had left her voicemails during the time that the Cullens had been away. She had erased every message, but was forced to listen to them first in order to do so. She had thought, had hoped that she would never see either of her parents again, but now she stood frozen in place, trapped and immobilized under her mother's burning glare. All of the doubts, all of the fears and pain from the last seventeen years fell upon her and Angela was once again reduced to the young broken child who knew that she would never be good enough for her own parents who seemed to love and dote on everyone else.

"You're alone once again," Mrs. Weber said, moving close enough to whisper the words into Angela's ear. "The Cullens must have finally grown tired of your deceit, did you try and play your 'migraine games' with them, too?"

She could see the girl trembling; delighted in the pain and misery that she was causing her and knew that she would have to talk to the Mallory girl. She was reluctant to talk to Angela anymore at school, though she wouldn't say why, and it was frustrating to know that the money she had offered the girl had been refused. Angela whimpered softly, the sound too low for anyone save her vampire family to hear, and she jumped when a cool hand landed with a gentle grip on her shoulder. It took her a moment to pull her eyes off of her mother and look back to see Edward standing beside her.

"Bella wanted your help deciding between a few books," he told Angela, his voice soothing the girl even as his eyes remained fixed and hard as stone. "Go on," he encouraged, turning Angela in the direction of the stack of books three rows away.

He didn't take his eyes off of the woman in front of him as Angela moved away, his fury drawing a growl from him that was only loud enough for Rosalie to hear. His sister appeared at his side, her thoughts both encouraging him to attack the woman and cautioning him against it. He had heard Mrs. Weber's thoughts when he had come back from the juice bar outside the store with Bella. It had been the absence of Angela's thoughts, the biting call of her fearful cry for protection that had drawn him to her and he was only barely able to keep himself in control. To know that it had been this woman's influence that had encouraged Lauren's vicious verbal attacks against Angela enraged him further.

"You're violating the protection order," Rosalie said stiffly when it became clear to her that Edward was too angered to speak.

"No, I'm not," she said smugly. "It was revoked."

_Certainly had to pay that damn fool enough to revoke it,_ she thought and Edward found it increasingly difficult to rein in his escalating temper.

His head snapped around, his attention shifting focus from the woman in front of him to the human girls rows behind him when he again felt Angela's call for protection and heard the vile thoughts from her father. His eyes found them only a second before the man backhanded Angela and Bella cried out her friend's name in alarm. He moved without thought, careful to keep his movements at the slower human pace so as not to attract attention. He quickly pushed both girls behind him as he stared at the human man and let him see exactly how dangerous he was in his eyes. The scent of Angela's blood only fueled his rage, his deadly nature reflected in his stance and the low growl he barely let the human man hear.

"Over there," he heard a clerk say from the front of the store, the boy staring in their direction. "I saw that man hit the girl, the boy's just defending them."

His attention shifted focus for a brief moment, his eyes seeing the men in uniform coming closer, one of which he recognized. Deputy Carson nodded to Edward and stepped forward, confirming Reverend Weber's identity before cuffing him and reading the man his rights. Though the knowledge he gained from the young policeman's thoughts didn't relieve his anger, it did calm him enough that he no longer felt so dangerously close to losing control. Nodding once in recognition, he watched as one of the other officers lead Reverend and Mrs. Weber out of the store in the silver cuffs.

"The Chief has always said to keep you all in the loop," he told Edward. "They tried to bribe a judge in Seattle to revoke the restraining order. They should be put away for at least a few years. Angela," he looked back at the girl hidden behind Edward and saw her bruised cheek and split lip. "Did you want to press assault charges?"

"Yes," Edward answered for her.

"Ok, we'll just need her to make a statement," Deputy Carson told him.

"Now?" Angela asked her voice barely loud enough to be heard by the deputy.

"It doesn't have to be right now, but it does need to be sometime today," he told her and watched her nod quietly. "I'll be at the station," he told Edward, noticing that Rosalie was standing next to her brother when he couldn't remember having seen her there before.

Edward nodded, watching him leave the store, the other officers having already left and turned around to see Angela. Her blood had already dried, the wound clotted, but the scent of her spilled blood had been enough to push him to the very edges of his control. He didn't speak a word as he drew her into his arms and held her close. His eyes met Bella's and he saw anger and concern reflected in her chocolate orbs. He held out his hand to her, lifting her hand to kiss her knuckles as he continued to hold Angela in his arms until she calmed enough to stop trembling.

"Don't apologize," he whispered in her ear as he responded to her thoughts. "You didn't do anything wrong."

Edward looked up at the sound of his brother's thoughts filling his mind and watched as Emmett moved quickly toward them. He wasn't surprised to see him there, Angela's call may have been short lived, but it had been desperate and strong. Kissing Angela's hair, he stepped back and nodded toward Emmett. Though she would never say the words, he knew that she favored Emmett and watched as she stepped into his open arms without hesitation.

"I'm a bit surprised that Marcus didn't come with him," Rosalie said quietly as she watched her husband soothe Angela.

"He's not as used to feeling her call as we are," Edward told her, his voice low. "From what I read of his thoughts, he's only heard her call once and that was during the worst of her nightmares."

"Edward," Bella looked at him, her hand still held in his. "What about her parents?"

"They can't touch her anymore, my love," he told her as he kissed her knuckles. "We need to take her by the police station before we go home," he told Emmett and watched his brother nod. "Did either of you want to buy anything before we leave?"

"No," Bella said and they both watched as Angela shook her head without moving away from where she walked tucked against Emmett's side. "Thank you," Bella said softly, turning her eyes up to Edward.

"For what?"

"Angela," she told him as they walked to his Volvo. "I'm really glad she has all of you."

"She has you, too," he nodded and kissed her chastely. "Family, it means everything to us."

"Hi Jasper," he heard Angela say as she held her cell phone to her ear.

"Hey darlin', you ok?" he asked her, his southern accent a touch more noticeable.

"Yeah, I'm ok," she said as she climbed into the backseat of Edward's car, sandwiched between Emmett and Rosalie.

"Are you sure, little one? I could feel you all the way out here," he told her and she smiled softly when Emmett tucked her under his arm.

"I'm ok," she promised again and looked up at sound of Edward's voice. "Edward wants to talk to you," she told him before handing over the phone.

"She's alright, Jazz," he promised his brother as he pulled out of the mall parking lot and directed the car toward the police station.

"What happened? I haven't felt that kind of pull from her in awhile now," he asked and Edward sighed.

"Her parents decided to visit her in person today. Her mother upset her and her father hit her," he said, his voice too low for Angela to hear. "She's ok though."

"And her parents?" Jasper growled.

"Arrested for criminal bribery," he told his brother. "From what I read of Deputy Carson's thoughts, they should be put away for about five years or so."

"I'll go in with her," Emmett said as Edward parked the car in front of the station doors.

"Rosalie?" Angela looked at the blonde and the vampire smiled and nodded before exiting the vehicle as well.

"Let's get this over with," Rosalie encouraged Angela as she opened the door.

**:::::**

"Let me go in first and tell them what happened," Edward said as he pulled into the garage and shut off his car.

"Why?" Angela asked. _Will they be upset?_

"Not with you," he soothed her and kissed her forehead. "No one's upset with you, Sweetheart. You've done nothing wrong."

Angela nodded silently and watched as he stepped out of the garage. She followed him with her eyes until he moved out of sight, the house and garage not connected, and turned back to look at Rosalie. Laughing softly when she was offered a wrench, she nodded and stepped toward the car the blonde was beginning to work on.

"This is my car," Angela said as she stared at her car with a frown and heard Rosalie chuckle.

"Yes, well, one of these days I will convince you to let me take you shopping for something better," Rosalie told her as she propped open the hood.

"There's something wrong with this one?" Angela asked as Rosalie tied back her hair before bending over the engine.

"It's close to ten years old and is all practical with no sense of fun. You need something fast, stylish and fun," she told Angela with an air of finality.

"Wait," Angela looked at Rosalie, her expression a mix of amusement and disbelief. "That's why you all haven't let me drive? Because of my car?"

"And your migraines," Carlisle said as he stepped up to her and placed his finger under her chin, turning her face to look at her injury.

"I'm ok," Angela said softly and Carlisle sighed before pulling her into his arms.

"They never should have gotten that close to you," he told her regretfully. "How do you feel? Any pain at all?" he asked as he released her and looked into her eyes.

"I'm ok," she said again and he studied her with a raised brow. "You said I have to wait until I can take the Toradol again, that I need to gain more weight."

"You do, but that doesn't mean that there are not alternatives," he told her. "You don't have to hide your pain, sweetheart."

"Lunch is almost ready," Esme said as she stepped around Carlisle and touched Angela's hair. "We can take care of that with a little bit of make up," she promised her. "Come on, you need to eat," she said and led Angela from the garage.

"This truly is a family," Marcus said softly as he watched Angela and Esme head back toward the house. "I have never witnessed anything so strong before. The connections between all of you," he shook his head slightly in awe. "Never once have I born witness to a coven with such powerful ties to each other."

"I never could have imagined this future for myself when I lived with all of you in Volterra," Carlisle told his friend as they walked back to the house, Rosalie left to the distraction of Angela's car. "I had never thought of creating a coven for myself, but I met Esme when she was a young girl about Angela's age, then I met Edward and after I turned him, I found her again. Everything just fell into place without effort. It was as though this is how it was meant to be from the very beginning."

"I was able to reach Aro late last night during my hunt," he told Carlisle as they stepped inside the house. "He is traveling, though he did give me the information with which to contact Suplicia. It seems that Felix is guarding her and they are surprisingly close to us. They are in Seattle," he told Carlisle and saw his fleeting expression of surprise before looking at his friend with a more serious expression, "I will ask you once more, my friend, are you certain?"

"Yes, Marcus," Carlisle said with a nod. "Though I do not anticipate any trouble from their visit, we are prepared to handle anything that may come. I ask though that they wait for at least one of my family members to be with you when they are brought here. I do not want the wolves going after them."

"Seth has asked that I not hunt anywhere close to town," Marcus said with a nod. "He is…not what I expected."

"People will surprise you," Carlisle said only to find himself chuckling at the stare down taking place between Angela and Seth. "What is going on here?" he asked as he tried to hide his amusement and failed.

"I'm fine," Seth told Angela as she stared at him.

"You are not!" she rebutted. "Emmett told me what happened and you didn't even wake up until a few minutes ago. What were you thinking?!" she asked him and Carlisle looked to the side only to see Emmett shake his head with amusement.

"She asked why he was wrapped up," Emmett explained as he looked at Carlisle. "I think she's still upset from finding out that he had hurt himself to get to her."

"I was in a fight, Angela," Seth argued even as he remained calm and somewhat amused by her upset.

"Was anyone else in your pack hurt?" she asked with a pointed glare.

"…No," he answered slowly, knowing that the answer would upset her further.

"Emmett," Angela turned to stare at her brother and he could hear Edward's nearly silent chuckles from the kitchen behind him.

"Yes?" the tall dark haired vampire said as he looked at Angela.

"Will you please teach Seth how to fight so he doesn't get hurt anymore?" she asked and both vampire and werewolf were surprised by her request.

"I don't actively seek out a fight," Seth told her.

"I told you she would ask you to do that," Edward chuckled, his voice kept below the range of human hearing. "I didn't need Alice's gift to predict that."

"Alright," Emmett gave in with a sigh and looked at the wolf. "But you bite me…" he let the threat hang in the air.

"Same thing for you," Seth said before they both returned to their teasing stances.

"You two gave in way too easily," Angela said with suspicion as she looked at them both. "You knew!" she exclaimed and pushed at Emmett's arm only to squeak in surprise when he tossed her over his shoulder and walked toward the kitchen.

"That you would ask? Nope," Emmett said and set her down on her feet near the table when Esme shook her head in amusement at him. "I had arranged with Seth to train him before I came to the mall. With him being the smallest among them, he needs more training then the rest. Sam may not like it, but Seth seems to be the only one that can really tolerate us, except for Jacob and he's civil at best."

"Jacob doesn't like you all?" Angela asked with concern and smiled her thanks when Esme set a plate in front of her.

"They're werewolves," Emmett said with a shrug. "Technically, they're not supposed to like us. Natural enemies and all that."

"Seth's the exception, not the rule," Edward said in answer to the thoughts he read from her.

"You're not eating so much, half pint," Emmett commented as he looked at her plate. "Not hungry?" he asked her as Esme looked on from where she stood leaning against the sink, Carlisle standing next to her.

"No, I am hungry," Angela said as she blinked slowly. "I guess, I'm just more tired than I am hungry. It's not even six yet, I shouldn't be this tired."

"You're gaining back the weight that you lost," Carlisle said, his voice drawing her attention. "Your body is repairing the damage done by the lack of appetite and sleep deprivation. In doing so, your body is demanding more sleep. Eat at least half," he nodded toward her plate, "and then I'll read to you for a bit if you'd like."

"Do you think," she looked down as she blushed at her thought and Edward softly encouraged her to speak her request aloud. "Do you think Marcus would tell me more about Greece?" she asked. "I don't want you to not be there," she said quickly, "I just…do you think he would?"

"It would be my pleasure," Marcus said from the doorway, having entered at the sound of his name. "Eat, little one. Then I'll tell you about Greece."

"Ok," she smiled and turned back to her meal.

Carlisle breathed in, a smile on his face though his eyes spoke of the slightly guarded emotion he hid beneath. Edward chuckled at the thoughts of his adopted father, the man realizing that he would have to share his daughter with someone else and he nodded at the thoughts Esme directed at him, her suspicions right on target.

"Be good," Esme chuckled at Carlisle, lightly slapping his chest as she winked at him and moved toward the table when Angela set her fork down.

"I have no idea to what you are referring, wife," Carlisle said innocently, his eyes sparkling with amusement.

"Oh, you know exactly what I'm talking about, husband," she teased back. "All done?" she asked and Angela nodded. "I like mothering you," Esme told her with a smile, tapping her chin at the girl's look.

"She truly does," Edward told her with a smile. "I've never known her to be happier than she is now, surrounded as she is by family. You have given her what she has always wanted."

"I have?" Angela asked and bit her lip.

"Yes," he smiled at her. "The one desire she has always held is to be a mother, and even with our family the way it is, that desire was never fulfilled until you came into our lives. Never doubt that we want you here with us. You've completed our family, Angela. To each of us, a little sister and to them, a daughter."

She bit her lip and smiled shyly, her cheeks flushing with a dusting of color and Carlisle smiled. His precious daughter had always doubted herself, but slowly she was beginning to find comfort in her place with them. Stepping up behind her, he dropped a kiss to her hair and told her that he and Marcus would be up in a few minutes. She smiled and nodded quietly before moving away from the table.

"Do you feel that?" Carlisle asked turning to Marcus as Esme closed the fridge door. "Can you feel it yet, you are so new to her here in person anyway."

"Oh he feels it," Edward said reading the man's thoughts. "He just doesn't realize that's what he's feeling."

"And exactly what is it that I am supposed to be feeling?" Marcus intoned with curiosity.

Edward chuckled and kissed Bella's cheek before she moved away from the table and watched as she blushed when Esme took the dishes from her. Encouraging her to use his desk, he promised that he would join her in a few moments to help her study for the makeup exam she would be taking on Monday. He knew that Angela was worried about the material as well, but he had seen her thoughts while she studied earlier this morning and knew that she had the material down pat. Bella, he knew, wouldn't stop worrying about the test until she got it back from the teacher with the grade on it.

"That subtle warmth, the way you feel peaceful. Nothing is rushed, you're not worried about your control or doubting the choices you make," Edward said and watched as the ancient vampire stared at him silently. "She's not influencing your emotions, not like that," Edward told him. "It's part of her, part of her soul. The way she healed you, the way you feel right now, it's all connected and she has no idea she's doing it at all. She takes away your fear, your doubts, any worries you have, they're gone when you're around her."

"And even when you're not," Carlisle said with a proud smile. "Once you recognize the feeling, you'll be able to feel her at a distance. The warmth and light when she's happy and the gentle tug that pulls you closer when she's thinking of you, you'll be able to feel her stronger the more familiar you are with her."

"The desperate clawing and mad tearing when she's frightened," Emmett added in. "Earlier today when I left, I could tell you thought something was wrong, but you didn't say anything. I could feel her, I knew she was with Edward and Rose, but the feel of her call for protection, you feel her fear and it makes you…"

"Restless," Rosalie said from where she stood by the entryway. "Angry. You feel almost…"

"Demonic," Carlisle finished for her, "in your need to protect her."

"She doesn't project her fear onto you," Esme said, "rather it's her cry for protection that you feel. Strangely, it seems that only our kind are able to feel it. Bella hasn't felt it, in fact, the only other person besides all of us to feel it, is Seth."

"The other wolves don't feel it?" Marcus asked and it was Seth who answered.

"No," he said as he grimaced and rubbed his side that was still tender from his impact with the tree. "The only other member of my pack who has spent any time near her was Sam and that was only for about thirty minutes. The others refuse to come near her."

"Why?" Carlisle asked as he stepped away from the counter he was leaning against.

"Because of us," Edward answered as he read Seth's thoughts. "Most of them are very…prejudiced of her because of her close relationship with us. Sam, Seth and maybe Quil, are the only ones to see her as being human, the others see her as being a vampire already."

"It pisses me off, too," Seth told Carlisle able to see the man's upset. "But I grew up with the same stories they did, I just didn't listen to any of them. I saw it all the time with the kids at the reservation school, people making judgments without actually knowing who the person is. Just because you're a vampire doesn't make you evil, and just because someone's human or a werewolf doesn't mean they're good. I mean look at you and then look at this guy who's stalking Angela. He's raped and killed twenty-three women, brutally murdered two children, and the authorities still can't catch him. Someone like that shouldn't be in this world and just because you drink blood doesn't mean that you should be penalized because of it."

"You're not like any other of you kind that I've ever met and I've met quite a few," Marcus said.

Seth huffed, "Then you and my dad would certainly agree on something. He hates that I'm so comfortable with everything."

"It is unusual," Marcus allowed. "I believe Angela is waiting for us," he said to Carlisle.

"Yes, she is," he smiled and followed Marcus out of the kitchen.

"Transforming is one thing," Edward said to Seth as he stood the kitchen empty except for them. "But I wouldn't suggest running yet. Give your ribs another day or two. You heal fast, yes, but don't overdo it."

"It feels weird," Seth said as he moved toward the back door. "I got used to sleeping with her in my wolf form; it feels odd not to be doing that anymore."

"I'm certain she wouldn't mind if you came around for a visit in your wolf form," Edward smiled. "I know that things are difficult right now for you between your pack and your family. This is a safe haven if you need it."

"Thank you," Seth nodded and opened the door, stepping outside before he turned back to face Edward. "They're safe around me, Edward. Marcus and the friends he asked to come visit. I'll try to make Sam and the others see reason, but if they don't, I'll try to let you know if they're planning anything."

"You think they will?" Edward asked his brow furrowed.

"I don't know, that's the problem. I know they're not happy about the additional vampires being in the area, especially not with the threat that Victoria's making. She's getting bolder."

"We'll coordinate hunting with you and your pack. We'll keep the people safe from her."

Seth nodded once more and stepped outside, closing the door behind him. Edward shook his head and the sheer joy that filled Seth's thoughts when he phased into his wolf form. The freedom and childish happiness that Seth found in his wild form was amusing and Edward listened to the rhythmic thumps and cheerful yips as the wolf sped into the woods. Turning away from the window, he walked back through the house and jogged up the stairs. Their family certainly was changing.

**:::::**

"You're packing," Suplicia said as she stepped into the room, her grey kitten snuggled in her arms, purring as she slept. "Why are you packing?"

"We've been invited to visit a friend in Forks," Felix said simply. "I'm not packing much, just the computer, our money and a few outfits so that we don't draw attention to ourselves by wearing the same thing for days at a time."

"Who invited us?" she asked as she watched him move about the apartment.

"Marcus," he told her and watched her still, her hand resting on the kitten's back.

"Marcus?" she asked, speaking her friend's name slowly.

"Yes," he told her with a curious smile. "He sounds different. Alive. Something has changed about him, Songbird."

"When do we leave?" she asked and looked down when Rain stretched in her arms, the kitten's claws catching on the sleeve of her blouse.

"Tonight," he said and then glanced at his watch before looking at the kitten in her arms. "Alright, tomorrow, I guess, it is after midnight. We'll have to take a car, if you plan on bringing her along."

"How long are we staying?" Suplicia asked as Rain jumped up to perch on her shoulder before leaping to Felix.

"You, little miss," he said to the kitten as he caught her mid jump, "are a bit of a troublemaker. I can see it already." Setting her down on the table as he zipped up the bag he turned his attention back to Suplicia. "I don't know how long we'll be staying. It could be a few days or it could be longer. I don't know if he's just out to visit us, or if he came out here on his own, but from the sounds of it he's staying with a coven nearby."

"Anyone we know?" she asked with a curious frown.

"I have no idea, he didn't offer any names and I didn't ask," he said and looked up at her. "We can't take everything. You should choose a few toys and bring some food."

"What about her litter box?" Suplicia asked as Rain rolled on the floor by Felix's foot and playfully tugged at his bootlaces.

"She'll have to make do with the dirt outside. She's an animal, songbird, it's not like we're torturing her. Besides, we don't know how she'll get along with the others. I still can't quite wrap my mind around you two. Keeping humans as we do in Volterra is one thing, but a kitten?" He shook his head and chuckled. "Only you."

**:::::**

"This is it," Eleazar said as he stared at Jasper. "This is the last test that I have for you, and you, my friend have come a long way in these past several weeks."

"I told you, you would be fine," Alice smiled up at Jasper.

He stood stiffly in the wide yard of the Denali coven's estate, a goblet of human blood in his hand. Every one of the vampires around him, including Alice and himself, had black eyes. Their hunger was a powerful thing and so was his, but he had enough control to hold the goblet and not drink from it. Although he was tempted and was certain that he always would be, the person that he wanted to be fueled his control and he stood strong against the draw of the blood. He knew that it would be different if Bella's blood were to be spilled again, the draw it had on Edward was powerful and beyond anything he had ever experienced before. But, unlike any other time in his life, he had control over his thirst and he would not give that up. He never wanted to be that monster he had been again, he knew who and what he wanted to be and he knew how he wanted to live his life.

"I'm ready, Alice," he told her as he set the goblet down on the boulder next to him. "We can hunt on the way home, but I want to leave tonight."

"Now," she told him with a brilliant smile and a nod. "We'll leave now. Thank you," she said turning back to the coven in front of them. "Thank you for helping him – us."

"Anytime, Alice," Tanya said with a nod. "You are family."

"Will you," Michael looked down at his hands. "Will you give this to Angela?" he asked them as he stepped toward Jasper and handed him a folded piece of parchment. "She never responded to my letter and I feared that maybe she didn't get it."

Jasper nodded, knowing that Angela had in fact received Michael's letter, but due to circumstances beyond her control had not been able to respond. Promising that he would give the item to her, he tucked it inside his inner coat pocket and looked at Alice. She smiled, taking his hand and they turned as one, fleeing into the surrounding forest together. Carmen smiled at the laughter she could hear from them both as the two members of the Cullen clan returned to their family. Nothing happens by chance, she thought as she stared at the edge of the forest.

"May they find happiness upon their return," Eleazar toasted as he lifted the goblet and poured the blood over the rock in an ancient commemoration. "May they be blessed with love."


	48. Chapter 46

Chapter 46

He stood still, statuesque in the morning light. His feet were spread shoulder width apart giving him greater balance while also providing him with a way to move quickly in either direction. The clouds shifted, the sunlight falling through to illuminate his skin in iridescent prisms of light, his gold eyes studying the creature in front of him critically. The wolf stood to the middle of his chest at his shoulder, almost six feet at his highest point, not including his head. His feet and the insides of his legs were a light grayish-white, his belly and underside of his neck dusted in a mix of grey-black and tawny brown colored fur. His sides, stretching from the front of his chest, over his shoulders, down his middle and back to the top of his tail was a mix of sandy brown and chestnut fur, the colors combining to make him look honey brown in some spots and a darker blond brown in others. Accents of color throughout the sides and back of his thick coat colored him a dark brown, with black lines on his face etched in midnight fur where they stretched from the edges of his eyes to back along his cheeks.

Seth's coat was thick and while it looked bristly, due to the thickness of the fur and his impressive size, he knew it to be soft. Emmett moved from where he stood, stepping closer to Seth and moving in a slow circle around the wolf as he studied him further. He could tell from the way he was standing with his front legs spread slightly farther apart than normal that Seth's ribs hadn't entirely healed yet. The bones had fused back together, but the area was still tender. His right front leg was well healed, the appendage no longer giving him any pain at all and Emmett was pleased that, for the most part, Seth was in good fighting condition. His eyes snapped back to the door when he heard it open and he watched as Marcus stepped onto the porch, the ancient vampire's expression one of intrigue and curiosity. Emmett watched Marcus study them for a moment before he nodded toward the ancient vampire, a question clear in the silent gesture that he made.

"It's amazing how much he trusts you and the reverse is true as well," Marcus said a mix of confusion and surprise clear in his voice. "You are both so comfortable with each other."

Seth's tail wagged slowly, his response one made by gesture and action as Edward wasn't there to read his thoughts. He was hoping to see Angela today, the high school only in session for half the day as the teachers and administrators were to be in some kind of mass meeting throughout the afternoon. He lifted his left front paw, intending to walk toward the porch and greet Marcus, the ancient vampire's knowledge of interest to him, but found himself fighting against Sam's dominating call through the pack telepathy instead. Shaking his head even as he groaned and felt himself pressed to the ground under the weight of Sam's orders, Seth tried to rise, but his alpha's anger was too strong. He hadn't told Sam about the training session this morning, having left the reservation before any of the others had woken simply because he had known the reaction he would receive.

"Seth?" Emmett looked at the wolf when he groaned again, his tail folding between his legs as he whimpered and laid slowly on the ground as though someone was pressing him down. "Seth, what's going on?"

A howl could be heard in the distance, Emmett's eyes watching as Seth continuously tried to rise, panting in the effort it took to do so. After a few moments, Seth rose easily, standing tall on all fours and shaking vigorously. He pawed at the ground once before phasing into his human form and sighing with irritation.

"Sam's pissed," he explained to the vampires standing outside with him. "I knew he would be, he's as stubborn as the rest of them when it comes to you all, but Paul and Jared have been egging him on. His hold on his temper has been getting shorter over the past few days. They hate that I can fight his commands and that I'm comfortable around all of you."

"Why can you fight his commands?" Emmett asked the boy curiously.

"Something about me being descended from 'the second son'; it's an old legend that my dad told me. I don't really understand it, but Edward knows it as well as I do. Go ahead and ask him, I've got to go though. I'll come back as soon as I can," Seth promised before phasing back into his wolf form once more.

Offering a single short bark as he looked at Marcus, he lifted his right front paw in the air and wagged his tail as he danced on his feet before racing into the woods. Marcus shook his head, chuckling with amusement at the odd werewolf that seemed to enjoy talking with him about philosophy. He'd said it once before and he was certain that the thought would forever repeat inside his brain; Seth was unlike any other werewolf he had ever met. Breathing in deeply, he and Emmett turned back to face the house at the same time when they heard the two cars round onto the private drive. Esme and Rosalie were back, Felix and Sulpicia following behind them in a separate car.

"Looks like company's here," Emmett said as he rounded the back of the house to cut through the yard between the house and the garage.

He watched as Rosalie stepped out of her red BMW, chuckling to himself at the outfit she had on. He had seen her before she left earlier that morning. The pants, blouse and heels were made with clean lines, the colors accentuating her beauty without being garish or drawing undue attention to her. In fact, though the clothing was a style that would be considered business casual, the outfit itself served to make her more beautiful and striking but in a soft way that appeared natural. He stepped forward, only barely stopping himself from drawing her in for the searing kiss he wished to bestow upon her painted lips and stood beside her with his arm wrapped around her waist instead.

"There's a little surprise," Rosalie told him softly, watching as Felix and Sulpicia exited their car without gathering any of their bags.

"Is she holding a kitten?" he asked her with a bemused tilt of his head.

"She is indeed," Rosalie chuckled as Esme spoke with the couple and brought them closer to the house. "Her name is Rain."

"It thought it was Sulpicia?" Emmett asked and Rosalie shook her head.

"The kitten's name is Rain," she chuckled at him before moving to follow them into the house, Emmett close behind her. "It's amazing how similar you and Felix are. You two should get along well," she told him as they walked in the front door.

"Marcus?" Sulpicia looked at the ancient vampire with joy and disbelief, her expression such that Esme was certain the woman's eyes would be filled with tears if she had the ability to do so. "Marcus, is that truly you?"

"It is," he nodded to her and she gasped at the sight of his smile.

Rain fell from her arms, the kitten mewling in displeasure at the sudden loss of her cradle, only to prance around the home as she investigated her new surroundings. Sulpicia moved quickly, ghosting to standing in front of Marcus, her lips parted as stilted breaths came from her. She lifted her hands to his face, her fingers moving closer to his skin only to pull back in caution before tracing his cheeks when he nodded to her. The pain was gone. The sorrow, the guilt, the uncertainty and vacancy was so complete in its absence that it was as though it had never been there to begin with. Her hand covered her mouth as she stood silent before him, her lifelong friend back to the glory of spirit he had held when his wife and her best friend had been alive. With a tearing sob, Sulpicia closed the distance between them, her arms wrapped in a fierce hold around her friend as she cried into his shoulder.

"I've missed you, too," Marcus told her softly, his words of endearment only making her cry harder as she tightened her arms around him.

"Marcus…how?" Felix asked, his deep voice full of wonder and disbelief.

"I'd explain it if I could, my friend, but I lack the words to do so," Marcus answered and smiled when the front door opened. "Sulpicia, there were two other reasons that I asked for you to visit me here, beyond my wish to see you. One of them just walked into this house. This is his coven."

"Whose?" she asked as she pulled back and looked at her friend curiously.

"Mine," a familiar voice answered her from the entry way of the room they stood in.

She turned slowly, half feeling as though she were inside of a dream, and met the golden eyes of a dear friend she had thought to never see again. Her mouth opened, words failing her completely as she stared at the man. Her eyes grew impossibly wide, the expression of her face making it clear that she was crying despite the lack of tears she could never shed. Sulpicia moved one incredibly slow step forward before rushing forward and staring at the man with excited wonder.

"Carlisle? Carlisle Cullen?" Sulpicia said her heart feeling as though it may surely burst from within her chest, so filled was she with wonderful emotions.

"Well now," Felix said from behind her. "I never thought I'd see you again, old friend."

"It can't be all that bad," Carlisle soothed Sulpicia, his hand touching her cheek when she stood before him trembling with emotion.

"Caius always maintained that you were…" Sulpicia began only to grow silent as she stared at the man in front of her.

"That you were dead," Felix finished for Sulpicia when her voice trailed off.

"Yes, well," Carlisle sighed as he held out his hand for Sulpicia to take. "He and I never quite got along."

"That's putting it mildly," Felix said, his eyebrows high on his forehead. "What is that smell?" he asked as he took in a few deep breaths and began to move slowly throughout the home.

"You'll have to be more specific," Carlisle chuckled as he looked at Felix and felt Sulpicia's eyes watching his every move.

"I can't believe you're still alive," Sulpicia breathed out, her wide crimson eyes trained on his face.

"I'm also still a doctor," he told her with a smile. "You've met my wife, Esme," he said and watched as his love stepped up to his side. "And my daughter," he nodded back to Rosalie.

"Ok," Felix interjected as he continued to breathe in deeply. "One of the scents I _know_ is werewolf, but that can't possibly be," he shook his head with disbelief. "The other is…I'm not sure. It's so hidden by all of your scents," he told Carlisle as he turned and stared at his friend. "But it's…I'm not sure how to describe it."

The front door opened once more and Carlisle glanced at the clock on the wall with a lopsided grin when he realized what time it was. He heard Edward's voice, the caution in his son's tone as he spoke to Angela and led her through the house, warning her to stay behind him for the moment. He knew that Edward was searching the minds of the two new vampires, reading their thoughts to judge whether or not they would be dangerous to the girl behind him. Felix turned his gaze on those around him, confusion and curiosity furrowing his brow at the sight of the gentle warm smiles that decorated the faces of Carlisle and his coven, a matching warmth held in Marcus' face.

"That's it," Felix said quietly drawing in a deep breath as Edward led Angela through the house. "That's the scent."

"Hi Papa," Angela greeted, not seeing the other two vampires in the room. "When did we get a kitten?" she asked as the small grey animal twined around her ankles and she bent low to lift it into her arms.

_Papa?_ Felix thought and Edward hid his smile. _I've heard him called many things, but never 'Papa'._

"Hello sweetheart," Carlisle returned with a warm chuckle as the animal's soft purring escalated into a loud rumble. "She's not ours," he told her as he stepped forward and looked down at the tiny animal in her arms.

"Her name is Rain," Sulpicia said as she stepped into view and Angela stilled, her cheeks flushing as she looked at the impossibly beautiful woman.

Angela nodded quietly, her nervousness silencing her at the new faces in the room. She wasn't afraid of them, the relaxed postures of her vampire family offering her comfort in the presence of the two new people, but she remained shy all the same. Catching her bottom lip between her teeth, she unconsciously stepped closer to Carlisle and tucked herself against his side when he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. He chuckled silently at Angela's nervous actions and dropped a kiss to her hair before turning his attention back on the couple standing in front of him.

"Angela," Carlisle looked down at her for a brief moment. "I'd like you to meet Felix and Sulpicia. They're friends of mine from Rome," he introduced, knowing that the easiest way to get her past her shyness was to ignite her passion for culture and history. "Felix here," he said and looked at his friend, "was a Roman soldier in his youth."

"Roman?" Angela's brows furrowed as she glanced at the tall man and then looked up at Carlisle. "Did you mean Italian?"

"No," Carlisle grinned at her, "Roman; as in swords, shields, emperors and the Coliseum – Roman."

"Seriously?" she turned her attention on Felix. "You were really with the Roman army?"

"Yes," he nodded once and glanced at Carlisle only to look at Edward when the younger vampire chuckled.

"You do realize that he has absolutely no idea what he's in for," Edward said to Carlisle with a grin, his voice too low for Angela to hear.

"And what would that be?" Felix asked only to find his attention drawn by Angela's voice.

"What was it like?" she asked, her nervousness gone only to be replaced by her excitement for the history he had seen. "What was the world like then?"

Edward shook his head, amused at the barrage of questions filling Angela's mind as she struggled to choose the few she wished to have answers to the most. She asked Felix several before realizing that she was actively speaking and grew quiet, her nervousness returning when the man remained silent. Felix studied her, watched as the human girl who had been comfortable enough to ask him nearly thirty questions in the span of two minutes, suddenly grew quiet again, her face flushing with a delicate blush. He chuckled then, the warm sound turning into a full rolling laugh as he shook his head.

"Where shall we begin?" he asked Angela as he looked at her and watched her excitement return, her eyes sparkling with delight.

_What is that?_ Sulpicia wondered and Edward turned his attention on her. _What is that warmth?_

"It's her," Edward answered her thoughts, his voice kept to only a level they could hear as he nodded at Angela. "She would be the other reason that Marcus invited you here to visit."

"How did you…? You can read my thoughts?" she asked him and Edward nodded. "Without needing to touch me?"

"Yes," he said as he breathed in suddenly and smiled brightly. "Angela," he called her name to gain her attention and let his smile fall away. "I know it's been hard without Jasper," he said knowing that those few words were all that he would need to speak to make her think of his absent brother.

Angela bit her lip, sadness filling her eyes as she looked down and thought of the southern vampire. She missed him. She missed the sound of his voice, the feel of his presence, the way he would hold her while she slept or tell her stories to make her feel safe. She especially missed the way they would talk to each other without words, just the waves of emotion passing between them and in that moment she feared she would never see him again. Her brow furrowed, her eyes losing focus as her attention turned inward. At first she wasn't certain if she was truly feeling anything until the emotion intensified, the warmth of Jasper's talent brushing over her. Gasping as she turned wide eyes toward the door, she dropped the kitten to the countertop and ran through the house at break neck speed.

"Let her go," Edward said with a smile when Emmett thought about stopping her.

**:::::**

Jasper stepped out of the woods with Alice by his side, rounding the house to step through the front yard when Alice stopped suddenly, a bright smile bending her lips into a bow. She tugged on his hand, silently encouraging him to stop and step back so that he would be in line with the door, but a good twenty feet away from it. He turned his head to look at his wife when she stepped away from him, her smile bright as love and happiness filled her heart and was shared with him through his talent. His attention turned quickly toward the house when he felt Angela's gentle tug, her call filled with sadness and longing. He frowned as he looked at the closed door and knew that he was close enough to influence her emotions without having to be in sight of her. He projected his love and warmth to her, Alice stopping him every time he tried to move toward the door. He shook his head at her, wanting to know why she kept stopping him only to return his gaze to the front door when he heard the sound of someone running through the house.

He smiled when he caught sight of Angela through the clear glass and watched as she barely stopped in time to keep from slamming into the door. She looked at him through the glass, tears shining in her eyes only to fall upon her cheeks as she struggled against her shaking hands to twist the smooth knob and pull the door open. A sob broke from within her as she half ran, half tripped down the front stairs and ran blindly toward Jasper, her entire body trembling. He caught her before she could slam into him, just barely able to keep her from hurting herself against his stone like body as she wrapped her arms around him tightly. Her tears fell upon his skin, the warmth of the salt water burning against him and he closed his eyes as he returned her embrace and breathed in her familiar and welcomed scent.

"I missed you, too, baby girl," he told her and gasped as everything around him seemed to still for one very long second.

The wealth of her emotions that had always filled him were suddenly gone, folded inside her for one beat of her heart before they exploded from her with the force of a star going supernova. Love, happiness, pure unadulterated joy filled her to overflowing and filled him, burning him sweetly from the inside out as he felt it move through her and out in all directions. He watched as Alice nearly fell to her knees, her grip on his arm the only thing that kept her standing. Looking toward the house, he saw Edward smiling and nodded to his brother as he returned the expression. Edward wasn't able to stop smiling, not even if he wanted to and was surprised at how still everyone's minds were. He had known the instant Jasper had returned, his brother's thoughts filling his mind and had mentioned his absence to Angela, knowing that her thoughts of the southern vampire would be a call to him.

He shook his head as he looked at each member of his family and the three visitors from Italy. He had known that Angela would be happy upon Jasper's and Alice's return, but had never imagined that her elation would have such a profound reaction. Her warmth flooded through each of them with a burning light that was full of love, hope, family and joy. The emotions filled them each to the point of needing to grip an object or lean against a hard surface in order to remain standing. It amazed him, the strength of the power emanating from her, the power of her emotions and when he pushed into the feeling with his talent, he realized that they weren't the only ones to be feeling her either. Like whispers from a ghost, he realized that he could almost hear Eleazar and Carmen through the flooding warmth, Seth and the pack of wolves as well. The voices were gone before he could truly read their thoughts, but for the briefest of seconds, their minds had all been connected.

Sulpicia cried out, almost sobbing as she lost the ability to remain standing, her grip on the counter failing as she fell to her knees. She had never felt anything so powerful before. It felt that every fear, every dark and painful memory was losing its hold on her. The warmth flooding through her was impossible to define, and she shook her head, unable to answer Felix's worried question as she breathed harshly, her hand pressed against her silent heart. She felt as though she was burning; warmth, love and light filling her beyond anything she had ever experienced before. She looked up slowly at Carlisle when he knelt in front of her, her eyes wide as saucers as she tried to understand what was happening. She didn't feel afraid; she wasn't worried or haunted by her doubts or painful memories any longer. In fact, she realized that when she thought of all that had happened to her, she was no longer hurt by the memories. The only thing she felt was love and peace.

"What?" she was finally able to ask after a moment, her voice only loud enough for the vampires surrounding her to hear. "What was that?" she stuttered breathlessly.

"That," Marcus said from behind Carlisle as his friend helped Sulpicia to her feet. "Was why I asked you to come here."

"I don't understand," Sulpicia said as she looked between Marcus and Carlisle.

"If I were to ask you about Volterra," Marcus began and glanced at Edward before turning his attention quickly back to his dear friend, "how would you feel?"

"Feel?" she shook her head. "I…Volterra," she spoke the name of her home as she turned to look at Felix.

She thought of their home, of the castle and those held within its stone walls. All of her doubt; all of her fear and pain was gone. She thought of what Jane and Alec had done to her over the years, what Corin had done as well, but all of the darkness that had always accompanied the memories was gone. Felix studied her eyes, saw the truth held within them and touched her cheek before looking at Marcus. It wasn't possible; it couldn't be possible, could it? He searched her eyes as he studied the woman before him and realized that not only was it possible, but he had born witness to it.

"Angela," Marcus answered their unspoken question and looked back to the front door as the burning warmth grew stronger. "She has absolutely no idea that she is able to do this. She healed me as well. But what caused _this_…" his voice trailed off as he tried to understand what had brought forth her power with such magnitude.

"She's not going to let go of him any time soon," Edward chuckled when he saw Jasper carrying her in his arms. "Welcome home," he said to his siblings and smiled.

**:::::**

Eleazar and Carmen looked at each other, both grateful that they were sitting as they knew that they wouldn't be able to stand. There hadn't been any forewarning or build up to the feel of Angela's call, but unlike the time during her nightmares, the feelings that flooded through them were beautiful and pure. She was happy, whatever had happened, Angela was beyond happy and her love was shining through them all. They closed their eyes at the same time, leaning into one another and wrapping each other in a tight embrace as wave after wave of joy, love, and peace burned through them, each wave more powerful then the last. Eleazar opened his eyes, looking up when he heard Michael's voice and watched as the boy rubbed his hand over his heart before falling into the arm chair next to them.

"What is this?" Michael asked in wonder as he blinked slowly, feeling delightfully lethargic and peaceful. "What's happening?"

"If I had to guess," Carmen said with a brilliant smile. "I would say that Jasper and Alice just reached their home in Forks. This feeling…this is Angela."

**:::::**

Seth felt it gently at first, believing himself to be feeling the contentment of the wind ruffling through his fur before the feelings overpowered him and he fell to sit on his haunches. The wealth of emotion overpowered him and he soon found himself sliding down against the earth to lie with his head between his paws. He was unable to remain standing, didn't even want to as he felt filled to the brim with everything beautiful and wonderful. The emotions poured over him, flooding through his being and he closed his eyes as he gave into them completely. The only thing that he could possibly compare the feeling to was what he imagined it must be like to walk in space and see the stars and universe first hand without the barriers of gravity or atmosphere.

He wondered if the rest of his pack could feel the emotions coursing through him, but decided that he didn't care either way as he simply reveled in the love and happiness flowing through him like waves crashing against the shore. He felt at once both weightless and too heavy to move. He had never known such complete feelings of warmth, love and joy, it was like touching heaven, he thought and he never wanted the feeling to end. He felt peaceful and inexplicably happy. Though the waves of emotions only lasted for a few minutes, it felt to him that they stretched on into infinity and he could never remember having felt so alive before in his life.

Climbing slowly to his feet, the only thing Seth could think of was his desire to run. The freedom of the wind called to him, the wild and untamed nature of his animal spirit filled him and he scraped his paws in the cushioning earth beneath him before he took off at a full run. He had never felt so free in all his life.

**:::::**

"It's good to be home," Jasper said, returning Edward's nod before looking at the three new faces in the room.

Alice looked at Marcus, Felix and Sulpicia in turn, knowing exactly who they were. She searched her visions as she stood before them, studied their faces as she tried to assess if they brought any danger, and was surprised by what she found. She had been worried of the threat that they may pose to her family, being members of the Volturi, but what she found instead was that they would become allies to her family. She turned her eyes to Edward, her surprise mirrored in his face and he nodded as he read every thought and vision from her. One little human girl, they both thought with amusement, who never asked for anything was able to snare almost every vampire she met. And how had she done it? By taking away their darkness.

Edward chuckled silently as he thought over the changes made and realized that Angela didn't make any vampire any less of who they were, rather she revealed the person underneath. She took away their pain, their fear, doubt and any anger they may hold and freed their hearts. With the gentleness and delicacy of an art restorer bringing a lost painting back to its original glory, her natural power to heal and the warmth of her soul took away the darkness that held his kind trapped. Because of what they were, his kind could move forward, but never truly move on as despair and anger – the strongest of the two darker emotions born of grief and fear – never truly lost their hold. But Angela, she had the power to heal that, to set a vampire's heart free and he wondered if her power was so strong simply because she was ignorant of it.

"Why is everyone staring at me?" Angela asked after a moment, her voice soft and her cheeks dusted with color.

"She truly has no idea?" Sulpicia asked Carlisle, her voice too low for Angela to hear.

"None," he answered with a soft smile.

Felix chuckled, breathing in deeply as he was finally able to fully capture the girl's scent, her emotions making it stand out from the scents of her vampire family that had hidden it from him earlier. She smelled of sandalwood and jasmine, rain and light; her scent was that of summer or spring, he thought as he looked at her. He didn't normally pay much attention to humans at Volterra, too much time spent seeing them as meals or potential meals, but he wanted to know this young human in front of him. Who was this girl? What was she like to have such power without even knowing it existed?

"I believe we were getting ready to discuss my time with the Roman army if you're still interested," he offered and watched her brown eyes light up with excitement.

"Most definitely!" Angela returned and looked back at Jasper when he set her on her feet.

_You really think I'm going to let go of you?_ Angela thought as she stared at Jasper, affection and defiance in her emotions.

"I don't even need his talent to understand you," Jasper chuckled as he squeezed her hand gently and looked up at Felix. "Why don't we take this into the living room," he offered.

"Lead the way," Felix said and looked at their joined hands.

"So that would be the long lost brother," Marcus said with an amused grin. "She is deeply attached to every one of you," he observed before looking up at Carlisle.

"I still can't believe what I'm seeing," Sulpicia said, more to herself than to anyone else. "You're as you were when Didyme was alive. It's truly just her?" she asked, her crimson eyes glancing in the direction that Felix, Jasper and Angela had disappeared to.

"Angela is unlike anyone I have ever met," Marcus said with amusement and pleasure. "She doesn't influence your emotions, she doesn't make you feel anything, rather she heals your heart and in doing so sets you free. I thought nothing except death could ever truly set me free and then I met her."

Sulpicia nodded before she stilled, her brow furrowing as she thought back to the few moments prior when Angela had first entered the house. Turning her attention back on Carlisle, she met his gaze with curiosity in her eyes.

"She called you Papa."

**:::::**

"What would you like to know first?" Felix asked as he took a seat on the couch, watching how Angela sat as close to Jasper as possible and the vampire in turn kept his arms wrapped around her.

"You do realize you're opening up a can of worms with that question," Jasper said with a chuckle, Angela's emotions still infusing him with a burning warmth that welcomed him home and spoke of her happiness to have him near once more.

Felix chuckled softly, "Hello Rain," he greeted the kitten when she jumped into his lap. "I don't mind," he said and met Angela's gaze. "Ask away."

"Hmm," she hummed as she considered the question she truly wished to ask first. "Was it strictly Latin that was spoken, or was there already a dialect of Italian being spoken?"

Felix smiled. She was refreshing; her first true question hadn't been what he expected at all. He smiled at her, feeling comforted as he was able to take on a role that he had thought would never again be his. He could only imagine how she would be once she was a vampire.

"Latin was the most prominent language, and though ancient Italian was beginning to emerge as well, it hadn't taken a firm hold or become a complete language at the time when I was human. Many scholars of the time also spoke Greek – ancient Greek," he chuckled as he watched the fascination and intrigue play across her face and sparkle in her eyes. "I was one of the few men of my unit who could read and write both Latin and Greek."

"Could you teach me?" Angela asked before realizing that she had spoken.

"I'm certain I could," Felix nodded. "Was that all?" he asked when she grew quiet.

"No," Angela shook her head. "There's so much I want to know, so many questions that I have and I don't know which one to ask next," she confessed with a blush and both Felix and Jasper chuckled.

"We told her stories of our youth," Jasper told Felix, his voice below what Angela could hear. "We described all we could and let her ask questions when she had them. Perhaps that might be easier than waiting for another question," he suggested and Felix nodded. "Though I must warn you, she will never grow tired of the stories. She loves history, culture, language; she'll absorb everything you tell her and ask for more."

"I think I can handle that," Felix returned with a smile. "Lunch time?" he asked when Esme walked into the room and offered Angela a bowl of cut fruit.

"I almost forgot about that," Angela mused to Jasper and spoke her thanks to Esme when she took the food from her. "Jasper can feel hunger," she told Felix, answering his unspoken question, "and Edward can read your thoughts. Nothing gets past them."

"You can feel her hunger?" Felix asked with interest.

"Everyone's actually," Jasper said after a moment. "Vampire or human, I feel their hunger as easily as I do emotion. Part of my talent."

Felix nodded silently; amazed by the strength it must take for the vampire to be in the company of such a large coven, especially considering their odd diet. He looked back toward the entryway and smiled with humor at the sight of Carlisle and his family as well as Marcus and Sulpicia watching them with interest. He wasn't certain if they were interested in their conversation or the girl sitting between him and Jasper, but figured that it was most likely a combination of both. He wondered what Aro would think of this human girl, having relayed the address that he and Sulpicia would be staying at before he had packed away their computer. He frowned when he saw Edward grow tense at his thought and glanced at him curiously.

Edward relayed the man's thoughts to Carlisle, his voice kept only loud enough for Carlisle to hear as they stood so close together, and his immortal father nodded. He understood and shared Edward's concern, after what few things he had learned from Eleazar in concerns to Angela's gift there was no possible way for him not to be concerned, but Aro was his friend as well. He looked forward to seeing the ancient vampire again, but promised Edward through his thoughts that they would protect Angela at all costs. Even if it somehow meant a war with the Volturi, he would not let any harm come to Angela, or let her be taken away. She was part of their family and whether it was selfish or not, he knew from Angela herself as well as his children, that she would never wish to be apart from them.

_Edward?_ Her vampire brother turned his attention to her when she spoke to him through her thoughts. _What's wrong? You and Papa look upset._

"It's nothing to worry about, little one," Edward told her as he stepped closer. "We're just going to be having another visitor soon."

_Is it me? Papa told me about the laws of your kind. Am I…Is it me that's making you so tense? Will I bring trouble for you all?_

"Don't you worry about that," he said as he knelt before her and cupped her cheek in his palm. "You are part of this family and you always will be."

Angela nodded, her lip remaining caught between her teeth as she stared into his eyes. He leaned toward her at the same time that she did him and he embraced her easily, hugging her close for a moment before releasing her. It amazed Felix to watch them with her and he realized how much of a family this coven truly was. He had never seen anything like it in all his years. He had met a few vampires like himself, not concerned with dominance or power, who instead saw the passing of time and their immortality as chance to learn all they could, but he had never seen a complete coven with such control and compassion.

His brow furrowed as he felt a soothing warmth envelop him, a gentle tug calling to him and he found his attention drawn back to the human girl sitting with him on the couch. Was that her? Had she caused that feeling in him just then? He felt the gentle tug grow stronger as he met her gaze and heard Edward's soft chuckle. Turning his attention back to the telepathic vampire, he let his thoughts speak his curiosity to him and watched as the bronze haired teen smiled and nodded.

"What you're feeling is her call," Edward told him, keeping his voice low. "It's strong when she's happy as she is now, I've found that her call is felt when she is thinking of a person, wanting to be near them or if she is concerned about them. You have grown quiet and stopped your story telling," he advised Felix with a lopsided grin.

_Edward!_

Edward stood quickly and turned to look toward the back of the house when he heard Seth's cry and felt the desperation in his words. Turning to Carlisle and Emmett, the look on his face spoke of the urgency he felt.

"Edward?" Carlisle asked, the concern in his tone drawing everyone's attention to them.

"It's Seth, Sam and Jacob are with him. They've come to ask for our help," he said as he moved toward the back of the house, the others all following suit behind him as Angela remained between Jasper and Alice.

"Seth's hurt!" Angela cried out at the sight of blood on his paw.

"So is Jacob," Edward said and he turned his attention to Felix and Sulpicia when their thoughts sounded in his mind. "Carlisle, you need to explain to them the treaty as soon as possible," he said before turning back to the three large wolves in front of them.

His eyes grew wide as he stared at Sam, his attention moving to Seth and then Jacob as he read their thoughts and viewed the memories playing through their minds. He could never have imagined that she would be so bold or reckless. Even with all of the interactions his family had with the town's people, they had never once exposed what they were in such a manner.

"Victoria attacked the tribe," he told Carlisle. "She killed Harry Clearwater when he tried to defend the kids at the reservation school. It was the most populated building. She attacked him in direct sunlight and drained one of the teachers in front of her students at recess."

"She revealed herself?" Felix growled. "Is she a member of your coven?"

"No," Emmett snarled. "She's been trying to kill Bella. We've been trying to protect the town from her."

"Marcus?" Carlisle turned to his friend when he felt the man rest a hand on his shoulder.

"She has sealed her own fate," Marcus said and looked at Seth, the sandy brown wolf studying him. "Where is she now?"

"They chased her up near the Canadian border," Edward translated the wolf's thoughts. "No matter how fast Seth ran he couldn't get close to her, she's too gifted at evasion."

"Seth?" Felix asked and watched as the sandy brown wolf turned his attention on him and tilted his head in question. "You are the fastest?" he correctly assumed as he studied the wolf as he watched him nod.

Howls sounded in the distance and they watched as Sam turned his midnight head back toward the forest, his entire body stilling before a vicious snarl sounded from him. Releasing a bark, he turned and ran for the edge of the forest, Jacob following behind him. Seth stared at Edward for a moment longer before he took off as well, their snaps and snarls easily heard as they gave chase.

"They've asked for our help Carlisle. She's crossing between the territory lines again. She's not going to stop until she gets Bella," Edward said as he looked at his father.

"Or we stop her," Felix said, nodding at Carlisle and Marcus.

"She's damn smart," Jasper said with a growl.

"I can't see her because of the wolves," Alice said anxiously. "We have to make certain Bella and Angela are protected.

"Esme, Rosalie," Carlisle looked at his wife and daughter, before glancing at Alice as well. "Stay behind and guard them. Make certain that Charlie is protected as well, I have no doubt that Victoria will try to attack him to get to Bella."

"We'll take care of them," Esme promised her husband with a nod and watched as Felix and Marcus turned at the same time to look at Sulpicia. "She's welcome to stay with us," Esme offered seeing the concern in their eyes.

"Thank you," Felix said with a nod.

In less time than it took for her to draw in a breath, Angela watched as Carlisle, Emmett, Edward, Jasper, Felix and Marcus disappeared into the woods, moving fast enough to be unseen. She turned her eyes on Alice, concerned for her family, her eyes begging her visionary sister for an answer. Alice shook her head slightly, concern heavy in her expression as she wrapped her arm around Angela's waist and directed her back to the house.

"I'm blind," she said to Angela as they stepped into the house and closed the door behind them, Rosalie, Esme and Sulpicia already inside. "I can't see anything because of the wolves. Believe me, I want to know they're safe just as much as you do," she told Angela. "Esme," she turned her eyes on her adoptive mother. "Bella's going to be coming over here in a few minutes. Charlie's been called out to the reservation to help them. We can't guard him there."

"We'll have to trust the wolves to," Esme said and saw the look of confusion on Sulpicia's face. "Charlie is Bella's father."

"And Bella?" Sulpicia asked.

"She is Edward's mate. She is human, for now, but will be one of us soon. It is just a matter of time."

"I'll go get Bella," Alice said and rubbed Angela's hand before releasing her. "It'll be ok, Angela."

"Come here, sweetheart," Esme said when Alice disappeared out of the front door with Rosalie following after her. "It will be alright," she promised as she enfolded Angela in her arms and rubbed her back. "Go finish your snack ok? You need to eat."

Angela nodded quietly and moved into the living room, her bowl of fruit still sitting on the low coffee table. Sulpicia watched her, the human girl's silence somehow worrisome as the warmth she had felt earlier had all but vanished in the face of the news they had received. She looked to the woman at her side, the question clear in her eyes and Esme nodded silently before she gave the ancient vampire next to her a very edited version of how Angela came to be with her family. She only hinted at the danger Angela had been in, told of her lack of support, but didn't speak of the abuse they had discovered or the stalker that was after her.

The sound of a dish breaking followed by the crumpling thud of a body falling to the floor drew their immediate attention and Esme was at Angela's side in an instant. The girl was unconscious, lines of pain clearly etched on her face and she was quick to lift Angela into her arms and carry her upstairs, Sulpicia following close behind. Laying Angela down on her bed, Esme asked Sulpicia to stay with her while she retrieved Carlisle's medical bag. She knew the dosage of the migraine medicine to give to her, and though she wasn't as familiar with giving injections as Carlisle or even Edward and Rosalie were, she knew what to do.

"Just sleep now, sweetheart," she whispered to Angela as she set the empty syringe aside on the end table and massaged the injection site. "She has migraines," Esme said to Sulpicia, the woman's look of concern heavy in her face. "They grow more severe every day, but we can't change her just yet, it would be far too suspicious if she were to disappear before her high school graduation."

"Migraines?" Sulpicia asked with a shake of her head.

"I'm not certain how best to explain it," Esme said when she realized that the woman next to her didn't understand what the word meant. "The best comparison that I have to offer," she said slowly. "Marcus told me once of Jane's power, what it felt like; Angela's migraines are like that, but worse. The pain isn't something that she can escape from and it's concentrated in her brain."

"She feels that?" Sulpicia asked in horror as she looked down at the human girl lying unconscious on the bed between them.

"Yes," Esme nodded solemnly. "Every day; sometimes the pain isn't so bad, and sometimes," she nodded down at Angela, "it's bad enough to make her pass out."

She heard the cars before they turned onto the drive and knew that her daughters were back with Bella. Although it worried her to have her human daughters around the members of the Volturi, she trusted Carlisle's assurances that everything would be alright. Smoothing Angela's hair back from her face, Esme bent low over her and kissed her forehead before tucking one of her vampire bears into her arm.

"We should leave her to rest," Esme said as she gathered her husband's medical bag and the used syringe before standing from the bed.

"How can she handle the pain?" Sulpicia asked as she pulled the bedroom door closed quietly behind her as they stepped into the hall.

"She's had migraines since she was young. As disturbing as the truth of it is, she is used to the pain. Bella," she greeted the girl as she walked down the stairs and held her close for a hug. "How are you doing?"

"Esme, what's going on? Charlie was pretty freaked out, Alice and Rosalie won't tell me anything," she said glancing back at the girls behind her.

"Victoria attacked the reservation," Esme answered her honestly with a soft sigh. "She's growing bolder. Carlisle and the others have gone out to hunt her along with the wolves."

"She won't stop," Bella shook her head, feeling her emotions too close to hide. "Not until she gets me."

"We won't ever let that happen," Esme assured her fiercely.

"Come on, Bella," Alice took her hand and led her from the room.

**:::::**

She could feel them bearing down on her, the sound of their foot falls, the panting breaths and snarling snaps from the wolves surrounded her on all sides and she leapt for the trees. Vaulting from one giant pine to the next, her red hair flying behind her like a flame, Victoria leapt across the cliffs diving the territory only to find herself chased by six male vampires. She knew their intention, but refused to let any of those chasing her to catch her. The human girl would be hers! The girl's life belonged to her, James having been destroyed because of the human. She didn't care that James had brought his death upon himself for hunting a girl connected to such a large clan as the Cullens were, in her mind the responsibility for James' death lied solely on Bella's shoulders.

She launched back across the divide when Edward got too close to catching her. Running faster, she launched into a tree, vaulted to another one only to spin around as she used the trunk for leverage and landed a solid crunching blow to Jared's shoulder. The wolf was thrown back, colliding with two of his pack mates as they rolled in the earth and he snarled as he rose to his feet, digging his claws into the earth and leaving deep marks behind as he gave chase once more.

"She's going to jump again!" Edward called out as he read Victoria's thoughts and watched as Felix and Emmett moved ahead in unison to intercept her, their actions well honed as though they had always hunted together.

He watched as she kicked out, catching Felix across the jaw and throwing him back before she sped off into the trees once more. The closer they got to catching her, the stronger her attacks became. Edward and Jasper could both read the determination and hate that drove her, the desire to hunt Bella no matter what it took, just to spill her blood and watch her die in retribution for James. She turned suddenly, veering to the left and Jasper could feel the triumph from the wolves as she ran toward a neutral territory, an area that both they and the wolves could defend on as one unit. He could feel their thrill for the chase, the freedom they found in their wild forms and the energy coursing through each of them as they launched over the edge of the divide and ran beside them.

Marcus and Felix eyed the wolves with caution. They had never before been witness to or a part of a hunting team made through the voluntary cooperation of werewolves and vampires. As impossible as it seemed, the truth of the situation was undeniable and they ran with the wild creatures as their hunting party blended into one. He watched as Seth rounded Carlisle, running in between Edward and Jasper only to speed past them and launch toward Victoria when she jumped into the air. He snapped at her, his jaws only barely missing her as he fell to the ground and rolled with the impact. Of them all, he had been the closest to catching her and she had evaded him easily.

_Damnit! She's too fast!_ Seth snarled as he pushed himself to run faster.

_Seth be careful! _Sam yelled at him. _Don't hurt yourself like you did with Angela. _

_I know what I can take!_ Seth yelled back through the connection and fell back to run next to Edward, glancing at the vampire next to him. _Where is she going?_

"I don't know," Edward answered him. "She's not thinking of any set destination. She's just running to get away."

_We can't let her hurt anyone else! _Seth exclaimed, his sentiment repeated through the pack as the other wolves snarled their agreement.

"I agree," he told the wolf. "But we can't do anything until we catch her."

"She's not making it easy!" Emmett snarled as he turned and sped past a tree without colliding with it as it had appeared that he would.

_Where the hell did she go?! _Jacob snarled, barking to get the attention of the rest of his pack when he realized he had lost her scent.

"The river!" Edward called out as he stopped and looked down at the ravine below. "She's gone," he said when he saw the flame of her red hair disappear around the bend. "That river feeds into the ocean."

"Damnit!" Emmett growled and slammed his fist into a nearby tree, the bark exploding with the force of his hit.

"She's not simply a threat to the town or Bella anymore," Sam said, having phased back to his human form, the rest of his pack following suit behind him. "She's attacked the tribe."

"And revealed herself to the humans," Felix added.

"In order to coordinate our hunts," Sam began and Edward nodded as he read the man's thoughts.

"Seth would be the best choice," Edward answered and Sam nodded.

"Seth," Sam looked at the youngest of his pack. "Go back with the Cullens. Help them guard Angela and Bella. You'll be our line of communication."

"Are you kidding me?!" Jared and Leah cried out in unison.

"Enough!" Sam barked at them. "Carlisle, do you have any objections?"

"None," Carlisle said as he met Sam's gaze. "Please let Seth's mother know that she will be welcome to visit him while he stays with us. With the recent loss of her husband, having her son so far away won't be easy."

"I will," Sam nodded once. "Thank you," he said and turned to face the rest of his pack. "Let's go!" he shouted before phasing back into his larger wolf form, the remaining eight wolves following after him as Seth stayed behind.

"Well," Seth nodded and looked at Marcus, "looks like we'll get to continue our discussion on Socrates and Kennedy."

"Always the bright side," Edward laughed at the boy.

"Let's go," Carlisle said, amused by Seth's easy acceptance of the situation as well. "Seth, not so fast this time," he told the boy once he had phased into his wolf form. "You're running yourself to the point of exhaustion and pain. We're simply returning home. Keep your pace steady and easy, don't push yourself."

Groaning and pawing at the air, Seth wagged his tail and nodded before leaping off to run alongside Emmett as they sped back toward the town. Felix ran alongside Carlisle and Jasper, not certain what to think, but realizing two things: Carlisle led his coven with patience, understanding and compassion; and two, he found himself respecting Carlisle's leadership more than he did Aro's. He had never trusted Caius in the least, but he had never imagined he would meet someone who would actually make him consider leaving the Volturi. He wasn't certain if he truly would or not, but the thought was there and the idea was one that wouldn't leave him. Only time would tell what the future would hold.


	49. Chapter 47

Chapter 47

Her eyes opened slowly, the world around her blurred by the pain and exhaustion of her migraine. She could feel the soft bed beneath her, the cool stone body of one of her brothers behind her. She turned slowly to lie on her back, whimpering with the movement as her every muscle and joint seemed to protest the movement. The pain in her brain intensified for a single moment before it lessened, never dying away completely, and the soft groan next to her told her that it was Jasper lying with her. She felt the cool brush of his fingers against her cheek, heard his soft voice next to her, but couldn't understand the words. Groaning low as she tried to bite back the pain, stay soundless against the fire burning in her head, she saw the blurred image of Emmett walk into the room and whimpered softly with the effort it took to hold out her hand to him.

"What is she doing?" Felix asked as he looked down at the human girl lying next to Jasper.

"She thinks you're Emmett," Edward told him as he stepped into the room. "Your height and build are the same; your hair's just as dark as his."

"My name is Felix, remember?" he asked of Angela as he stepped closer to the bed.

"It's her migraine," Jasper said, his voice tense with pain. "Even with the Toradol in her system, I'm only barely able to help manage the worst of her pain."

"She can't see clearly," Edward offered as well. "She's too tired to understand that you're not him."

"What does she want?" Felix asked, turning his eyes on Edward.

"Em'mt," Angela mumbled softly, breathing heavily with the effort it took just to stay awake.

"She usually sleeps between us," Jasper told him with a lopsided grin, though his face was etched in lines of agony. "She wants you to lie down next to her and hold her like he would."

"Believe me," Edward chuckled softly at the thoughts he read from Felix, "it's really just easier to give into her. Take your shoes off and lie down. She'll return to sleep and you'll find it amazing how relaxing it is to hold her."

"To hold a human?" Felix asked with disbelief. "She's intelligent and fun to talk with, I'll give you that," he admitted. "But I feed on human blood."

"You won't hurt her," Alice assured him. "It's alright. I know you've only known her for a few hours, but trust us, just lie down with her."

Eye brows lifting in an expression of a shrug, Felix relented to their soft commands and bent down to remove his ankle high boots. Setting them next to the bed and snorting in amusement when Rain appeared from under the furniture to play with the laces, he sat down next to Angela. Her hand lifted, the movement painfully slow as she tried to tug on his shirt, but her fingers refused to grab hold of the cloth. Felix's brows twitched in confusion and intrigue as he felt a welcoming warmth surrounding him and drawing him closer. He felt calmed, relaxed and interestingly enough, very protective of the human girl lying in the bed.

"Is this her?" he asked looking between Jasper and Edward.

"Yes," Edward grinned. "That's what is naturally there. You don't usually feel it unless you're as close to her as you are now."

"Or," Jasper said, smiling when Alice sat down behind him on the bed and curved her body around his. "Unless you're used to being around her; it took us what…" he looked at Edward, "about a month, wouldn't you say, to be able to feel her without having to be this close?"

"Right around that, yeah," he nodded and looked at Felix, watching as the Volturi guard laid down slowly on his back, his head resting on the pillow. "Don't try to stop her," he advised seconds before Angela began to move. "Just let her do what she wants."

"Do what she wants?" Felix asked in confusion.

Angela whimpered softly, her pain increasing with the effort it took to move. She breathed in sharply, biting back a cry of pain as her body protested the movement. She couldn't understand why she hurt so much, why she was so sore, but she wanted Emmett and he was so close to her. It confused her that he didn't simply turn and wrap his arms around her as he had always done in the past, but she thought she smiled when she heard the quiet murmur of Edward's voice and saw him move his arm. Even as she grew closer to him and tucked herself slowly into his side, she never realized that it wasn't Emmett lying next to her. Pillowing her cheek on his hard chest, she cuddled against him and, with great difficulty, fisted her hand in his shirt by her chin. She felt his arm wrap around her and felt Jasper close her in between their bodies as sleep claimed her once more, a soft smile bending her lips at the corners.

Felix looked down at the girl sleeping tucked against his side and marveled at how trusting she was of him. She hadn't even known him for a few moments when she had been comfortable enough to sit down and have a conversation with him. He knew that she knew exactly what he was, and though he was certain that she knew what it meant for him to have red eyes, she had never once spoken about it. On the way back from the hunt, he had commented to Marcus how unusual it was for her to be so trusting of their kind, but no one had given him a reason why. Instead, he had watched as Carlisle and his 'sons' had grown quiet and tense, even Marcus to some extent had become guarded of the topic, but not one of them had answered his question.

"That's because it's something that none of us truly care to talk about," Edward said sadly as he took a seat in the chair by the window. "Marcus knows a bit of it, but even Carlisle didn't give him the full run down. Have you heard anything from Aro?" he asked effectively changing the subject.

"I've tried texting him a few times, but I'm pretty sure he has it turned off or the battery's dead. He always answers right away," Felix said as Angela whimpered and turned her face into his chest. "Shh," he soothed her and saw the lines of pain grow deeper across Jasper's face. "What's happening?" he asked the southern vampire.

"I can feel her migraine," Jasper said as he bit back another groan. "This is quite possibly the worst one I've ever seen her experience. It's beyond the power of the medicine. I'm not even able to completely block it."

Edward looked at Felix, reading through the man's memories as he thought of the many times that Jane had used her power on him for her own amusement. Breathing in sharply at the knowledge of how vicious and uncaring the ancient twelve-year old vampire could be, he nodded to himself before speaking.

"Jane's power, the pain you've felt from her," he said drawing Felix's attention as he read Jasper. "Double it and you'll begin to understand the pain she's in," he said as he nodded to Angela.

"What do you mean 'begin'?" Felix asked guardedly as he studied the telepathic vampire.

"What I mean is, her migraine right now, it's nearly beyond description. I've seen Jasper have to fight against the power of them before, but he has always been able to block the pain nearly completely. This time, he's barely blocking half of it. She's dying, Felix," he told the man. "Her migraines are killing her. She's got maybe eighteen months left before they claim her life and nearly every day of that is going to be spent in some kind of pain. That's why Carlisle was in New York," he said when he heard the thoughts of Marcus and Suplicia grow closer as they stepped into the open doorway of the room. "He was trying to understand them better so that he could help her before he's able to change her."

"Everyone keeps saying that you all have to wait for some kind of graduation," Suplicia said as she frowned in her confusion.

"High school graduation," Carlisle said as he stepped into the room and walked toward the bed. "If either she or Bella were to simply disappear before such a time that they would be leaving for college, then it would most likely spark a federal investigation. Jasper?"

"I feel like I'm barely helping her at all. She's still in a lot of pain," he said and Carlisle noticed that his eyes which had been sun gold on his arrival home, were now nearly pitch black with the effort it took him to help her. "I honestly don't know how long I can keep the barrier up. Her migraine is continuously flaring."

Carlisle sighed softly and nodded. "I may need to set up a morphine drip. The Toradol isn't working and the morphine will at least dull her pain enough that she should be able to sleep more comfortably."

"What's stopping you?" Marcus asked curiously from behind him.

"The Toradol won't completely wear off for at least another hour. I can't risk mixing the medications," he said as he touched Angela's cheek. "Jasper, I know you wish to help her, but it's draining on you. You need to hunt."

"He won't go," Alice said before Jasper could speak. "Not before you set up the drip."

_He's already stealing my sister?_

Edward couldn't help but chuckle at the jealous thought he read from Emmett and shook his head slowly. He had been the first of their family to befriend and grow close to Angela, she and his brother had a very close bond that he doubted he would ever fully understand. He grinned at the sight of the room becoming filled with vampires. He smiled softly at the sight of Rosalie leading Bella into the room and held out his hand for his human love to take. He pulled her down to sit in his lap and wrapped his arms around her as he looked across the faces of everyone present.

"One little human," Rosalie mused with a soft chuckle as she looked at Angela tucked in between Felix and Jasper, Alice lying behind her husband with her hand on Angela's arm.

"In all my years," Marcus said as he stared at Angela, "I've never seen anything like this. None that I have met have even come close to the power she holds. What?" he asked Felix when he chuckled.

"This is the power that she has as a human," Felix said as he looked at the girl tucked in his arm.

"Yes," Marcus answered, not truly understanding his friend's amusement.

"So when she's one of us," he said and let his comment hang unfinished in the air.

"One can only imagine," Marcus said with wide eyes.

**:::::**

Aro stepped off the plane in Seattle, grateful that the Volturi had their own private jet as flying with humans was not something he had any intention of doing. Being in a crowded airport was testing enough of his control, but the tight quarters of a plane would be far worse. He may be ancient, but there were even some things that he wouldn't chance. The bag he had brought was small to say the least, barely a knapsack, the leather bag held an outfit that would still be elegant, but suitable for hunting and the charger he needed for his cell phone. His wallet and passport remained in his pocket and when he turned on his cell phone he found that he had three waiting texts from Felix. The first one was simply requesting information on his expected arrival, but it was the second one that furrowed his brow with confusion.

_Things are different here, Aro. I can't even begin to prepare you for what you'll encounter, but as strange as it is, it is beautiful. There's a symmetry here, an easy camaraderie that I've never seen anywhere else. Let me know when you land and I and a friend will come get you. I beg of you though, put enough trust in me to leave your judgments behind. Come as a friend, not as Volturi._

He texted Felix to let him know that he arrived and was surprised to receive the man's request that he wait for him and his mysterious friend at his apartment in the city. That Felix wouldn't give the name of the person he was traveling with either meant that he was worried for the person's safety, or…Aro tipped his head in curiosity as he tucked the phone into his pocket, that he meant it to be a surprise for him. He couldn't imagine Felix wishing to surprise him with anything and assumed that this vampire he was staying with must be in some kind of trouble.

Looking up at the cloud covered night sky as he exited the airport, he was thankful that he would have no need to skirt around buildings or stay to the shadows as he had left his cloak behind in Italy. He had not come with the intention of passing judgments on anyone, he thought as he moved through the city and purchased a map from the newspaper and magazine vendor that stood on the corner. He found the path to Felix's apartment quickly enough and folded the paper, tucking it into his bag before moving on. He had no idea what he would find, but he wasn't going to try to predict the future either. He had come to see his wife that was the reason that he was here – as a husband and a friend, not 'Aro of the Volturi'. For the first time that he could remember, he felt the need to separate himself from Volterra, if only to let himself recover from everything that had happened in the passing months.

He turned his head as he heard the speeding heartbeat approach him, felt the rush of wind as the woman ran past, and smiled when she winked at him. Americans were odd, he thought as he watched her continue to run down the sidewalk dressed in spandex shorts and a black sports bra. She was beautiful and toned, but he was certain that no one would have found a woman in any other country running at night as she was. He was grateful that his kind never needed to resort to such activities to keep in shape, their bodies frozen in time. Seattle was crowded, but not nearly as crowded as Volterra and the surrounding cities in Italy. Breathing in deeply, he was met with the brine of the ocean and the dusty stone smell that came with buildings older than sixty years. He could feel the dampness that was heavy in the air upon his skin and knew that the humans around him were too dull to be able to feel it. Their senses were clouded in comparison to his.

Stepping up to the building that matched the address Felix had texted him, he was surprised to see that the 'apartment' was actually a brownstone house. He shook his head at the thought that Felix would down play the dwellings he had procured for Suplicia. Finding the key precisely where Felix had told him he would, he unlocked the front door and stepped inside. He closed the door behind him and leaned against the heavy wood, breathing in deeply and feeling his emotions storming close to the surface. Her scent was everywhere and he felt as though it would break him. He was so close to her and yet still so far away. He felt his heart ache with her absence. It wasn't a feeling that he had been used to before now, the burning desire to see her and aching torment of being able to breathe in her scent but not be close enough to touch her. As much as it pained him to even allow the thought to cross his mind, he was almost grateful that Jane's torment had pushed his wife to leave Italy, if only because he was closer to her now than he had ever been before.

He answered his ringing cell phone, not bothering to look to the caller ID as he brought the device to his ear and affected a pleasant but bored tone as he answered the call. His throat constricted, his voice denying him the ability to use it as he listened to his wife's sweet voice. He was only able to speak with a harsh whisper as he asked her how she was and requested that she continue speaking with him for as long as she could. Her gentle laughter answered him and he felt his face grow slack, his lips parting as he realized that she sounded lighter and happier than she had just two days ago when they had last spoken. What had changed? What had brought her such joy and peace?

"Suplicia?" he asked feeling as close as he ever had to crying, an emotional release he had never allowed himself. "You're happy."

"I am," she said with a giggle. "Oh, Aro, there are no words for it. There is no explanation. You will understand when you come here, of that I am certain, but I have no words to make you understand what has happened."

"Are you not coming with Felix?" he asked her when he noticed that there were no sounds of the wind or road in the background of her call.

"No," she said and he could hear the smile in her voice. "I'm staying here; he's brought the friend we're staying with to come collect you."

"Why are you both so hesitant to speak this person's name?" he asked with growing frustration.

"Because I told him to leave it a surprise," she laughed softly. "They'll be there in about half an hour. If you need to hunt you should do so now. We don't hunt in their hometown."

"Whose, Suplicia?" he nearly growled the question and was met with her easy laughter.

"I'm not telling you, husband," she chuckled and he heard a mewling in the background. "Even Rain likes it here."

"You're truly not going to tell me?" he asked in surprise, his frustration giving way under the sound of her bell toned laughter.

"Truly not," she said and laughed. "Do you need to hunt?" she asked him seriously.

"No," he said simply as he drew in more of her scent and walked toward the sofa. "I ate before I came…Why?" he asked as he grew suspicious. "Do they have humans staying with them?"

She was silent for a moment, "None that they don't intend to change," she finally answered him and he wondered if she had been waiting for someone's approval before speaking.

"How large is this coven?" he asked as he sat on the couch and pulled a nearby pillow to him, the decorative throw thick with her scent.

"I'm not answering that one," she told him with a teasing laugh. "You're just going to have to wait."

"You are terrible," he reprimanded with a laugh.

"I love you," she breathed affectionately. "I can't wait to see you."

"Nor I you, my dear," he answered her with a lonesome smile tugging at his lips. "You've grown quiet," he observed when she didn't speak.

"I'm just still so amazed at everything that has happened," she told him quietly. "You'll understand once you get here."

"You are so happy," he said with a sigh. "I can hear it in your voice. You sound…you sound like you did all those centuries ago. The night you agreed to be with me forever," he said as he thought back over their time together, "that's the only other time I've heard you this happy and peaceful."

"I know you're anxious to understand," she told him. "But this is not something that can be explained," she told him as she looked at the bed, Angela still sleeping against Emmett's side. "This is something that can only ever be experienced."

**:::::**

It hadn't been easy at all to get back into this town, especially considering that the FBI was following his every move. He didn't want to create another disguise, but it looked as though he may not have a choice. This was the third 'FBI Most Wanted' poster he had come across that had his true face plastered on it and he knew that he wouldn't be able to stay away from public places for very long. Slipping into a costume shop, he watched the cameras and mirrors carefully from the corners of his eyes, keeping out of sight of the shop owner as he tucked a fake beard pack and scar kit into his pockets.

He didn't have the time to change his hair coloring, or any place that he would be able to do it without drawing attention to himself. Grinding his teeth in frustration, he stepped up to the side of a closed store and used the window as a mirror. He took out the scar kit first. He didn't have a choice but to seal his right eye shut with the silicone patches that would make it look as though the skin of his eye had been melted closed. Looking around carefully, he blended the basic make up as best as he could to match his skin tone and blended the silicone into his skin, making the scar appear natural. Looking around once more, he applied the spirit gum to his cheeks and jaw before carefully applying the thin layer of false skin. The hair of the beard was course, more than likely made from horse hair to give it the natural appearance that it had.

He looked at himself, studying the picture that he made and realized that to truly be invisible he would have to make himself more noticeable. He would need to affect a slight limp. Nothing too extreme, perhaps even something as slight as a shuffling step, just enough to make him look impaired. He knew that the added limp would draw slightly more attention to him, but the burn scars that he had covered his right eye and cheek with would make people want to ignore him. It was something that he had learned well, no one wanted to be near someone who reminded them of their own mortality. The sick, the dying, the gravely injured, no one wanted to see them.

Turning his right foot out at an angle, he walked around the building, practicing the new stance he would need to use. He made it look as though his knee was inured enough to make it difficult for him to walk. This way, it didn't matter if people thought he somehow resembled his photo, the burn scar, beard and limp would make him invisible. No one would take a second look at him. It was perfect. The only thing he had left to do was find Angela. It was time for him to reclaim his rose.

**:::::**

"We don't have very long," Edward said. "Are you sure you want to do this now? We'll have less than ten minutes."

_I have far too much energy, Edward_ Seth said, wagging his tail as he pawed at the ground. _I'm used to going on patrols for more than half the day. All this inactivity, while kind of nice, is starting to make me restless. _

"Alright," Edward grinned at the wolf. "But I still maintain that I'm faster than you."

Seth narrowed his eyes, his body stilling and becoming tense as his muscles prepared for the run that he could feel thrumming through him. Keeping the thought silent as he allowed the move to occur, Seth whacked Edward with his tail before speeding off toward the forest, earth and leaves flying up into the air. He could hear Edward running after him, the vampire accepting his challenge to race and laughed as he ran faster. Seconds before Edward got close enough to touch him; their agreed sign of who would lead the chase, Seth turned on a dime and shot to the left.

_Do I need to slow down for you _old man_,_ he taunted Edward as he ran.

"Old man?" Edward repeated with a chuckle. "I'll show you 'old man' pup."

_Not if you can't catch me!_

Edward laughed and shook his head. It was a continued and welcomed surprise, Seth's easy acceptance of him and his family. He wasn't bothered by them in the least, not even by their friends from Italy who drank human blood. The only thing Seth had ever asked was that they not hunt inside the town, something that Marcus, Felix and Suplicia had easily agreed to as they were held to the same restrictions in Italy. Hunting within the bounds of the city of Volterra had been strictly prohibited for nearly five hundred years. Edward nearly collided with Seth, the wolf coming to a sudden stop, and Edward had to dodge to the side to avoid impacting with the wolf.

"What is it?" Edward asked as he watched Seth sniff the air.

_I don't know,_ Seth stepped closer to the edge of the forest as he continued to pull in deep breaths. _The scent is…I don't know how to describe it other than to say it smells…mean._

"Mean?" Edward asked as he took in a deep breath, but his sense of smell was hindered by Seth's odor. "What do you mean 'mean'?" he asked him.

_Can't you smell it?_ Seth asked as he took another step closer and Edward gripped the fur of his shoulder to keep him from stepping into the road.

"Not with you so close," Edward told him. "Your scent is all I can smell."

_Oh, sorry,_ Seth grimaced and shook his head as he fought for a deeper understanding of the scent. "I don't get it," he said after phasing back to his human form and jogging across the street with Edward at his side. "Can you smell it now, or am I still too close to you?"

"Still too close. I honestly don't know that I would be able to smell it now," Edward said as he looked at the teen boy. "Your scent is masking everything. Try to describe it to me."

"I don't know, it's just…dark, evil," he shook his head. "I swear, Edward, it smells like death and pain and…lust. Like whoever this person is, he enjoys the pain he's causing."

"Vampire?" Edward asked and Seth shook his head. "Wait…human?"

"Yeah, it's definitely human," Seth said as he shook his head and stepped back from the shop that had closed down a few months ago. "It just smells evil. That's the only word that I really have to describe it – evil."

"Ok," Edward nodded with a thoughtful frown. "You should phase, share the scent with your pack. Let them know that this scent is a dangerous human."

Seth nodded before jogging back across the street and phasing before he disappeared into the tree line. Even with him gone Edward still couldn't pick up a scent, but when he looked at the ground he froze. Bending down slowly, he lifted the wrapper up and brought it closer to read the label one more time just to be certain. He felt himself still as the anger coursed through him as bright and violent as anything he had ever felt. 'Facial scar makeup kit' was what the package read and he dropped it to the ground. It was possible that a kid could have dropped it, but with Seth's description of the scent, he highly doubted it. McGinnis was back. Angela's stalker was once again in Forks.

**:::::**

Carlisle sighed as he took his cell phone from his pocket and pressed the number one speed dial to call Esme. He chuckled at the look of sheer annoyance on Felix's face as he waited for his call to be answered and felt soothed by the loving voice of his wife. Telling her that they had made it all the way to the pass before being stopped by traffic, he informed her that they were sitting at a dead standstill and had been for the past fifteen minutes. They were still at least ten minutes outside of downtown Seattle and Carlisle had no prediction for when the traffic would be moving again.

"Suplicia's still talking with Aro," Esme told him with amusement. "I'll let her know so that she can tell him. The way they talk to each other reminds me of us."

Carlisle smiled, "That's good to hear, my love. How is Angela doing?"

"She's still sleeping, tucked against Emmett. Jasper's still out hunting, I just hope he comes back before she wakes. She'll be upset if he isn't. Rosalie removed the morphine drip a few minutes after you left; Angela kept trying to take it out in her sleep. She doesn't seem to be in any pain anymore."

"That's a relief," Carlisle breathed out as he stared at the unmoving cars ahead of them. "She hasn't had a migraine that severe in a while. Watch her carefully; you and I both know that she won't admit to her pain."

"I will, don't worry, love," Esme said and spoke a few more words before disconnecting the call.

"You have a question," Carlisle observed of Felix without turning to look at the vampire seated next to him in the Mercedes.

"I do," Felix nodded slowly. "What did you mean when you said that 'she won't admit to her pain'?"

Carlisle sighed softly; the subject of Angela's abuse was one he did not particularly care to discuss. It hurt him to think of all that she had gone through and hurt him more to know that there was still so much more that she hadn't told them. Studying the wheel he had his fingers wrapped around, he felt grateful when the traffic finally started to move, slow though it was. Taking a moment to collect his thoughts, not wishing to break the confidence Angela had shown in him and his family, Carlisle took in a breath and turned to look at Felix as the traffic around them once again came to a stop.

"Angela has only recently come to be with my family. She has been living with us less than a year," Carlisle said slowly.

"Ok, but that doesn't really answer the question," Felix said when Carlisle grew quiet, their car moving another thirty feet forward before stopping again. "I've never seen a human so comfortable around our kind, especially knowing what we are."

"Angela was abused," Carlisle sighed sadly as he was finally able to reach the turn off for the exit he needed and directed the car into Seattle. "She was gravely mistreated by her parents for her migraines."

"How badly?" Felix asked as he found himself puzzled by the anger and protectiveness he felt.

"Badly," Carlisle said, his tone making it clear that he wouldn't expand on it. "It has been…difficult to say the least to get her to talk about what happened to her over the years. There is still much that we do not know."

Felix took in a slow breath and sat back against his seat. He wasn't used to feeling protective over people, except for Suplicia, and never once a human. It had always been easy for him to get along with anyone, but he had never formed strong ties, to anyone aside from Suplicia, Aro, Marcus and Carlisle. But Angela, there had been something about her that had drawn out his protective instincts more so than anyone else ever had. He didn't truly understand it.

"Angela's ability," Felix's brow furrowed as he tried to put his thoughts into an intelligible question. "What I felt when I held her…"

"Yes," Carlisle said as he followed the highway exit into downtown Seattle. "She doesn't project anything, she doesn't ask for anything, but her spirit calls out for protection. The openness of her heart is what draws you in. She holds no malice, no deceit or subterfuge in her mind. In fact, Edward has said more than once that her thoughts are the most selfless and kind he has ever read. Seth is much the same way."

"I have to admit, I'm still trying to wrap my brain around that treaty you told me about and the history you have with the wolves here. I don't know exactly what Aro will think of it, but Caius…if he were ever to find out, I can guarantee that nothing Aro or Marcus would say could hold him back. He would wage war with your coven, if only because of the wolves," Felix warned him. "Carlisle? What is it?" he asked when the always kind vampire next to him growled low.

"We have another problem," Carlisle said as he fought against his rising temper while staring at the text from Edward. "One that will be discussed when we arrive back at my home."

"Here," Felix said and pointed out the window.

"Apartment?" Carlisle questioned with a touch of humor. "Felix, this is a house."

"Suplicia liked calling it an apartment. She said it felt more 'homey'," he said with a roll of his eyes. "I may never understand women."

Carlisle laughed easily as he parked his Mercedes in the drive and turned off the car. Stepping out of the vehicle, he looked at the self satisfied smirk on Felix's face and watched the man move toward the front door. Although he was certain that Aro had heard their approach, he also knew that for whatever reason, both he and Suplicia had been adamant about keeping Carlisle's identity a secret. The Volturi guard turned back to Carlisle as he shut the door and smiled with humor.

"He still keeps your room, you know," Felix told him. "At Volterra. No one ever heard from you after you left, Caius maintained that you were dead; we had no proof to the contrary. I think Aro always held out hope though, you brought a light and youthfulness to him that I had never seen before or since. I can still hear him talking with Suplicia," Felix said as he stepped closer to Carlisle and lowered his voice to a point that not even another vampire would hear unless they were within a few feet of them. "Why did you leave? Aro never said."

"Caius," Carlisle said the ancient vampire's name with a note of pain and ground his teeth together against the memory. "The night that I left," Carlisle looked down at his hands for a moment before meeting Felix's gaze once more. "That day I had treated a young girl for a broken arm. When I came back to check on her, I found Caius feeding on her. Her father lay dead beside her, his blood drained. Caius left enough blood in her for the change to happen, but she was barely ten and he knew that she would have to be destroyed."

"Did Aro know?" Felix asked with wide eyes.

"I don't know. If he did, he never said anything to me before I left," Carlisle felt the pain of the memory constrict his heart. "Caius told me that I had a choice to make. Kill her as a human, or destroy her once she was changed. She was crying out with the pain of the venom coursing through her. I tried to give her a kind death, reached for the ether and knew that if I used enough she would simply fall asleep never to wake again. It enraged Caius that I refused to drink from her or kill her violently. He…he killed her."

"Violently," Felix correctly assumed and Carlisle nodded. "I remember how unsettled you were that night. I thought it was just because you and Aro had grown so close."

"No," Carlisle said simply as he swallowed back the pain that the memory caused. "What he did to her, no one deserved. Let us get Aro and return home," he said effectively ending their conversation.

Felix nodded and led Carlisle up the small stone path to the front door. It didn't surprise him that Aro had left the door unlocked and he turned the knob stepping easily inside. He heard the ancient vampire end the call with his wife, announcing that he would see her soon and stepped further into the house, being certain to hide Carlisle behind him as he stepped into the living room. With a mischievous grin, an expression that Aro had grown used to seeing when in private counsel with Felix, he stepped closer to greet his friend only to breathe in deeply and still.

"Aro, everything will be explained later. But for now," Felix said as his eyes sparkled with secret humor, "allow me to re-introduce you to an old friend of ours."

With those few words, Felix stepped aside to reveal Carlisle and Aro's face fell slack with the surprise and disbelief he felt. He took one step closer, his crimson eyes widening as he stared at a man he had not seen in centuries.

"_Stregoni Benefici_," Aro breathed out with wonder and reverence. "You live."


	50. Chapter 48

Chapter 48

He was silent, motionless as he stared at the person standing in front of him. His mind wouldn't accept what his eyes were seeing and he blinked once, twice, three times before closing his eyes for one long moment and finally allowing them to open once more. He was no apparition, no hallucination, and Aro was at a loss for words as he realized the truth of what he was seeing. Carlisle Cullen, his _Stregoni Benefici_, was indeed standing in front of him. His blonde hair no longer hung free as it had in the eighteenth century, but instead was styled back to reveal more of his angelic face. The grey sweater he wore was buttoned up almost to the top, the open 'v' of the first two buttons revealing a robin's egg blue silk tie underneath and a light colored shirt. The softer tones of the colors he wore made his gold eyes stand out, the color brilliant and warm, reminding Aro of the sun. A scarf that looked to be handmade, hung loosely over his shoulders, the plush fabric made from yarns of feather grey and silver.

Stepping forward, Aro reached out to touch Carlisle. He let his hand rest upon the man's shoulder, not touching his skin as it was his intention to physically reassure himself of what he was seeing and not read his friend's mind. His eyes shifted to the left as he caught sight of a small silver object glinting in the lamplight and smiled as his eyes focused on the pin affixed to the lapel of Carlisle's shirt collar. A caduceus, Carlisle was still a doctor. The knowledge of that one small fact made Aro smile and he stepped back as he studied the man in front of him.

"You still practice medicine," he observed and Carlisle smiled.

"Yes," Carlisle chuckled. "It has been a long time, my friend."

"Too long," Aro agreed with a nod. "You seem anxious, Carlisle," he observed before glancing at Felix and seeing the same tenseness in his guard's posture though his face remained carefully relaxed. "I have come here to see my wife," he said with a nod, "and to visit with friends. I have not come to pass any judgments."

"Thank you," Felix mouthed and Aro nodded.

"I look forward to reconnecting with you, my friend," Carlisle said, though his voice held an edge of restlessness. "But please, let us get on the road; there are matters I must attend to before we may fully enjoy our visit."

"Of course," Aro said amicably and waved toward the door as he silently encouraged Carlisle to lead the way. "Carlisle," he began curiously as he slid into the backseat of the car, "how large is your coven?"

"It's not a coven," Felix chuckled as Carlisle rolled his eyes with amusement. "It's a family."

**:::::**

Angela groaned softly as conscious came slowly. She felt a cool hand stroke down over her hair as lips pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead. Blinking against the soft light flooding in from the hall, she sat up slowly with a yawn and hid her face against Emmett's shirt. Frowning at the sight of the dark sky outside her window, she turned her eyes up to Emmett and saw the concern in his eyes. It was hard to remember much of the day, she could remember meeting Felix and Suplicia, but the rest of her memories seemed somehow blurred.

"What happened?" Angela asked as she rubbed the back of her hand where a small circular bandAid covered her skin.

"You collapsed," he told her softly, his voice thick with worry. "The migraine you had was worse than any we've seen you have before. How long were you in pain? Did you feel it before you collapsed?" he asked her as he helped her to stand up from the bed, his hands remaining around her waist when she proved to be unsteady on her feet.

Angela blushed against the desire to hide away. She didn't want to tell him that she had been in pain for the past three days. She knew that it wasn't entirely safe for her to take the Toradol yet and it was the only drug that truly worked against her migraines. She heard the intake of breath of near the door and turned to see Edward standing in the entryway, his brows furrowed with worry and displeasure. Pursing his lips at the thoughts he read from her, he opened his arms and waited for her to step close enough that he could wrap her in a hug.

"You should have told us," he reprimanded gently. "We wouldn't have turned you away, Sweetheart. You're safe here, remember?" he asked as he pulled back enough to look into her eyes and cupped her face in his hands. "We won't ever be upset with you for your migraines," he promised her.

Kissing her forehead, he stepped back and let Emmett step forward, watching as his brother wrapped his arm around Angela's shoulder. He led her into the hall only to give a lopsided grin when Rosalie stepped forward and brushed her hand against the girl's cheek. Blushing and nodding when she was asked if she needed a human moment, Angela closed herself inside the bathroom. Everyone was concerned, the severity of her migraine having caused her to collapse and the bruising that had been revealed when Esme had changed her into a set of more comfortable sleeping clothes made it clear that she had fallen into the table before landing on the floor.

"She'll be alright," Edward said as he looked at his siblings and nodded for them to follow him down the stairs to give Angela some relative privacy.

"How long?" Esme asked as she stared up at her telepathic son.

"Three days," Edward sighed as he stepped onto the first floor and looked around at his family, Seth, Marcus and Suplicia each in turn. "She's been experiencing a massive migraine for three days. It just grew stronger today than she was able to manage. She may never lose her fear of revealing her pain, no matter that she is safe with us."

"Edward," he turned his attention on Seth, his jaw tightening with the request the boy spoke to him through his thoughts.

"Later," he said to the werewolf. "Not now, she's about to come downstairs."

"Jasper and Alice still aren't back from their hunt," Esme said as she looked toward the front door.

"Her thoughts are jumbled. She was in enough pain that I don't know if she truly realizes they were here or believes her memory to be a dream," Edward said and fell silent as he turned his attention to the top of the stairs. "Hey baby girl," he greeted Angela when she appeared at the top landing and descended slowly.

"There's a kitten in my room," she said with a confused frown and Edward laughed.

"Yes, that's Rain," he told her. "Do you remember Felix and Suplicia arriving earlier today?" he asked knowing how her memory would become clouded with her most severe migraines.

Angela bit her lip as she came to the bottom landing and tucked herself easily against Emmett's side when he held his hand out to her. Turning her face into his chest to hide a yawn, she felt Rosalie stroke her hair and smiled softly at her vampire sister. She could remember seeing a tall man, someone who could easily have been Emmett's brother given his height, build and hair color. His eyes were red though and while it was hard to capture the memory completely, she could hear whispers of words revolving around Rome and the Roman army. Her dream came back to her then, the images of Jasper and Alice returning and she felt tears sting behind her eyes as she wished for her dream to be true.

"It wasn't a dream," Edward told her and waited until she looked at him to nod to the front door. "They're coming back from their hunt now, Sweetheart. Jasper needed to feed after he helped you with your migraine."

"Jasper's home?" she whispered and stepped away from Emmett to walk closer to the front door.

She stilled, every thought losing its hold on her as she saw his familiar form walk through the grass toward the door. She could see Carlisle's black Mercedes pull into the drive from the corner of her eye as she stepped outside, but her attention was focused on Jasper. She thought of him, called to him with her emotions and felt his answering brush of warmth and love as he responded with his talent. A sob sounded from her, tears glistening in her eyes and cascading down her cheeks as she looked at him and laughed through her tears when he sped toward her, his movements so fast he was unseen. She wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly as she buried her face in his shoulder.

"I'm sorry, baby girl," he said as he rubbed her back. "I thought I'd be home before you woke up again."

"Alice," she whimpered and reached out for the pixie haired vampire standing behind Jasper.

"I missed you, too," Alice told her as she offered her hand for Angela to take and smiled at the human girl enfolded in her husband's arms. "She's asleep again," Alice told Jasper, keeping her voice low so as not to wake Angela.

"She's still in pain," Jasper said as he lifted Angela easily and cradled her against his chest as he walked into the house. "Not nearly as severely as she was earlier, but she still has a migraine."

"She thought you were a dream," Edward told him as he walked to the couch and sat down holding her in his lap. "The pain of her migraine kept her from being able to form a solid coherent memory. She didn't realize that you had truly returned."

Alice smiled at the knowledge her vision gave her. Jasper wouldn't release Angela from his care until she asked for it and Alice knew that her human sister would hold onto Jasper for as long as she could. Jasper kissed Angela's hair before resting his cheek on her head and trying to identify where the troubling emotions he was feeling were coming from. He looked around the room, let his talent brush over each person as he opened himself to their emotions, but he couldn't find the person that was feeling the sorrow and shame. Someone felt that they were to blame for something and was nearly to the point of crying because of it. He looked up at Edward, questioned his brother through his thoughts and saw the sad smile that bent his lips.

"Bella," Edward called out to his human love and held out his hand for her to take. "Go on," he said before he kissed her lips and turned her toward the couch.

Jasper pushed into Bella's emotions, felt her sorrow, her shame and the doubt she held. Both his human sisters, he realized, had blamed themselves for his absence, never once blaming him. Holding Angela with one arm, he held his hand out to Bella and waited for her to step forward. He comforted her, wrapping her in his talent as he projected to her the sibling love he felt for her, the warmth and acceptance. She sat down slowly, his influence helping her to release her doubt and self recrimination. Wrapping his arm around her shoulders, he rubbed his hand up and down over her arm as he held her tucked against his side.

"It was never your fault, Bella," Jasper promised her softly. "It even took me awhile and one very persistent wife to realize that it wasn't my fault, either. It was an accident, and I didn't stay away because I was angry at anyone. I spent time with Eleazar and his coven, learned the control that I was never taught in the beginning. I'm stronger now than I was before and I won't be leaving either of you again."

The tears that had filled her eyes slowly fell upon her cheeks as she turned her face into his shoulder and curled her body closer to his. He kissed her hair, petting the dark brown locks before wrapping his arm around her and encouraging her to sleep. He could feel her exhaustion and he built upon it with his talent until she was sleeping peacefully against his side. New emotions broke through the focus he had on his human sisters, the strongest was curiosity, beneath it was amazement, wonder, and a love born of longing. He looked up, finding Aro to be watching him and recognized the man only from the painting hanging in Carlisle's office. He saw Suplicia move toward Aro, the smile on her face brilliant and shining with all the love that she felt.

A part of him wanted to destroy this if only for the fear he held that Carlisle's coven would become more powerful than the Volturi, but as he looked around the room, Aro realized that it had been fear and greed that had led to the actions taken against his wife. He had amassed his coven from the most talented and powerful vampires he could find, the underlying structure built from domination and a sense of entitlement. He knew that there wasn't a single member of the coven he had built who would have the strength to sit with two humans as Jasper was. He looked away from the southern vampire, his eyes finding his wife's as she moved closer and stepped into his open arms. She touched her hand to his cheek and he stared at her with wide eyes as he read through the memories she freely offered him.

She hid nothing from him and he was able to clearly see all of the pain and torment that she been subjected to over the span of her immortal life. He was the first one to hurt her, his dalliances with first Chelsea and then later Corin, Jane, and so many others breaking her heart and making her constantly question her worth to him. How often she had questioned herself, doubted his love for her and he realized that in every action he had taken, he had been the one to instill her doubts and build upon her fear and only deepen her self-consciousness. He mourned for the heartache he had caused her, tightening his arms around her resting his brow against hers, deepening his connection to her as he held her.

He saw the pain, the torment and abuse brought to her by Corin, first when she had decided to remove her influence from Suplicia and then later when she had brought Jane to further the pain she caused his wife. He felt the fire burn through her, the shame and fear caused when she had been restrained by the mix of Alec's and Jane's powers. He closed his eyes against the sorrow he felt as the memories of her violent attacks repeated throughout his mind, his talent allowing him to in a way experience what his wife had felt while being raped by the guards. He clenched his jaw against the times that she had sat alone in their room, sobbing into her pillow to stay quiet as Corin had warned her that if she drew any attention to herself for what had happened that it would be Aro who brought Jane back to visit her again.

He felt Suplicia shift, his eyes snapping open when she dropped her hand from his face, only to lean closer and touch her cheek to his as she rested her head on his shoulder. He welcomed the closeness the new position brought them and held her tighter as he tried to protect them both from the pain of her memories. Even through the darkest times, he never blocked his talent from her memories and pushed deeper when he came across her friendship with Felix. He silently thanked his guard in his thoughts for what he had done to protect his wife and stroked Suplicia's hair as he held her. He smiled sadly, almost chuckling at the memory of her kissing Felix in Seattle. He understood what had led them both to that moment and would not begrudge either for their moment of indiscretion.

He laughed softly, the sound barely more than a rolling of breath as he read through the many times that she had swam with the dolphins and run through the forests with Felix. He did laugh outright, the sound rolling from him with genuine humor as he sifted through the times that Felix had thrown her into the mud pools in Kauai as 'punishment' for getting caught when he was training her to fight and run. He pulled back, his crimson eyes wide with disbelief and awe as he stared into his wife's eyes, his hands cupping her cheeks before he turned his attention on the delicate human girl sleeping in Jasper's lap. He could _feel_ the warmth through his wife's memories. He could actually feel Suplicia being healed by Angela, and the truth she shared with him – that the human girl had no knowledge of her ability to heal those of his kind…

"I ask that you wait until she is awake and freely offers her memories to you," Carlisle said as he watched his friend stare at Angela.

Angela moaned softly at the sound of Carlisle's voice and though she didn't fully wake, her eyes never opening, she did call out to him. He smiled at the familiar feel of her spirit calling him closer and gave in easily, moving to sit by Jasper's side as he brushed his hand against her cheek. In a little less than three minutes, Aro's view of the world had been changed, if only because of his talent allowing him to experience the centuries of emotional and physical torment his wife had endured. His attention turned at the scent he had been trying to ignore, the distasteful aroma of wet dog and he turned to look at the cinnamon skinned teen standing off to the side.

"Carlisle, you have a werewolf in your home," Aro said as he tried to keep his pleasant demeanor even as part of him told him to destroy the boy.

"Yes, I do," the blond doctor nodded. "He is an ally to us, a friend to my family. I know your laws; I understand what you must be thinking right now, Aro."

Carlisle met Aro's gaze when his ancient friend turned his attention on him. He knew that Aro had every reason to destroy him and his coven, but also knew that the man was out numbered. Even if Aro did choose to wait until he was back in Italy to exact his punishment on their family, Carlisle was certain that he wouldn't. Not because they were friends, he reasoned, but because he wouldn't want to chance another Wolf Hunt with Caius. He had heard the stories, knew the blonde vampire's penchant for sadistic violence and cruelty. He doubted that there had ever been anything good or decent about Caius, either in this life or his human one.

"Take my hand, Aro," Carlisle said. "Read my thoughts, know my history."

Aro looked at Carlisle and saw in him the friend that he had welcomed into his castle all those centuries ago. He missed the man he had called a dear friend and still did not understand why Carlisle had chosen to leave Volterra in such a hurry that night. He had said his reluctant goodbyes to his friend, wished him well, but had not read his thoughts, preferring not see the disgust he was afraid he would see. Carlisle had always been devoutly pure, feeding only on animal blood and refusing all offers of human blood. The few times that Aro had made Carlisle attend a 'meal' inside the castle, his friend had closed his eyes and turned his face away, refusing to watch or participate. He had always believed that Carlisle had finally become disgusted with their diet.

"He never did," Edward said as he studied Aro and watched the man turn his head quickly to look at him. "Carlisle has never once judged anyone else for their diet. Yes, I can read your thoughts, but not to the extent that you can."

Seth breathed in quickly, the sound one of surprise and anger. Turning his eyes on Edward, he waited for the vampire to nod before he jogged toward the front door and left the house. Aro moved to follow, thinking the boy had become a threat, but Edward moved to block his path. He assured him that Seth wasn't a threat to any of them and looked to Emmett and Jasper. His dark haired brother growled low, knowing what the look in his brother's eyes meant and nodded. Aro turned his attention on the others in the room, watching as Jasper and Alice moved as one and he stood while she moved into his spot with enough speed that Bella never woke. He gently set Angela in his wife's lap, kissing her before kissing both Bella and Angela on the forehead.

"How close is she?" Jasper asked Edward as he turned, ready for the hunt ahead of them.

"Skirting back across the borders," Edward answered him as Carlisle stood ready to lead the hunt. "She's injured both Paul and Embry, but not enough that they can't hunt. We need to leave now; they won't chase her on our borders."

"I won't let her hurt my family," Esme said as she appeared, having changed her shoes into something more appropriate for the hunt. "Alice you and Rosalie will stay behind with the girls."

"I'll stay with them, if that's alright?" Suplicia asked of Carlisle and Esme, both leaders of the Cullen clan nodding their approval.

"What is going on?" Aro finally asked as he noticed that everyone's actions seemed to be coordinated, even Marcus and Felix seemed to move with an easy understanding for the silent communication.

"I'll fill you in on the way," Felix told him, nodding when Marcus moved behind him to approach Angela.

"We'll be home soon, little one," the ancient vampire promised the sleeping human he had grown to consider a dear friend.

"I'll take care of them," Alice promised and he nodded once before standing to join the others.

The sharp bark drew their attention as they stepped outside and Aro saw the sandy brown wolf waiting for them, his fur standing up on his scruff and shoulders speaking of his anger. He watched with an odd sense of fascination as Edward and Emmett moved to flank the wolf before he took off at a dead run for the tree line surrounding the house. He listened as Edward asked the wolf questions, relaying his answers to the others and realized that the telepathic vampire was pulling the questions from the minds of those around him. Every move, every action was seamless and practiced as though it were a well choreographed dance that they had all performed several times before.

He heard the snarl break from Emmett before he saw the vampire speed toward a cliff edge with Felix at his side, the two large vampires jumping in unison to the other side. Seth barked at Edward as Aro followed the example set by the others and joined them on the opposite side of the cliff divided by the river nearly two hundred feet below. His fascination and curiosity gave way to frustration when he realized that he still had no more knowledge of the reason for this sudden hunt then he did when they had left Carlisle's house moments before.

"She's a threat to our family and the town," Esme said and he looked to his side to see the woman running beside him. "She's after Bella."

"Who is _she_?" Aro asked, wanting to read someone's thoughts, if only to understand what was currently happening.

"Victoria," Marcus answered and nodded to Esme.

Aro watched her increase her speed, moving easily to run beside Carlisle and glanced at Marcus when his brother took his hand. He could have read every thought, but instead focused on those pertaining to their current hunt and found himself enraged at the open defiance the female vampire had shown. Marcus dropped his hand a few seconds later once he was certain that Aro understood the situation and found the ancient vampire to be looking at him. He chuckled and nodded. Despite the gravity of their current situation, Marcus could only find humor in the look of disbelief in Aro's face.

"She has healed you as well?" Aro said in wonder before turning his eyes back to the hunt ahead of them when the wolves jumped to their side of the cliffs.

"Don't attack them," Marcus warned. "We are allies in this fight."

"I expect a full explanation when we return," Aro commanded and Marcus gave him a lopsided smile before nodding.

"You'll have it," Marcus assured him. "And no, Angela does not hold the same power Didyme did. I can see the question in your eyes brother," he said without turning his attention on Aro. "Her innate talent is much more…subtle. She does not make you feel docile, or take away your predatory instincts at all."

A sharp hiss broke through their conversation and Marcus turned his attention to the redheaded vampire vaulting between the trees. She was fast, agile, and had a definite knack for staying alive. She evaded the wolves easily by staying too high for them to reach while they ran. She slipped away from Jasper's outstretched arm with a quick turn, a flip and kicked out, catching Emmett in the shoulder when he tried to grab her. He watched as the vampire was thrown back, leaping to his feet and continuing the chase without missing a beat.

"Esme, get down!" Edward roared with wide eyes seconds before Victoria's fist lashed out.

Esme ducked and rolled to the side, losing her footing but avoiding the blow that would have taken off her head. Carlisle was upon her in an instant, helping her to her feet and running beside her as he kept his wife close to his side. Felix was nearly upon Victoria when she launched again, returning to the water of the rushing river that she had escaped into earlier. Leaves, dirt and twigs scattered into the air, creating a fine dust cloud around the massive unit of vampires and werewolves that came to a sudden stop. Sam snarled his fury, lifting his face into the wind and howling before he took off to the side and gave chase to follow where the river led. Edward stilled as he watched them leave and realized exactly where Victoria was going.

"She's escaped again!" Emmett exclaimed as he stared down at the water tipped in white with the power of the current.

"She's escaping, but she's also heading back toward the reservation. If she can't get to Bella because of the wolves and us, then she plans to kill enough of the humans there to distract the pack," Edward turned his eyes on Carlisle. "She will not give up until Bella's dead. She caught Angela's scent on Esme. She knows that we have another human with us and she doesn't care which one she has to kill. She wants Bella, but she'll settle for Angela."

"She is _not_ touching my family!" Esme fairly snarled as she trembled with the anger that Victoria's attacks inspired. "Seth," she turned her attention on the wolf and it was then that Aro noticed not all the wolves had left. "Will you head back and make certain that they are protected?"

Aro watched as the sand brown wolf wagged his tale and yipped before turning on his heel and racing away from them. Felix had been correct. There was an easy camaraderie, a symmetry that had to be experienced to be understood. He didn't fully understand it all just yet, but he was willing to listen. He caught Edward looking at him and nodded at him. He meant what he had said, he wasn't here to pass any judgments, but he had spent too long being the leader of the Volturi to completely ignore his thoughts on the knowledge that Carlisle had somehow not only amassed quite the collection of talented vampires, but also forged an unthinkable and strong partnership with a pack of werewolves.

"Carlisle," Aro spoke his friend's name as he stepped up to the man. "I do not fully understand, but I am willing to listen," he said and offered his hand for him to take.

Carlisle nodded, the caution and worry that had held him tense dissipating as he stepped up and placed his hand in Aro's, the two men looking as though they were simply shaking hands. Aro closed his eyes as he opened himself to all that his friend's mind held. He wanted to know everything, understand all of what had driven this man over the years and allowed Carlisle's memories to flow into him. Edward was right, he realized with pleasure, though Carlisle didn't begrudge anyone for their diet he chose not to drink human blood. He asked the same of his family, and Aro was able to see the differences between them with a startling understanding.

His eyes opened, his attention turning on Edward though his hand remained joined with Carlisle's. The knowledge that Edward had been, in a sense, born on animal blood and had rebelled to drink human blood only to come back to this odd diet was amazing. He breathed in sharply when he came to the attack Bella had undergone and Edward's strength to pull the venom from her blood without killing her. The things that Carlisle had witnessed, the family he had created, was unlike anything he had ever imagined.

His face fell, his eyes growing at once cold with anger and soft with sympathy as he turned his attention back to Carlisle. He read through the memories the man had of Angela, how she had come to be with his family and the ability she had given him to be as close to a true father as their kind could ever become. He saw the migraines that he had witnessed her suffer, the knowledge of the abuse she had been subjected to and the human who was hunting her.

"She truly finds more comfort with our kind than she does with her own?" Aro asked as he released Carlisle's hand.

"Yes," Carlisle said with a solemn nod. "She has far greater trust in vampires and werewolves than I believe that she will ever have in humans."

"She calls you 'Papa'," he said and Carlisle snorted with humor.

"Yes, that has been a source of amusement for the others as well," Carlisle chuckled.

"What Eleazar told you," Aro said as he looked at his friend. "Had what happened with Suplicia not happened, his warning would have had great merit. I do not know what the future holds, but I will not bring any danger to her. I admit, it would be…desirable to have a few of your children as part of the Volturi, but I have no wish to go to war with you."

"Even with the knowledge of the treaty that I have with the werewolves?" Carlisle asked, needing his ancient friend to be completely candid with him.

"In truth, that was always Caius' demon, not mine. Our kinds are natural enemies, so I do see them as threat for the most part, but it has never been my intention to openly wage war with them. Come," he said as he looked at the others. "Let us take this conversation back to your home. Your desire to return to your human 'daughters' was quite paramount throughout all of your thoughts."

"It always is," Edward chuckled, his voice low as he spoke his thought aloud.

**:::::**

Alice grinned, chuckling softly at her vision and smiled when Jasper came in ahead of the others simply to claim his sleeping sister from his wife's arms. He kissed Angela's forehead before asking to Bella's whereabouts as the girl was gone from where he had left her. Telling Jasper that Charlie had called Bella to let her know that he was home, the girl had gone to meet him. Nodding as he cradled Angela in his arms, he smiled at the simple pleasure of the tug when her hand fisted in his shirt. Kissing her forehead once more, he turned and made his way up the stairs with Alice following behind him. Suplicia shook her head with wonder as she watched the couple leave the room and looked back to greet her husband with a warm smile when he came to her side.

"Rosalie went to guard Bella's house while she's with Charlie," Edward said, having read Alice's thoughts. "Those are Angela's," Edward chuckled at the sight of the bear Suplicia held.

"Papa Bear?" Aro read the stuffed animal's coat with humor.

"They started out as a bit of amusement," Carlisle said as he looked at the bear. "We never knew they would bring her such comfort."

Carlisle smiled at the feel of the warmth surrounding him, the gentle pull that felt to be drawing him to Angela and chuckled silently to himself as he headed toward the stairs. Emmett was moving ahead of him, having felt a similar call and when Carlisle looked back, he found Esme and Marcus moving as well. Felix and Suplicia were both standing still, matching looks of confusion playing on both their faces and he shook his head.

"Let me guess," Carlisle said as he looked at the pair who had only just met Angela hours ago. "You feel surrounded by warmth, something akin to a hug, and you also feel yourself being tugged at or drawn toward something."

"How did you - ? It's her?" Suplicia asked and Carlisle nodded with a silent chuckle.

"It doesn't matter if she's awake or asleep, she can call you. We're not entirely certain how it works, but it does," he told her before moving toward the stairs.

Carlisle smiled as he ascended the stairs and came to a stop outside of Angela's bedroom, Suplicia, Aro and Felix having followed behind him. He shook his head as he looked inside and found Angela to already be surrounded by Emmett and Jasper, held in between her brothers while she slept. Alice lay curled behind Jasper on the edge of the bed, while Esme sat in the chair that she pulled near the bed. Edward had stopped in as well, but only long enough to see Angela before leaving to see Bella. He sighed to himself as he stepped inside the bedroom and moved closer to the bed. Every available spot on the bed was taken and he shook his head at the slight feeling of jealousy that fluttered through him before Jasper projected his humor upon him. Rolling his eyes at the southern vampire, he moved to the chair that Esme was seated in and watched as she stood and let him take the seat only to sit down in his lap.

Aro touched Marcus' hand as he looked at Carlisle's family and was amazed by the incredible strength of their bonds and depth of the familial ties between them. It didn't seem possible, but the truth lay before his eyes and he stared with wonder at the human girl lying wrapped in the arms of two vampires as she slept. He knew of no one among the Volturi who would have the strength to hold a human so close and not bite or otherwise injure them, not to mention sleep with them as they were. She mumbled softly in her sleep and he watched as Jasper smoothed her hair away from her face but said nothing. She calmed all the same, sighing with content as a small smile twitched her lips and she snuggled into him.

"Jasper's talent is emotional," Carlisle said in response to his friend's look of confusion. "He and Angela often speak without words."

"We would have destroyed you," Aro said as he stared at all that Carlisle had created. "Had you given in to my efforts to change your diet, the person you are would have been destroyed."

"I have always known who I wanted to be," Carlisle said as he met Aro's gaze. "I never regretted the time I spent with you, but I always knew that someday I would leave, it was simply the reason I never could have predicted."

"Yes," Aro said with anger only to feel a soothing calm settle over him. "Why did you never tell me what Caius did?" he asked as he looked at Carlisle.

"I was too upset to speak of it," he answered honestly. "In fact, until today, I have never spoken of it. I could never have stayed after that. Not after what he did."

Aro nodded silently as the memory once more played through his mind. He watched from Carlisle's perspective as the young child lay writhing in the agony induced by Caius' venom only to have her pain increased when the ancient vampire crushed her already broken arm when Carlisle tried to give her a peaceful death. He had tried to entice Carlisle to violence by breaking more of her bones until he had no choice but to kill her or let the change happen. He could feel the despair, the heartbreaking agony as Carlisle had been forced to watch the child suffer at the hands of someone who was supposed to uphold the laws of their kind. What Caius had done was nothing short of torture, both for the girl as well as for Carlisle. He knew exactly what Caius had been trying to do, true to the ancient vampire's sadistic nature, he had been trying to break Carlisle to make him either drink human blood or attack him. Either way, Caius had desired the same result from either action, the chance to destroy the _Stregoni Benefici_, whether it be in spirit or in life.

Had he known of Caius' actions, Aro thought as he smiled down at Suplicia when she tucked herself under his arm, he would have done something. He didn't quite know what, but his connection to Carlisle had been strong enough that he had refused anyone save himself, Marcus or Suplicia to be alone with him. In fact, he realized as he thought back over the time Carlisle had spent with him in Italy, the only other vampire that Carlisle had befriended of the entire Volturi was Felix. He stilled, his thoughts losing focus as he again felt a soothing warmth settle over him.

"Are you influencing my emotions?" he asked Jasper and saw the vampire offer a lopsided grin.

"Nope," Jasper said with a touch of humor. "She's happy. She feels safe and loved," he said as he glanced down at Angela before looking back up at Aro. "Before everything that happened, her warmth would spread through this house with every beat of her heart. Her spirit wraps around you, you're feeling it as subtly as we did in the beginning. For Marcus and Suplicia it was much more instantaneous and intense."

Aro stilled at the feel of something winding around his ankles and looked down to see a grey kitten rubbing against him. Sighing he looked at his wife with a pointed expression before looking down at his feet. Rolling his eyes when she smiled at and spoke the animal's name he watched her lift it into her arms and tuck herself back under his arm. Rain jumped from Suplicia's arms to perch on Aro's shoulder and he immediately turned his head to hiss at the creature only to have her bat at his nose as her purring escalated.

"You," he said plucking the cat from her perch by the scruff of her neck and dropping her into his wife's arms, "belong to her."

"You like her," Suplicia teased with a wink.

"What on earth gave you that idea?" Aro asked with wide disbelieving eyes.

"You would have killed her otherwise," she answered promptly and he rolled his eyes.

"A vampire with a kitten," he said with a sigh. "Of course it had to be you."

"Shut up," Suplicia laughed as she pushed against him playfully.

"I have missed you," he spoke to her, his voice so low that only she could hear his words. "I have missed this – us."

"The last time we were this close," she told him as she let them memories play through her mind, "was a little more than two hundred years ago."

"I remember," Aro smiled as he touched his forehead to hers in an intimate display. "It didn't last very long, but it was passionate and beautiful. Why then and no other time?" he asked as he pulled back and looked at her. "I still don't fully understand what happened."

"You refused to allow Chelsea anywhere near Carlisle, and you were never apart from him for very long. The only thing that I know for certain is that I lost you the moment you changed her. The only time before now that I got you back was when he was with us," she said as she looked at Carlisle and found him to be holding his wife against him while they both watched their human daughter sleep.

Aro's brow furrowed at her observation, "Chelsea?"

**:::::**

Angela breathed in deeply, delighting in the smell of the bread Esme was baking in the kitchen. She had missed this, having her vampire family so close to her and looked back over her shoulder at the soft chuckle coming from her vampire brother. Jasper smiled at her, his hand still clasped in hers as she pulled him along behind her. Brushing his talent against her, wrapping her in waves of love and acceptance, he let her know that he was happy as well. Her smile brightened, the love and happiness she felt igniting a fiery burn within him and he had no choice but to project her emotions. He felt the love and warmth of his family answering the emotions that he was projecting from her and let the human girl in front of him feel everything.

Chuckling when Angela turned and wrapped her arms around him, Jasper returned her embrace and breathed deeply of her scent. Her human ears weren't sensitive enough to pick up the conversation taking place in the kitchen between their adoptive vampire parents, Felix and Suplicia, but he could hear it just fine. It amazed the members of the Volturi, the differences between their covens. Their coven in Italy ruled by power and dominance while here Carlisle's family was ruled by love and trust. Though being near Angela and feeling her wealth of love and happiness had often been described as an addiction, it was a symptom of the heart and not the mind. There had been no pain, no symptoms of withdrawal during their time away from Angela as one would have felt from being under Corin's influence; instead it was the heartfelt longing to be near her once more.

He listened as Suplicia spoke of her surprise, her amazement that a human girl held such power. Felix it seemed would protect Angela no matter the enemy simply because she had done what he had believed was impossible – she had healed both Suplicia and Marcus. His friends were happy, free of their pain, their doubts and fears; he had never thought that they would ever be healed as they had been. He was quite a bit like Emmett; Jasper realized, moments of doubt or instances of uncertainty rolled off of Felix and were never able to affect him much. He stood steadfast in the protection of those he loved and was loyal to those he called friend, but he was guarded and chose who to put his trust in with caution and wisdom.

Angela's curiosity pulled him from his thoughts and Jasper looked up to realize that she had led them into the library. Aro was standing at the window looking at the forest surrounding the estate, his heart and mind conflicted as he stood trying to solve a puzzle that had eluded him for centuries. He heard the soft breath, the sound of amusement that came from the ancient man and realized that he had caught their reflection in the clear glass. Angela tipped her head gently to the side, lifted her hand to her face and readjusted the glasses that Carlisle had brought back from New York for her. They were identical to the ones she had had before and she was comforted by their familiarity. Biting her lip as she studied the man in front of them, a soft blush rose to color her cheeks when he turned around and met her gaze.

Her brow furrowed as she studied him. She knew this man, she thought, at least she was certain that she had seen him before. He seemed sad and she frowned as she grew concerned. She didn't like it when people felt sad or afraid, she knew all too well how those emotions could darken a person's heart, and wished only to bring the man in front of her comfort. She saw him suddenly draw in a deep breath as he stood taller and watched his silent gaze flick up over her shoulder to Jasper. She looked back at her brother, his hand still clasped in hers, as she tried to understand why the man was looking at him. Jasper met his gaze with a hint of an amused grin and shook his head slowly. When she looked back at the man in front of her, she found his crimson gaze to be on her once more.

"I'm sorry," Angela said when she realized she was staring. "I – do I know you? I feel like I know you."

"No," Aro said as he stepped closer and let a small smile curve his lips. "We have not met, my name is Aro."

"Aro?" she let name roll on her tongue and flow through her mind as she stared at him with a thoughtful frown, before her eyes widened and she smiled with recognition. "Marcus' Aro?"

He laughed suddenly and Jasper heard an answering chuckle from Marcus as the other ancient vampire remained in the kitchen.

"Well, now," Aro chuckled. "I've never quite heard myself referred to as that before, but I suppose it would be an apt description."

"I know I've seen you before," Angela said and blushed as she continued to study his face with interest. "Papa's painting," she smiled. "You're the man in Papa's painting."

Aro was used to having to feign amusement, so many years spent in the company of vampires who were only concerned with earning his favor, that he wasn't used to feeling such easy delight. The human girl in front of him was refreshing and innocent and he realized that if it weren't for the fact that she was human and his friend was quite too old to have fathered her, he would truly have believed Angela to have been born from Carlisle. She was so much like him. He smiled, his face growing lighter, younger almost as he chuckled.

"Take me to this painting, young one," he requested and he chuckled more at the way she wrinkled her nose. "Angela," he corrected and watched her blush. "You are so much like your father," he chuckled and grew silent when he saw her guarded frown.

"My father?" Angela asked upon a whisper, her eyes darkening with fear as Jasper rubbed her arm.

"Yes," Aro nodded as he looked at her in confusion, not understanding her upset. "Carlisle," he clarified.

"Oh! Papa," she said with a smile, the darkness leaving her face as her eyes brightened and he once again felt the soothing warm pulse against his spirit. "You think so?" she asked with wonder and delight.

"Most certainly," Aro nodded.

"The painting," Angela said suddenly as she remembered where she was supposed to be taking him and Aro chuckled as he followed her and Jasper out of the room.

**:::::**

"Edward?" Carlisle looked at his son as he stepped into the kitchen and shook his head.

"She's done it again," Edward chuckled and looked at Esme. "Jasper says she's hungry. He can feel her desire for something…sweet."

"Sweet huh?" Esme chuckled, her smile brilliant as it brought a maternal glow to her eyes. "I think we can handle that."

"What is it that Angela has done again?" Felix asked as he looked at Edward.

"Adopted another vampire," Alice giggled as she twirled into the kitchen and took the bowl of sliced and lightly sugared fruit from Esme with a smile.

"When?" Edward asked his sister as he pulled the vision from her mind.

"Soon," she smiled at him. "Perhaps a week or so, they haven't decided on a firm date yet."

Marcus stood silent, leaning with his back against the wall behind him as he had for most of the morning. He was used to reading lines of loyalty, but the bonds of love and trust in Carlisle's family often left him feeling such warmth and peace that it left him without words. It was a beautiful thing to witness and he would feel forever honored that his friend had welcomed him to meet his family. The strength of love shared between Esme and Carlisle made him think of Didyme, and though his heart longed for her, he was no longer encumbered by the pain and sorrow of her death. Angela had done that and it still amazed him that she had been able to.

"Who's coming to visit?" Esme asked her children with a grin and watched as Alice winked at Edward before leaving the kitchen.

"Eleazar and Carmen, they'll be bringing Michael with them," Edward said as he looked at his vampire parents. "They could feel Angela," he said and looked at Suplicia. "When Jasper came home and she healed you, they could feel it too."

"Alice's vision told you that?" Carlisle asked with curiosity.

"No," Edward shook his head, a bemused smile tugging at his lips. "I could hear them. For one short instance, I could hear them."

"You could hear them?" Esme asked him with wide eyes before she turned and put the pan of zucchini bread in the oven.

"You remember that flood of warmth from her when Jasper returned," he said with a nod, the statement holding a note of question. "None of that was Jasper that was all Angela. Her elation spread across the lines of every one of our kind that she knows. For one brief moment we were all connected because of her."

"Are you serious?" Felix asked with disbelief, reminding the family that they weren't alone. "How powerful is she?"

"Beyond description," Marcus said as he stood away from the wall. "I had not left Volterra when I met her. In fact, I had been…communicating with her for nearly two months before I left our home in Italy."

"How is that possible?" Suplicia asked with a confused frown.

"I have no explanation," he said as he stepped through the kitchen to the entry way. "If you'll excuse me."

He walked through the house, intent on moving up the stairs to Carlisle's office where he could hear Angela and Aro talking, but found his path blocked by Alice instead. Her smile was bright, her exuberance amusing as she held out a piece of paper and a pen to him. He took the proffered item with a nod of thanks and a grin as he realized how different and pleasant it was to have someone who could anticipate your every decision. Scribbling down the note, he handed her back the pen and watched as she bounced on the balls of her feet before twirling away. Chuckling silently to himself, he folded the note in half and carried it in his hand as he walked up the stairs.

"Angela, my dear," he called to her as he stood against the open door frame.

She hummed her curiosity and he smiled as he watched her stand from her seat on the couch. She had been seated as close as possible to Jasper without actually sitting in his lap. He knew that her closeness to her vampire brother was due to her elation to having him near once more and nothing at all to do with any nervousness or fear of anyone else. She simply was not going to let the southern vampire out of her sight and the tight sibling bond that she had forged with them amused him as it humbled him. Her bond with Carlisle and Esme was just as impenetrable, their relationship of parent and child tying the family of vampires together with a strength he had never seen before. He knew that even if Aro did someday decide to try and separate the bonds of family to have Angela with them, Chelsea would be unable to even attempt to break them apart. Angela's bonds with every single member of the Cullen coven was simply too strong.

He nodded to Angela as he handed her the folded note. His eyes shined with mischief as he looked at Aro before kissing Angela's forehead, a universal sign among their kind that he had granted her his protection. His brother nodded, a lopsided grin pulling his lips up at the corner. He understood what Marcus was saying, Angela was happy and Marcus would not allow her to be forced into anything. Angela bit her lip as she read the note and looked up at Marcus only to watch him grin at her and nod. Her eyes widened, her curiosity and passion for history ignited beyond imagining as she spun away from him and tucked the note into her jeans pocket before fairly skipping back to sit next to Jasper.

Angela grinned, trying to hide her excitement from her face even as Jasper chuckled at the feel of it. Blushing as she met Aro's eyes once more, she did as Marcus' note advised and offered him a trade.

"You've told me how your talent works," she told the ancient vampire with a slow nod to herself. "If you would like my thoughts, then I want something in return."

"Oh?" he asked feeling at once both curious and vexed by the turn of events. "And what could I offer you in return, my dear?"

"It has been mentioned that you knew Alexander the Great," she said and he frowned at what he perceived to be a change in subject.

"Yes," he said as he tried to understand the looks of amusement on both Marcus' and Jasper's faces.

"What was he like?" Angela inquired further as she tried to downplay her excitement as much as possible.

"He was…playful," Aro said, "he was ambitious and ruthless. He knew what he wanted and knew who to align himself with to reach his goals. His parents believed him to be a child from the gods and in such only encouraged his effervescent nature. He was a favorite among the ladies and enjoyed being known as a 'divine's child'. I only met him for a few moments, enough to read his thoughts, but was never able to have the full conversation with him that I desired." Aro shook his head and wondered just why she had changed the subject to that instead of naming what she desired in trade for letting him read her thoughts. "Now, as to what you wanted in trade for your thoughts," he said and saw her look of confusion.

"No, that was it," Angela grinned and held out her hand for him to take.

"That was it?" he asked with amused incredulity. "Alexander the Great?"

"I like history," she shrugged and watched him take her hand.

He felt delicate, she thought as she looked at their joined hands. Perhaps not delicate, so much as brittle, the stonelike feel of his skin was closer to shale rather than the smooth marble of her vampire family. She saw him tense, even as his grip never tightened beyond the gentle hold he kept on her hand and she looked up to see the heavy frown in his face. Biting her lip as she studied him, she wondered why he seemed so upset. It was just her thoughts that he was reading wasn't it? His power was like Edward's, but he needed to touch a person, that's what she had understood from what he had told her. But if that was so, why did he look so upset?

Aro had been able to sense that there were things about Angela that no one had been willing to tell him. Even with all that he had read from Carlisle about the girl whose hand he held, he was unprepared for the depth of what he read from her. Her human parents had done all they could to crush her spirit from the earliest memory she held on, and he was amazed at the strength she possessed simply in her ability to retain her innocence and trusting nature. There was so much she hadn't told the Cullens, so much that he could see she never would. The bits of food her parents had given her in the beginning years of her life had been less than what one would have given to the slaves back in the ancient days of his human life.

They had locked her in closets, yelled at her constantly, refused her even the most basic of comforts. She had been forced to sleep on the floor more than once, or denied sleep all together when her grades had been deemed subpar. When she was seven and her father had seen her playing with a loose tooth he had slapped her face to knock it out. He watched through her eyes as she was constantly berated, told innumerable times of how much of an unworthy disappointment she was, how much shame she brought them only to watch as her mother would sit and dote on a friend's infant. She was never given love, affection or anything resembling care. He felt her migraines, watched as she was locked in a closet too tight to move or breathe in until she stopped talking about the pain.

He felt her fear, her terror of the migraines that nothing seemed to cure and saw how she had begun to believe her human father when he repeatedly insisted that her pain was a divine punishment. He saw her illnesses, felt her knowledge that it had been induced by her parents, and felt her sorrow at not being able to understand why. Her life had been filled with the pain of unworthiness and the despair of being a 'shameful and unwanted mistake' as her parents had continuously called her. What they had done to her wasn't abuse, he thought as he read through her memories, no what they had done could only be described as torture. Pure and simple, she had been tortured.

He saw how close she had been to giving up, even as she remained hopeful for the escape of college and then, when he could tell in her memories and thoughts that she had been near the point of no return, she had been paired with Emmett. There was a shift, a light that had been introduced into her the more time she spent with the guardian of the Cullen coven. His easy going nature and protective brotherly treatment of her had given her a safe harbor in the storm. The night that Alice had brought her home for a girl's weekend, her world had changed. Carlisle's benevolence and Esme's maternal love had awakened the love within her, allowing her heart to shine through with a power he had never believed could have existed.

The fear she felt at the mysterious notes left by her stalker had been overpowered by the safety she felt when the Cullens had taken her in and offered her a place in their home. She had never known love or affection until she had met Carlisle's family and he realized in that moment, as he sat holding her hand and reading her memories that she would never see his kind as being monsters. It had been vampires who had offered her love and acceptance. It had been vampires who had shown her what the word family meant and given her the protection and care she had never received from her human parents. He looked at her with amazement; it had been vampires who had healed the damage done by her human parents. She still had a ways to go, he knew as he held her hand and stared into her eyes, she wasn't completely healed from the memory of her parents' mistreatment, but she was far closer than she would be given any other environment.

He followed through her memories of all the time spent with her vampire family. The warmth of her memories infused him, the gentleness of her spirit called to him and before he realized what was happening, Aro felt the centuries of anger and fear lift and leave him as though they had never been there at all. He may always desire power, he knew, it was a part of him that was a part of his innate personality but he was no longer obsessed by it. He could clearly see now all of the time and effort Chelsea had spent manipulating him with her talent. She had made it so subtle that he had missed seeing it until it had been too late for him to fight against it and as his memories played over him, he realized how many times she had looked at Caius and not at him. Caius had been using Chelsea to manipulate him since day one, but it had been done in such a way that it had not been obvious to him before now, before one delicate human girl had healed him.

He read through her memories as they continued to cascade over him. Her fear drew her talent forth with the accompanying burn of her migraine, but always, _always_ it drew her vampire family to her. He saw her attack first in her home, and then once more when she had been abducted from her school. He was able to see the viciousness of her vampire family as they protected her and instead of frightening her, she was comforted by it. He cupped her cheek, leaned close and kissed her brow when he came across her memory of the box, the child's heart held within and later the incident during Bella's birthday party. He whispered to her, promised her that neither occurrence was her fault. He smiled at the memory of her nights curled up with Seth, the way she had formed as easy a bond with the werewolf as she had with Emmett. He gasped, unable to believe what he was feeling when he read through her memories of Jasper returning home to her only a day and a half ago.

Aro sat back, her hand still held gently in his as he felt the burning warmth of her elation and love surround him and fill him to overflowing. His eyes grew wide; his lips moving though no sound came from him as he stared in wonder at the human girl before him. He was able to see everything so clearly that it was unimaginable and he knew that he would never have believed the power she held without sitting with her as he was. His life came into sharp focus as memories played through his mind so fast that if he hadn't been a vampire, his mind never would have been able to process them. He could see now, the subtle nuances that had been too indirect for him to read from the thoughts of others, he could see now as Angela's ability to heal also allowed him to see the truth that others had tried to hide from him.

It had been Caius from the beginning. His brother had been the one to introduce him to Chelsea, the one to encourage him to change her. His brother had taught Chelsea how to mask her thoughts from him so that they weren't strong enough to be firmly read by Aro, and he realized then that Caius had used Chelsea to manipulate him from the very beginning. He had wanted power and was willing to do anything to get it, even letting someone else have the apparent control while he ruled from behind through deceit and manipulation. He had been clouded by his own desire for power and Caius had used it against him, brining Chelsea into his plan and only encouraging his destruction of Didyme. Aro would never know if he would have taken his sister's life on his own, without their influence, but he knew now that he _had_ done so _because_ of them.

Chelsea had separated him from Suplicia, manipulating their bond apart easily because of the tragedy that had broken his wife's heart when Didyme had been killed. Caius had then used her to complete the separation of their bond, while not destroying him with her death as he had done to Marcus. It had been Chelsea's influence and Caius' plotting that had turned him away from Suplicia and into the arms of Chelsea, Corin and even Jane. He realized then, that Caius' continued outright distrust and hatred for vampires with talents had only been to thrown him off from knowing what he was truly doing. His brother had used Chelsea, Corin, Jane, Alec and even Athenadora against him from the very beginning! His brother, someone that he was supposed to be able to trust, had been waiting for the day when he could assume control of the Volturi and Aro realized that he had given it to him by leaving Italy.

House cleaning needed to be done and he knew exactly what to do, he thought as he released Angela's hand. He thanked her for sharing herself with him, and found himself endeared to her by the sight of her shy delicate blush and her nod. Looking up, he found that the rest of the vampires in the house had joined them in the study, realized as he saw the anguish and worry on Carlisle's face, and the faces of his family that Edward had shared with them the memories that Angela hadn't revealed to them. He nodded to himself as his eyes came to rest on Felix. He knew now why Caius had always seen the guard as such a threat. Aro trusted Felix as completely as he did Marcus and Carlisle. When he took back control of the Volturi, it would Felix who took Caius' seat among them, but Aro knew that he couldn't act in haste. If Caius knew that Aro had discovered his treachery, he would prepare for a battle and Aro would lose.

Although he knew that he had enough supporters of his own inside of Volterra, he still wasn't entirely certain who he could completely trust yet. The only ones he was willing to put his unfailing trust in were here with him inside Carlisle's home. He would need their counsel to be able to plan how to undo all that Caius and Chelsea had done over the years. He saw Edward look at him, Alice's gaze steadfast upon him as well and realized that they both had seen and understood his decision. He wasn't certain what it would mean yet, but he did know that even if Carlisle's coven aligned themselves with him in the battle, they would never return to Volterra. This family who fed on animal blood, led by his _Stregoni Benefici_, would never willingly drink from humans. They would not give up their home or all that they had accomplished for a seat upon his court.

He began to understand, Aro knew as he looked across the room at the vampires present that the reason Carlisle's coven was as strong as it was wasn't simply due to their unnatural diet. No, he thought as he stared at his dear and trusted friend. It was Carlisle's leadership, his benevolence, compassion and understanding that had formed such a tight bond of love and trust between the vampires he had come to call family. His glance slipped to the side, his crimson eyes coming to rest on Marcus' face and he gave a silent chuckle as his friend's words came back to him.

_Leave what you do not know and look back on what you do know. The answer often hides in plain sight._

Marcus had been trying to warn him all along hadn't he? Aro stood from the couch as he moved to stand before the painting on the wall, the oil canvas that depicted Carlisle's time with the Volturi. Yes, he realized, Marcus had been trying to warn him all along, but he had been too arrogant and stupid to notice. Aro had believed himself to be untouchable for too long and had not taken heed to his brother's warnings before now but perhaps, he thought as he looked back on the human girl sitting on the couch with Jasper, perhaps it simply hadn't been the right time or circumstance. As cliché as the old saying was, it was engraved from truth and wisdom. _Everything happens for a reason._

He smiled to himself and heard Edward's chuckle and Alice's answering giggle as they pulled the thoughts and decisions from his mind. He knew how to thank Angela for her unintentional revelation. Her love of history and the fascination she held for the way Carlisle was dressed in this painting had given him the answer. He would contact Giuseppe, an ancient vampire who had always served as his personal tailor. He knew that the man still had much of Carlisle's clothing from the time he spent with them in the late eighteenth century, including the suit that he was dressed in when this painting had been commissioned. He would ask for the man to send him the suit along with a dress befitting royalty from the same era. The colors would be similar but slightly darker than Carlisle's suit, denoting her relation as his daughter the way colors of clothing often did in those times, and he would find someone here who would have the skill with which to render a portrait of them. It would be his gift to her for what she had given to him.

He turned to Carlisle, saw the smile twitching the man's lips and realized that his children had informed him of his choice. Carlisle nodded once, the tilt of his head regal and graceful, reminding him of the night they had met at the opera so many years ago. He turned back to look at Angela, found her to be engaged in a quiet conversation with Felix about his time spent with the Roman army and shook his head. One little human, how was it possible that she held so much power and what would she be like when she was one of their kind?


	51. Chapter 49

Chapter 49

_December 31, 1806 Cambridge University; Cambridge, UK _

The sky above was overcast in grey clouds, fat snowflakes falling all around to land in the powdery mess covering the green landscape with soft whispers that human ears were too dull to hear. He lifted his foot carefully, amused by the sight of the damp cuff of his suit pants and shook his head before continuing to trudge through the soft snow that was nearing knee-deep in places. He honestly wasn't certain what time it was, in his haste to escape Volterra and Caius' sadistic madness; he had left his pocket watch behind. It saddened him not to have the time piece, it had been a gift from Marcus, something the mourning ancient had made specifically for him and Carlisle felt the absence of his four friends dearly.

Aro had always been pleasant, infinitely intrigued by everything that made Carlisle who he was and his wife Suplicia had been engaging to talk to and company that always left him feeling peaceful and happy. Marcus had offered him few words, but the things he had said were full of a wisdom that comes only when one has lost everything they ever loved. And Felix, Carlisle shook his head as he let an amused chuckle pass through his parted lips silently. Felix was nothing if not playful and jovial. He had a youthfulness to him that Carlisle doubted he would ever lose and the more time he had spent with the Volturi guard, the more he realized the one thing Felix truly wished to be – a teacher. Carlisle studied his hands, frowning when he saw that they were shaking slightly, not enough for a human to notice, but his eyes could see the trembling that rippled through his muscles.

The sound of the child's screams still sounded in his mind and he hadn't been able to bring himself to enter another hospital or sick ward. Medicine was his passion, his life's work; it allowed him to help people with the senses that would otherwise have made him little more than a monster… He clenched his fists before slipping them into the pockets of the heavy wool coat he wore for show. He had tried to work in a hospital in France, but as soon as he had stepped inside the doors the only thing he could see was Caius torturing that poor child. He had tried to enter a hospital in Spain only to have the same result. Now, six months after the night he had fled Italy with only what he could carry on his back, here he stood on the campus of Cambridge University. He had been auditing a few lectures, but no matter how hard he tried, he hadn't been able to pick up a scalpel or listen to anyone talk about medical treatments. He needed more time, he supposed, to mourn her death and to allow himself to move past the memory of Caius' actions.

His brows drew together, delicate lines of spun gold hair coming together and causing deep furrows between his eyes. He looked up from the snow covered ground trying to determine what it was that had broken through his musings. No one was walking near him, he had wandered off the shoveled path and when he turned around he saw her. There was a gentle, graceful beauty to her. She stood staring at the stone walls of the university with such sadness in her crimson eyes that he felt his own silent heart ache in response. Stepping through the snow, he moved to stand next to her and looked down into her pale face, framed by waves of cinnamon red. Willowy and petite, he almost felt like a giant when he stood next to her, the top of her head barely coming to his bicep.

"It's New Year's Eve," Carlisle commented, his voice smooth and soothing. "Isn't today supposed to be full of hope for the year to come?"

"I fear all hope is lost," she whispered and he could hear the traces of an Irish accent that she hadn't yet lost. "I want so much to go back inside," she said mournfully, her emotions betrayed upon her face as well, "but I cannot."

"Why not?" Carlisle asked as he turned his attention from her face to the university in front of them. "What's stopping you?"

"Control," she said with a sad laugh full of doubt and self recrimination. "Or rather a lack thereof. I used to teach here, did you know? History, it is my favorite subject. The human males, so proud to be the ones in charge, let me be their assistants which in turn means teaching their classes for them. I've done so for nearly a century now, switching back and forth between here and three other universities when my age becomes suspect."

"Why have you stopped?" Carlisle asked curiously and looked down when she gasped in wonder.

"Your eyes," she said and shook her head. "You are like me, are you not?"

"I am," he nodded slowly only once. "I am a doctor, or I was."

"A doctor?" she shook her head, "but how could you? The blood alone would drive you to feed."

"It doesn't," he said with a sad grin. "I've never tasted human blood and I've no intention of ever doing so either," he told her and looked down into her eyes before nodding at the building. "Why did you stop teaching?"

"The classes, the students," she said and looked down at her hands. "I've always prided myself on my control, but I hadn't fed in a fortnight and the student I was working with, he slipped and cut his hand on a bit of broken glass I had been cleaning up. I nearly attacked him; I know I fairly scared him half to death before I was able to make myself leave. It is the closest I have ever come to…I can't go back. How do you do it? How can you stand to be around human blood as you must be?"

"I told you, I don't drink it," he said with a wry grin and looked down at the snow. "I only drink the blood of animals. It gives me strength and allows me the control that I need to help my patients," he told her.

"But you stopped," she reminded him with a frown. "Why did you stop?"

"I…lost a patient, she was very young. Her injury hadn't been too severe," he shook his head even as he felt his throat tighten. "I never expected her to die. There was nothing I could do to save her."

"Aye," she nodded sagely. "The young ones would make it a fair bit harder, I suppose…You don't drink human blood, you never have?" she questioned what he told her.

"Not a drop," Carlisle said as he met her curious gaze. "Not ever."

"And it doesn't make you…thirsty…to be around human blood?" she pressed further and he chuckled silently.

"No," he said, his smile genuine. "I have never been tempted. I've always known who I want to be."

"How old are you?" she asked as she stared into his gold eyes.

"Physically or…? Ah, I was…reborn in sixteen sixty-three," he told her with a touch of humor.

"Over a century with no human blood at all?" she asked with wide eyes marveling at his control. "And you can be around humans, treat them as a doctor?"

She looked down at her hands, her mind spinning with the revelation that he had made. He had enough control to be a doctor. He could treat injured humans without being tempted by their blood. He could cut into them, perform bloodletting and never once be tempted. It went beyond his own personal control and she knew that. Looking back up and meeting his golden eyes, she bit her lip before voicing her request and hoping that he wouldn't turn her away.

"Would you," she stopped and grew silent, her pink tongue slipping out to wet her lips. "Would you teach me?"

"Medicine?" Carlisle asked with a confused frown.

"No," she shook her head with a hopeful laugh. "Your diet. Teach me your control, please," she begged taking his hand and staring up into his eyes. "Please, I don't want to give up teaching. Please, teach me how to be like you."

Carlisle stared down at her with wide eyes. In all his one hundred thirty-six years he had never once been presented with that request. It had always been the other way around. He was considered the crazy one, the defective immortal, but she…she wanted to be like him. He saw her expression fall, the hope dying from her eyes and he realized then that he had yet to speak.

"I don't even know your name," he said with a smile and watched as her crimson eyes sparkled with the light of hope once more.

"Monica," she said in rush a laugh spilling from her lips in a breathy whisper. "Professor Monica Jamison. And your name, sir?"

"Carlisle Cullen."

**:::::**

Angela bit her lip as she looked over the few notes she had been able to compile regarding Alice's human past. In truth, she didn't have much and feared that she wouldn't find anything unless she physically went to Biloxi, Mississippi, but that wasn't an option right now. Narrowing her eyes on the computer screen, she brought up the instant messaging program that she used and smiled when the historian she worked for was online. Opening a message window she typed quickly and hoped that the woman still thought enough her to send a reply.

_ProfJam: Angela Weber, is that really you? Where have you been?_

Angela released an amused breath and messaged her back, letting her friend know that she regretted her time away and apologized for her absence. She bit her lip, laughing silently at the new message, the declaration that her updated contact information in the online system showed her physical address had changed and Angela's fingers hovered above the laptop's keyboard.

'_I guess the easiest explanation,_ Angela typed into the window slowly, _is that I was adopted._

She rolled her eyes with amusement at the sight of the alert to receiving a video call and clicked on the blinking button to accept it. The woman's familiar face filled the screen and Angela looked around the high school library to make certain that she had relative privacy before greeting the woman. She had to admit a slight jealousy to her beautiful cinnamon curls, the way her hair seemed to always be perfectly styled. Blinking as she shook herself from her thoughts, Angela smiled at the woman who paid her quite a hefty sum when more often than not; she really hadn't done much at all.

"Angela," Professor Jamison greeted her with a teasing frown. "I thought I told you to call me Monica. And what do you mean, you were adopted? As far as I knew, you have or at least had parents."

"I do," Angela answered hesitantly, a haunted look filling her eyes. "Let's just say that we never truly saw eye to eye. I was…Papa took me in."

"Oh," she said curiously. "And does Papa have any other name?" she asked and smiled when Angela laughed.

"Carlisle," Angela said with a grin. "He's really been amazing. What?" Angela asked at the sight of her friend's thoughtful frown.

"Nothing, I just…I knew a man once with that name," she said and pursed her lips. "I doubt it's the same person, the name is familiar that's all. So, tell me: what is this research project that you're having difficulty with?"

Angela talked with her for nearly the entire hour of her free period, explaining what she could without revealing what Alice was. It was hard to skirt around the topic and even though there were times that she could see the suspicion in the professor's light hazel eyes, she did everything she could to keep from saying too much. As their conversation was drawing to a close, Professor Jamison nodded slowly with a thoughtful frown.

"Unfortunately, you are right," she told Angela. "The only thing left to do is travel to Biloxi. You would only be able to access the microfiche for that town's newspapers at their public library or country hall of records. There is a chance that there might not be any records if there was a fire."

Monica grew quiet as she looked at something out of sight of the camera and Angela could hear a slight scratching sound that made her think the woman was taking notes with a pen and paper. Turning her attention back to the video conversation, she asked Angela if she wouldn't mind a bit of assistance as she had nearly a month of vacation time that the college was threatening to take away if she didn't use soon. She wasn't certain what response she would get, but laughed at the sight of the girl's quiet excitement.

"I'll stop through Biloxi on my way to see you," she promised Angela. "It shouldn't take me much more than a day or two to find the records you're looking for and I'll bring you whatever raw data I can find. The only name you truly have is 'Alice'? No family name? And the birth year for your friend, you said that nineteen oh-one is a guess. Do you have anything concrete?"

"Nothing," Angela shook her head sadly. "She doesn't remember her hu-early, she doesn't remember her early years," she corrected herself quickly and hoped that the woman didn't question her near slip of the tongue.

"I'll find what I can," Monica promised and chuckled when the sound of the school bell echoed in the microphone of the computer. "Go to class, I'll let you know when I've made it to your town."

"Ok, thank you!" she said before the screen went dark and Monica allowed a frown to furrow her brow.

"Angela, my dear," she thought aloud. "Did you almost say '_human years_'?"

**:::::**

The ancient vampire smiled as he looked down at the finished product. It was a painstaking task, but one he had always enjoyed no matter how much time he had to spend on each piece. Lifting the jeweler's monocle to his right eye and peering through the glass, he checked that each rise and hollow was perfectly formed and delicately rounded to leave no sharp edges. Pleased with his craftsmanship, he set the magnifying piece down on the bench beside him and lifted the soft cloth as he carefully buffed the hard carved stone to a beautiful shine. He grinned in amusement as he set the carved stone into its platinum setting and carefully fused the stone and precious metal into one flawless piece.

There weren't many covens that had formal crests made; in fact, there were only two aside from his own that he could think of. One was the family he had just finished a piece for, the other was the one that his master – both in this immortal life and the man who had trained him in the art of jewelry making and stone carving – worked for. He could still remember the very first crest he had ever made for the vampire and shook his head with humor at the memory. It had been a personal request from his daughter, Monica, a gift to repay him for everything that he had done for her. She had never told him exactly what that was until nearly twenty years later when she had come home for a visit, but what Carlisle had taught her had allowed her to return to teaching at the colleges without any fear of losing her control.

Until now, all of his communication with Carlisle had been through letters, over the telephone or, most recently through email. He had always simply shipped the finished product to his friend, or advised him of which jeweler he had sent it to so that it could be picked up in a timely manner, but this time he would deliver it personally. He was curious, he admitted to himself as he delicately placed the necklace onto its bed of black velvet and folded the long platinum chain over the satin beneath to keep it from tangling in itself. His friend had never ordered two crests in such quick succession before and never had they ever been the exact same specifications. He wanted to meet this new vampire.

Placing the silk covered box, as long and wide as his hand, into the small travel bag he stood from the work bench and moved out into the open space of his privately owned jewelry store. The only human working for him was the girl working behind the left counter and the only reason for that was due to the placement of the window. Some of his best designs were over there and the glass encased counter stood in direct sunlight to cast the best possible light on the pieces held within. She smiled as she looked up at him and he nodded in return only to have his attention drawn away by the vampire that he was honored to call his wife who also served as his personal assistant and go between for the rest of the world.

"Your flight leaves in three hours and the taxi waiting outside is already paid for, tip included," she told him and sighed once more. "Frederick, are you certain you must go? Forks seems to be such a…quaint town," she said, her words chosen wisely even as she rolled her eyes. "This is Paris! What could such a little town have to offer you?"

"A visit with an old and dear friend, Veronique," he tapped her nose in a teasing manner and she rolled her eyes again. "You are so young," he chuckled lightly.

"I'm almost as old as you are!" she protested and he laughed heartily.

"You, my darling, were but twenty-nine when I changed you," he reminded her with amusement. "I was forty-five, hence – you are younger."

"Fine, fine," she laughed and pushed him toward the front door. "Get out of here while you can, old man. I'll be sure to have your walker and slippers waiting for you when you come home."

"Oi!" he looked back at her and laughed at her teasing. "Careful or I'll have you fetching my pipe."

"Your pipe!" Veronique put her hand flat against her stomach as she laughed harder. "Oh that I'd love to see! A vampire with a pipe. Scotsmen, you can't live with them and you can't live without them."

"You certainly tried to though, resisted my wooing for two years!" he teased his wife. "I'll be home soon."

"Then you should leave before I refuse to let you go," she said and shook her head as the bell over the door jingled. "And don't get any ideas about moving the store," she called after him teasingly. "It took me long enough to convince you that Paris was better than Edinburgh!"

"He is leaving?" Sophia asked as she stepped up to the woman's side. "I'd better let Monica know to expect him, after all he did promise to stop by Cambridge before he left completely," she shook her head and withdrew her cell phone.

Veronique laughed. "I do believe your sister's out on a hunt, Sophia," she sighed and rolled her eyes. "Honestly, she loves being a professor so much that she even adopted a diet of animal blood just so that she can have more control when around her students! You'd think the university would notice that she hasn't aged a day in the past fifty years."

"Professor Monica Jamison," Sophia spoke into her cell phone before covering the receiver and looking at her immortal mother. "You always say that as though you're surprised. She's been on her 'diet' for close to two centuries now. She loves teaching," Sophia turned back to her phone. "No, connect me to her office please," she turned back to Veronique. "She was a teacher when you met her, did you ever think that would change?"

"You changed," Veronique pointed out of the younger of the two women she had changed, both holding enough similarities in build and coloring to look as though they were the natural children of her and her mate.

"Not so much," Sophia shook her head with a laugh. "I may have been twenty when you changed me, but I didn't know who I wanted to be back then. Even now I'm still experimenting and seeing what it is that I truly love to do. Monica always knew." She turned back to her phone and rolled her eyes at the greeting. "Seriously, Monica? You do need to change your voicemail greeting once in awhile, that just gets boring. You should say something more exciting like _I'm sorry I can't come to the phone right now, but I'm having the absolute best se_ – there you are," she cut off with a giggle. "I knew you were screening your calls."

"You will be the death of me," her sister proclaimed and Sophia laughed. "What do you want, brat?"

"Da's on his way o'er," she said, her natural Irish accent coming back before she rolled her eyes and corrected herself to speak with a more neutral tone, an accent closer to a light London accent. "He should've just left the train station," she said as she glanced at her watch. "He'll be arriving at the station in London in about two hours. If you plan to travel with him then you need to meet him there."

"He took the speed train?" Monica asked with a laugh. "I thought he swore he would never do that again."

"He did, but this was a last minute decision and the flight he booked was leaving too early for him to catch anything else. Get there, Monica," Sophia said and clapped her phone closed effectively ending the call.

"I know why Frederick is traveling to Forks, but why is your sister?" Veronique asked as she looked at the youngest of her two immortal daughters.

"She has a human student in the states there that she corresponds with," Sophia said with a roll of her eyes. "The University's threatening to put her on a leave of absence if she doesn't use her vacation time soon, so she thought she would plan a visit."

"Good a reason as any, I guess," Veronique said as she walked back toward the door that opened to the stairs leading to their apartment above the store. "What was the student's name?"

"Amber? Andrea? No, Angela. That was it, Angela something."

**:::::**

Aro stood motionless in the open doorway staring silently at the scene in front of him. Even with having read her memories two days prior, he still couldn't wrap his mind around what he was seeing. Not only did one delicate human girl find comfort sleeping nestled in between the twin embrace of her vampire 'brothers', but those same vampires seemed to prefer it that way. He watched as the early morning sunlight streamed in through the glass wall, the golden rays shining upon Emmett and Jasper and casting their marble skin in prismatic shimmers. Angela stirred slightly, a deep breath indrawn slowly as she made a soft sound of contentment and snuggled deeper into Emmett's chest while her right arm remained firmly entwined with Jasper's.

Emmett chuckled softly and kissed Angela's hair, shushing her as he told her she still had a few hours yet to sleep if she wanted to. She stirred again, moaning softly and Aro watched her frown, the corner of the one eye he could see crinkling in a wince as she slept. His eyes shifted slightly to the left, his gaze catching the hard set of Jasper's jaw as the southern vampire closed his eyes and took in a deep steadying breath. He heard Edward's voice sound downstairs as he spoke to Carlisle, but paid no mind to the conversation, his attention captured by the human girl instead.

"Excuse me," Carlisle said and Aro looked back at his friend with mild surprise before stepping into the girl's room to allow him to pass. "I forget that seeing this is new for you," he said as he stepped toward the bed and it was then that Aro saw the syringe in the man's hand.

"What is that?" Aro asked curiously as he watched Carlisle gently unwind Angela's arm from around Jasper's so that he could administer the injection.

"Toradol, her migraine medicine," he clarified as he removed the needle and kissed his sleeping daughter's forehead.

"Papa?" Angela moaned softly, her eyes barely open as she looked up at him through the fringe of her lashes.

"Go back to sleep sweetheart," he soothed her and petted her hair. "It's not yet six."

She mumbled an unintelligible reply and yawned gently as she tucked her face back against Emmett's chest. It didn't take her more than a few seconds to return to sleep, Jasper's influence not needed as she took comfort in the safety she was afforded by having her brothers surround her. Jasper chuckled silently, rolling his eyes in affectionate amusement when she once again wound her arm around his in her sleep. He kissed her hair as he held her and looked at Emmett, both vampires soothed by the familiar embrace. Carlisle looked at his children for a moment longer before stepping out of the room. He was highly tempted to call her in for the day, but even with the makeup exam she had taken, the principal had assured Esme that nothing short of a GED exam would cover Angela for missing anymore days of school. She could be sent home, they had been told, but she had been called in too many times.

Aro looked back over his shoulder, watched as Carlisle simply looked at Edward and his son nodded quietly. It wasn't the first time that he had noticed how much the communication in Carlisle's coven was non verbal. He had wanted that, hadn't he? That ease of understanding, the simplicity of knowing what would happen and how it would occur. In his desire for power he had hunted out those vampires with talents and brought them into the Volturi to serve him with the help of Chelsea and Corin. He had always believed that he had everything under control; he had never realized that he had been the marionette on the string. It still baffled him to realize that it was Carlisle, who had no desire for power or supreme control, that had been able to accomplish what he had not.

Angela moaned again, the sound pulling him from his thoughts and he turned his attention back to the bed. She sighed once, whimpered softly before she began to move in a languid stretch, her brothers smiling down on her adoringly as though expecting her do something. Her eyes fluttered open slowly and Aro's eyes widened as he breathed in deeply. The subtle warmth that had been present throughout the night changed into a burning flame that seemed to fill him with the most pleasant feelings of love and acceptance. He knew now, without having to ask anyone, that this warmth was coming from Angela and he was still struck speechless by the power she wielded without knowledge. He heard a chuckle behind him and turned to watch as Edward walked into the room.

"Morning to you too, baby girl," he greeted with a smile.

_That's the third time I've tried to tell him hello and he doesn't answer,_ she said with a frown and Edward laughed.

"Sweetheart, his power isn't like mine remember?" Edward said with a chuckle as he glanced back at Aro to let the ancient vampire know they were discussing him. "He needs to touch you; he can't hear you from a distance like I can."

_If that's true, then how come he keeps acting like he can hear me?_ she asked and Edward shook his head.

"What do you mean?" he asked and couldn't hide the grin at the sight of the carefully concealed frustration on Aro's face.

_He responds, _Angela told him with wide eyes. _Watch. _

She called to Aro in her thoughts, told him good morning and watched as he straightened, his eyes growing slightly wider as he looked at her. She turned her attention back on Edward as though she were making a point, but it was Jasper who responded to her instead. He used his talent to call her attention to him, let her feel his curiosity and the soothing warmth of the love he held before he turned his eyes on Edward.

_Wait, _Angela glanced at Aro before looking back at Edward. _You two are saying that he can't hear me, but he can feel me? _

"Something like that," Edward told her with a grin. "You might as well come over here and take her hand," he told Aro. "She's been trying to talk to you like she does to me, that's why you've been feeling those pulses of warmth," Edward told him and watched as the man simply raised a single brow before moving to sit on the edge of the bed.

"Good morning," he greeted Angela as he held out his hand was genuinely surprised to see her smile when she placed her palm in his.

_Can you hear me now?_ She asked and Aro met her eyes with a smile.

"Yes, I can," he chuckled. "I'm not used to someone who…appreciates my talent as you do."

_Why not? _

"You didn't truly understand what I was telling you the other day," he told her, believing that the revelation he was about to make would take away her easy acceptance of his talent as it had for so many others. "I don't simply see what you are thinking about as Edward does. I see everything," he frowned when he read her confusion. "All of your memories throughout your life, all of your thoughts, your hopes, your dreams, your fears," he spoke slowly as he explained his talent in detail. "I see everything."

_Everything?_ She asked and he could feel her begin to pull away from him, feeling sorrow at what he believed to be her dismissal of him. _Then you saw…I mean, you know…_

Aro frowned as he read her thoughts, surprise and disbelief registering in his thoughts and emotions as he looked upon her. She wasn't pulling away from him because of his talent as everyone else always had throughout his immortal existence, she was afraid that with the knowledge of her memories he would see whatever flaws her human parents had. She was afraid that _he_ would turn _her_ away? It didn't make sense to him. She wasn't upset because of what he could do, but realized instead that she had always been afraid to reveal the true depth of her abuse. Not because of what her parents had done, but because she had truly believed them when they told her she was deserving of their actions.

"It wasn't your fault," he told her softly and brushed his free hand against her cheek. "What they did to you…there is nothing wrong with you," he promised her and kissed her brow before releasing her hand and rising from the bed. "We can always speak more later if you would like," he offered and smiled with amusement when he felt the soothing brush of warmth against his spirit.

_How different she is,_ Aro thought and looked at Edward when he heard his answering chuckle. _What of those of your family without active talents?_

"Hey, Angela," Edward grinned and leaned close to whisper in her ear. "Felix is outside with Marcus, do you think you can get their attention?"

_Their attention?_ She frowned at him and watched as he looked at Emmett. _Oh! I don't know. I haven't tried before._

"Try," he encouraged with a grin.

Angela's gaze fell to the side, her lip caught between her teeth as her eyes lost focus. She thought over all the times that she had sat with Marcus inside their mental sanctuary, the stories that he would tell her and the way he would hold her. She thought of Felix's stories of ancient Rome, the way he had begun to teach her a few words of ancient Latin and how much he reminded her of Emmett. She leaned against her brother and wondered if it would be possible to skip high school all together and simply spend her days with them learning all she could about the history they had lived through. She giggled softly when she looked up to see both ancient vampires in question standing in her open doorway with matching looks of confusion on their faces.

"I swear I heard your voice," Felix said as he looked at her. "You did call for me, didn't you?" he asked her and Angela smiled.

"That," Edward said to Aro, "is how she is with the rest of us." Edward looked back at Angela, his smile fading into a worried frown and he leaned close enough to kiss her forehead as she sat leaning back against Emmett's chest, his brother's arms wrapped around her loosely. "Make sure you have your Toradol with you before we leave ok?" he requested and she nodded quietly.

"Alright boys," Alice said as she stepped into the room. "Enough with the bonding, get out."

"She may be tiny," Edward said, reading Felix's thoughts as he stood from the bed, "but she's damn forceful. It's best to simply do as she says."

"Out, out!" Alice shooed them from the room until it was just her and Angela left behind. "Finally," she rolled her eyes before giggling and skipping to sit next to Angela on the bed. "You're still in a lot of pain, aren't you?" she asked sadly and pursed her lips at the sight of her human sister's reluctant nod. "Go on," Alice tipped her head toward the door. "Go take a few human moments and then Rose and I will help you get ready for the day. Sound good?"

Angela nodded quietly, unable to speak through her emotions as she leant forward and wrapped her arms around Alice, the petite vampire returning her embrace easily. She had missed this, Angela thought as the first tear slid down her cheek. It was the little things that she had missed the most, the routines she had grown used to that had stopped cold when the family had been temporarily split apart. Alice shushed her gently, rubbing her back when she smelled the salt and felt Angela tremble in her arms. She tightened her embrace as Rosalie came over to the bed and sat down quietly. They both knew that as easily as Angela had welcomed everyone back, and as quickly as she had seemed to bounce back to her usual self, there was still a lot of emotional pain she was hiding.

Rosalie lifted her hand, slowly petted Angela's hair as the girl kept her face buried in Alice's shoulder. She was trying so hard not to cry, but both Alice and Rosalie knew that she needed to. It was the effort of bottling up her emotional pain, that they suspected was causing her migraine to be so severe this time. Looking up from the girl between them, Rosalie smiled sadly as Esme closed the bedroom door quietly and made her way to sit on the bed as well until the three of them had Angela surrounded. Their gentle ministrations, the soothing words of their love and reassurances that they wouldn't be leaving again broke through the barriers she had tried to build and Angela shook as she sobbed into Alice's shoulder.

"Just let her cry it out," Esme said softly to her daughters and rubbed Angela's back slowly. "If her migraine hasn't abated by noon," she said to Alice and watched her nod.

"I'll call you first," Alice said and offered her adoptive mother a lopsided grin. "Carlisle's going to be spending most of the day with our Volturi," she quipped. "Marcus plans to show Aro the video of Carlisle's surgery once we leave for school. He's going to be busy."

Esme nodded and turned her eyes down to Angela when the girl sat back slowly, smoothing her hands over her cheeks to dry her tears. She knew that her human daughter tended to be very self-conscious about crying in front of anyone and after Edward's revelations when he had read Aro while the ancient vampire read Angela, she understood why. For years, any sign of emotional pain had been met with harsh words or a slap to the face. More often than not, if she was found crying she would be locked in her closet and denied food. Wrapping her arms around Angela, Esme rubbed her back and kissed her hair.

"Go on," she encouraged as she stood and helped Angela stand from the bed. "Your sisters will be here to help you get ready for school and I'll have breakfast waiting for you. Alice," she turned to her psychic daughter after Angela had left the room.

"The extra bottle of her Toradol is already in my purse," she promised Esme. "Edward and I will take care of her and Bella, don't worry."

"Without Jasper there to monitor her pain, I'm worried that she won't admit to it or take her medicine when she needs it," Esme said with a sigh.

"Jasper's taught me how to read the physical signs that usually accompany the twinges he feels from her. I should be able to catch it if I'm in class with her," Alice assured her and nodded at the choice of outfit she could see Rosalie decide on. "That'll be perfect; I'll get the makeup to match."

"Alice," Esme began only for the girl in question to nod.

"Don't worry; we won't let Lauren near either of them, not if we can help it."

Esme nodded once and stepped out of the room, drawing the door almost closed behind her. She could hear Angela moving about in the bathroom, her human daughter preparing to take a shower and felt conflicted in her need to protect her. She had been through so much already and if it had been in her power to keep Angela home without drawing the community's suspicion, she would've gladly done so. Releasing a deep breath slowly through her nose, Esme stepped silently down the stairs and made her way into the kitchen. She had learned Angela's preference for berries and apples early on and smiled as she moved toward the fridge to retrieve the fruit she would need to make the girl's breakfast.

"Esme, could I ask you a personal question?" Suplicia requested as she stepped into the kitchen.

"Of course," she replied as she began peeling a green apple. "What's on your mind?"

"The ease with which you seem to take to all of this," Suplicia said and began slicing the strawberries at Esme's direction. "Were you a mother before you were changed?"

Her knife stilled for a short moment before she quartered the apple and cut away the core. She no longer felt the pain of her infant son's death, but talking about him still made her heart ache with the memory. Chopping the white flesh of the apple into chunks, she added them to a bowl before taking up another apple and repeating the process.

"For a very short time," Esme answered softly. "He didn't live very long, only two days."

"I'm sorry," Suplicia said sadly and Esme took in a breath as she smiled.

"I know this all must seem unusual to you, the formation of our coven," she clarified. "The way ours is fashioned more after a family than anything else. Our other children have always been independent, but Angela," she smiled with motherly affection as she grew silent.

"She gave you the chance to be a mother again," Suplicia finished and Esme nodded. "I've never seen Aro like this before," she admitted with a grin. "His talent has always set him apart. Aside from myself, Marcus and Felix, no one has ever truly cared to be around him for what he is able to do with a single touch, but Angela…she doesn't simply accept what he can do, she actually seems to like it."

"She does," Esme chuckled softly. "When it was revealed that Edward could read thoughts and Jasper emotions, she stopped speaking out loud for nearly two days. I had been worried that she was upset until I heard Edward chuckle and found Jasper staying closer to her. She delights in their talents. Speaking without words, or at least without giving voice to her words, seems to bring her a measure of comfort as though it's some secret world she's been invited to be a part of."

"Aro told me what he read from her," Suplicia frowned. "I thought our kind were monsters, how could anyone do that to a child? After all that he's seen and done even Aro is horrified by it. Her strength is amazing though, after all that she was made to endure, she's still so trusting and innocent."

"She is," Esme smiled and looked toward the entryway. "Hello, Sweetheart," she greeted Angela.

"Whipped cream?" Angela asked as she took a seat on the stool in front of the counter and looked at the bowl of fruit topped with the white fluff. "You don't usually give me whipped cream in the mornings."

"Consider it a treat," Esme chuckled and tapped her chin with a smile. "You've gained almost five pounds since we've been back. I'm making a pie for tonight," she told Angela and watched as her eyes lit up with excitement as she munched on her fruit. "Is there anything special you'd like for dinner?" Esme chuckled, "I know that look, what are thinking of?"

"Your eggplant parmesan," Angela admitted and carried her empty bowl to the sink to rinse before putting it in the dishwasher.

"I think I can do that," she smiled at Angela. "Go on," she said when she saw Edward waiting for her in the entryway. "Don't forget your lunch."

Suplicia watched the interaction, trapped in silence by the wonder she felt and smiled when she felt Aro wrap his arms around her waist from behind. She leaned into him, placing her hands over his and sharing the moment with her husband as they watched Angela embrace Esme, the room seeming to brighten as Angela's warmth filled every nook and cranny. The love she felt for her vampire family shined through in an impossibly strong array of emotion that burned through each person with the strength of a raging fire as it soothed them with the beauty of her soul. Turning her face up to her husband, Suplicia met his smile with an answering grin and a chaste kiss. She could see the changes, his amusement and merriment had always been somehow forced, the only time that he had been genuinely happy before now had been two centuries ago. He chuckled at her thoughts and kissed his wife's hair. It certainly did seem fitting that Carlisle would be the one to find and foster Angela. She was enough like his friend that Aro often had trouble remembering that the girl wasn't his natural daughter.

It was amusing, Aro thought as he watched Angela leave the kitchen and walk beside Edward and Alice. When she stood next to Esme and Carlisle, Angela shared enough physical similarities and she was so much like each of them that she truly appeared to be the natural child of the vampire couple. Looking to the side he met Marcus' gaze and nodded at the truth he could see held within his brother's crimson gaze. Never would the dawn have been so beautiful, if the night hadn't been so dark.

**:::::**

"You don't have to stay with me, you know," Monica said as she looked at Frederick. "I don't know that I will be here more than a few days at any rate."

"We haven't had time together in a few decades, daughter," he told her with a teasing grin. "I've missed you and I will assist you with your research here in Mississippi if only to spend more time with you."

"Well the help and company are always appreciated," she said as she met his crimson gaze. "In truth, I've always been a bit afraid to come home for too long."

"Why ever so?" he asked as he stared at his child as though trying to read her thoughts.

"I'm the only one of the family to feed on animal blood and renounce our natural diet. I thought…" she looked down at the table top between them. "I was afraid of your disapproval."

"Tell me, my dear," Frederick waited for her gold gaze to meet his once more. "Are you happy?"

"Yes, very happy," she answered honestly and he could see the truth of her words in her eyes.

"Then that is all that matters. All I have ever wanted for you or your many siblings," he grinned, "is for you to be happy in this existence. If adopting an odd diet and teaching is what brings you that happiness, then how could I ever be upset?"

"Thank you," she said and he smiled.

"So, what are we researching here in Biloxi?" he asked and watched her smile grow.

"The girl I told you about, the student from Forks," she clarified and he nodded, "she's trying to help a friend remember her early years. From the sounds of it, the woman is either nearing or over a century old, so it's most likely age that has taken her memory from her."

"Ah," he nodded. "Genealogy and personal history then, do we have a name or birth year to go on then?"

"Angela said her friend's name was Alice and the best guess she had for a birth year was nineteen oh-one," she said as she glanced over her hand written notes before reaching for the top box of microfiche and looked through the canisters for the year.

"Alice, you say?" he asked with a thoughtful frown.

"What is it?" Monica asked as she looked up from the canisters.

"Oh, I'm sure it's nothing," he dismissed as he took the next box and began helping her look through the reels of newspaper.

"Tell me anyway," she requested as she set aside two possibles for later review.

"Carlisle, our old friend, he has a daughter named Alice."

"You've stayed in touch with Carlisle?" she asked excitedly as she held his gaze. "The last time I heard from him was nineteen twelve. I have always been afraid that he had met his end."

"Oh no, certainly not," Frederick told her with a dismissive shake of his head and a smile. "In fact, he is the one I am going to visit. He lives in Forks."

"Carlisle lives in Forks?" Monica asked slowly as her hand stilled halfway to the box in front of her.

"Yes," he nodded to her and frowned at her stillness. "He is the one that I have been making the crests for. Why?"

"It couldn't be," she shook her head slowly as she looked at nothing, her thoughts turned inward. "It's impossible."

"What is?" he asked her as he tapped her hand to remind her to move when her stillness drew attention from the elderly librarian.

"Angela," Monica said, her voice below the range of human hearing as she ran her hand through her cinnamon curls. "She said she was recently adopted, or that it was the easiest explanation."

"There has to be more to it than that," he prompted at her distracted tone.

"She called him 'Papa', the one who adopted her and she looked the happiest I've ever seen her. When I asked his name, she said it was Carlisle. But that…that can't be," she said as she met her father's gaze. "Could it?"

"Stranger things have happened," Frederick commented with a thoughtful frown. "We won't know for certain until we get to Forks. Besides that, my dear, Carlisle is not an uncommon name. I can't truly see a family of vampires adopting a human, can you?"

"No, I guess you're right," Monica said with a grin. "Ok, I think I've got the only rolls of microfiche that there might be any information on. I'll start looking at these."

"Then I shall go over the county record books and see what I can find."

They worked together for nearly three hours, accomplishing in that time what would've taken humans more than eight hours to do. Gathering the last of the documents from the printer, Monica thanked the elderly librarian and offered her a smile as they left. The things they had discovered and the revelation that Carlisle Cullen lived in Forks only made her more suspicious of Angela's slip of the tongue when they had spoken a few days ago. It seemed impossible. Could her friend truly have adopted a human?


	52. Chapter 50

Chapter 50

She sat down slowly on the side of her bed, thankful that it was Friday and the school day was over. She couldn't hide from the fact that she felt separated anymore, and though she had always been rather gifted at hiding her emotions, it almost hurt to look at him. Covering her mouth with her hand, she struggled against the urge to scream, the acidic burn of tears gathering behind her eyes as they demanded to be released. She wasn't jealous, not in any manner and doubted she ever would be. These emotions weren't about jealousy, but rather about her own fears. Bella shook her head, blinking quickly as she clenched her hand into a tight fist and let the bite of her nails digging into her palm aid her in swallowing back her emotions.

She hadn't seen Edward all week, except for the classes they shared together at school. She knew why he hadn't been over, even with her window left open; she knew that with members of the Volturi in their house Edward was reluctant to leave Carlisle without a window into their thoughts. She was glad, Bella thought, for the only time she could remember she was honestly glad that Edward couldn't read her thoughts. She hated herself for the way she was feeling, the way it hurt to look at the picture Alice had taken of her and Edward together on her birthday and see the differences between them. Looking up at a sound near her door, she found Charlie to be standing just outside her room as he looked at her.

"You know," Charlie began casually. "There's no rule that says you can't go over to his place."

"What?" Bella shook her head as her brows furrowed in confusion.

"Edward," her father clarified. "I haven't seen him around at all this week and you've been…did you two have a fight?" he asked as he moved to sit next to her on her bed.

"No," Bella's voice was soft. "There was no fight."

"Did you break up?" he asked further, needing an explanation for his daughter's downtrodden expression.

"No," Bella shook her head as she stared at her knees.

"Then what happened?" Charlie asked as he looked at her bowed head.

"They have company," Bella offered weakly. "People Carlisle used to work with. They're…they're important. I don't want to intrude."

Charlie nodded even as he sighed. He understood that feeling well enough; he'd never been entirely comfortable around a lot of people before, certainly not around anyone who could be deemed 'important'. It was that awkward and out of place feeling that kept him from speaking much in his youth, and over the years his silence had become second nature. Rubbing Bella's back, he winced at the feeling of her loss in weight and knew he would at least need to call Carlisle for advice. Bella was eating again and keeping food down, but she wasn't eating very much. It seemed to him that she was eating more for his benefit than she was out of any sense of hunger. Giving her a one-armed hug, he pulled her close and kissed her hair before standing and moving to the open door.

"I'm going to go see Sue Clearwater tomorrow down on the reservation," he told her. "Did you want to go with me?"

Bella shook her head quietly. It was even harder to be near Jake. She had no problem with what he was, now that she knew he was werewolf, but more often than not he seemed to have a problem with her. There were times that she had noticed him watching her, but when she tried to speak to him he'd shut her out. She didn't understand any of it and her confusion only hurt her more. She closed her eyes, felt the sting of tears once more and stood to close her bedroom door if only to keep Charlie from seeing her cry. The thing she missed the most was Carlisle holding her while he read to her and Angela. Her desire for that peaceful time felt to her to be a betrayal to Angela. She had a father, she had a mother, her friend hadn't had either until she had been taken in by the Cullens and wanting those moments with Carlisle felt selfish when she knew that she wasn't the one who needed him.

Taking in a deep, trembling breath with the hope of calming her turbulent emotions, Bella lifted her back pack from the floor and stepped over to her desk. She didn't have a lot of homework to do; in fact she only had one assignment to work on, but prayed that the routine of schoolwork would prove to be a beneficial distraction. Taking her text book from her back pack, she retrieved her cell phone as she gathered her paper and pen and frowned at the voicemail icon on her phone. Opening her call log she bit her lip at the discovery that she had missed a call from her mother. Renee had left her a message; she questioned as she called her voicemail and held the device to her ear. Her mother didn't usually leave messages, at least not coherent ones anyway, too often she would forget that the she was leaving a message and would end up holding a conversation with someone else in the process.

"_Bella, hi honey, I'm just calling to check up on you. Your father was worried about you, sweetie and so am I. How's that friend of yours, is she any better? One pound of the honey ham, please. No, thinly sliced. One pound of the mesquite chicken as well, oh what else did Phil want. Where's my list?"_

Bella rolled her eyes as the message continued on with her mother talking to someone behind a deli counter and hit the number seven to delete the message. She gave a soft snort of amusement as she set her cell phone down on her desk and turned to her biology text book. Renee was nothing if not predictable and Bella was certain that by now her mother had forgotten she had even called her. Renee was a loving, doting woman, she had always been happy and cheerful, but she could never remain on the same topic for too long. How many times throughout her childhood had homework been interrupted so that she and her mother could take a road trip for a few hours and visit a new campy restaurant two towns away just to get the t-shirt with the crazy design?

She loved her mother, loved the memories of the road trips and special moments that were just theirs, but too often Bella felt as though she had been the one left to hold things together. She had to remember to be the responsible one because her mother wouldn't be. She shook her head as she tried to rid herself of the thoughts clouding her mind and making her heart ache. The words from the one and only time Lauren had spoken directly to her while everyone had been gone cycled through her mind and Bella felt her entire body ache with the pain the words inspired. Tears stung at her eyes as she remembered how Lauren had spoken casually to her, as though the truth of her words couldn't be questioned, while applying her mascara in the mirror of the school's bathroom.

"_How long do you think it will be until Edward drops you for someone he can actually stand to be seen in public with? You don't really think he'd keep some plain-Jane like you around, do you? Look at his family Bella; you can't seriously think you fit in around them, can you? Oh, wow…you do. Hate to burst your bubble, but Jessica Stanley is closer to being pretty enough to fit in with them than you, but only just barely._"

There hadn't been any boy in her high school in Phoenix that had even looked at her twice, let alone thought of her as anything more than 'one of the guys'. Edward was her first and only boyfriend and the more she thought about it, the more she realized that it truly didn't make sense for him to love her. What did she have to offer him? What could he possibly see in her that made him want to be near her? Coldness crept into her bones as a thought that she knew was unfair to him passed through her mind and took hold despite her wish to make it go away. What if…

"What if it's only because I know the truth?" she whispered to herself.

He would never kill her, he couldn't bring harm to her and Bella felt horrified at her own thoughts, but no matter how hard she tried she couldn't make them leave her. What if the only reason Edward stayed around her was because she knew what he was and he wasn't willing to kill her to protect his family's secrets? That wasn't fair and she knew it, but she couldn't make the thought go away. She didn't have these doubts when Edward was with her, she wasn't as unsure of herself when he held her or spent time with her, so why were they here now and why wouldn't they leave her alone?

She stared at her open text book with unseeing eyes, too distracted by her thoughts to notice that her bedroom door had been opened. A soft sigh sounded from the person in the room with her as the first tear made its way down her cheek, but Bella didn't take notice that she was no longer alone. She gasped, jumping slightly at the feel of a cool touch on her cheek and turned her attention up to look at Esme with surprise as the woman brushed away the fallen tear. She tried not to cry, tried to swallow back her emotions, but the sight of the woman she looked upon as a mother made the fragile control she held on her emotions fall to ruin.

"Oh Bella," Esme soothed as she held the human girl to her and stroked her hair while she cried into her shoulder. "Don't worry, Charlie, I'll take care of her," Esme promised the police chief softly as she helped Bella move to the bed and sat down with her.

"Thanks Esme," Charlie said with a sad grin as he looked at his daughter. "I didn't really know who else to call."

"It's not a problem," she assured him. "I'm glad you called, I was beginning to wonder why she hadn't been over."

"Bells said you all have some company," he said with a hint of a question in his voice.

"Old friends of Carlisle's," she said with a slow nod, "but she's always welcome with us, no matter who is there." Esme rubbed Bella's back and could smell the exhaustion darkening the girl's scent. "You said she's still not eating?"

"Yes and no," he said as he too noticed that Bella had fallen asleep in Esme's arms. "She's eating, but not nearly enough. She'll have a few bites, enough to make it look like she's eating, but not enough to actually put on any weight. She's not sick anymore, thankfully, but she's not really eating."

Esme sighed sadly and tucked Bella's hair behind her ear as she looked down on her sleeping human daughter. In some ways, Bella seemed almost more fragile to her than Angela did and she knew that with the absence of Edward, she wasn't able to silence the doubts she held. After all of the relationships Bella must have seen her mother go through when she was young, she could only imagine what the girl's view on love and marriage were. Narrowing her eyes as her brow furrowed in suspicion, Esme turned her eyes up to Charlie.

"Do you know if Bella's had any previous relationships before?" she asked him, keeping her voice soft so as not to wake Bella. "Any past boyfriends or anything?"

"Not that her mother's told me," he said as he glanced at his watch. "Bells doesn't really talk about any of that," he offered before meeting Esme's gaze with a regretful expression. "I've got to head into the station; I won't be off until about midnight. I hate to impose," he began only to watch Esme smile and nod.

"Think nothing of it, Charlie. She'll be fine with us; it's been far too long since she's been over."

"Thank you," he nodded quietly. "I'll be headed up to the reservation tomorrow. I don't know when I'll be home," he said with a frown as the displeasure at the thought of leaving Bella alone showed on his face.

"Well, our whole family is there, so it's not as though she will be alone at all," she smiled at him. "How about letting her spend the weekend with us? She can ride to school with Edward on Monday and be home Monday night for dinner?"

"You're sure it's no trouble?" he asked and nodded when she assured him that Bella was welcomed to be with them. "Thank you again."

"Think nothing of it," Esme assured him. "We'll lock up when we leave," she said and he nodded before turning down the hallway.

She heard his steps on the stairs, his fading heartbeat as he walked out of the front door and closed himself inside his cruiser. Moments later the sound of his car rolling down the street faded away into silence and she turned her attention down to the girl in her arms. She shook her head. She had known that it wasn't a good idea for Edward to stay away from her, but she also understood his worry about leaving Carlisle alone without an insight into Aro's thoughts. Felix was so much like Emmett that he had taken easily to Seth, the man adapting to any situation with ease. Suplicia, the ancient woman hadn't worried her at all as Esme had seen the desire that she held for the loving companionship that her family held. Marcus was attached to Angela in a way that amused her, but it was Aro that no one had been entirely certain of.

He had promised that he wasn't there to pass judgments on anyone, but his thoughts still seemed to make Edward nervous, though her son wouldn't reveal what those thoughts were. Looking up at the feel of Carlisle's presence approaching the house, she smiled when he simply entered through the open bedroom window instead of the front door. He rounded the bed quietly and knelt in front of her, his attention focus on Bella.

"Alice said you were here," he told his wife as he studied Bella's face. "She said Charlie called you."

"He did," Esme told him, her voice just as soft as his. "He was worried about Bella. He thought she seemed upset this past week and didn't want her to be left alone while he went to work. She was crying when I got here."

"Whatever for?" Carlisle asked with worry as he brushed the backs of his fingers down Bella's downy soft cheek.

"I don't know," Esme said sadly. "She didn't say anything to me and from what Charlie told me she's not eating well. He said she's not sick anymore, but she's just not eating very much. He agreed to let us take her for the weekend."

Carlisle looked up at Bella's sleeping face and studied her with the discerning eye of a doctor. He sighed softly at the sight of the dark circles under her eyes and the slightly too warm feel of her cheek. He didn't think that she was sick, at least not yet, but she would become so if proper measures weren't taken. The first and foremost of which was making certain that she caught up on her missing sleep and had a decent meal. Taking her from his wife's arms, he stood and cradled Bella against his chest while Esme gathered Bella's school bag and clothing for the weekend.

"You know, I was thinking," Esme said as they walked down the stairs and out of the house. "You haven't read to them in quite a few days, and it does seem to bring them both such great comfort."

Carlisle smiled and nodded with humor and fatherly affection in his eyes as he looked down at the girl sleeping in his arms. He had read through so many books to both of them and he gave a lopsided grin at the thought that perhaps he should read to them one of his journals. Kissing Bella's forehead, he tucked her into the backseat of his Mercedes and smiled when Esme climbed behind the wheel. Closing himself in the passenger seat next to her, he took Esme's hand as she drove his car back to their home. It felt right to have both his human daughters with them, to have his family complete.

**:::::**

He no longer felt the fear that he used to feel, but was still nervous to approach anyone, save Carmen and Eleazar. He supposed that was normal though, the only people he had truly felt comfortable with in his human life were his mother and the man who ran the small library in the town he had grown up in. The library itself had been a personal collection of only fifty books that the man had collected and chosen to share with the town. He was saddened that he could no longer recall the man's name, but was comforted that he still held the memory of their numerous conversations regarding history and language.

Shaking himself from his thoughts, he knocked lightly on the wooden doorframe and waited until Tanya turned to look at him. Tucking her strawberry blonde hair behind her ear, Tanya nodded for Michael to step into the room she used as an office. She had to admit a certain fondness for the newest member of her coven. He had barely been sixteen when he was turned and though he had spent most of his immortal life being hunted by Victoria, he had survived with his goodness intact. She had been two days shy of twenty when Sasha had turned her, Kate and Irina had been young as well, her sisters eighteen and twenty one respectively. But where she and her immortal sisters had been bonded as family and been able to spend their lives exploring who they were, Michael had been rejected, thrown away, chased down and tormented.

In the past three months, she had watched Michael's fear ease slightly as he gained confidence in his new surroundings and her family. She only hoped that one day he would stand with his head held high and have his fear be only a bad memory. Biting her lip, Tanya watched Michael move about the room and felt hard pressed not to chuckle. She could tell he was nervous and was certain that if he were human he would be blushing. Offering what she hoped to be a comforting smile, she encouraged him to sit down in the arm chair next to her desk and took in a deep breath as she turned her full attention on him.

"What's on your mind?" Tanya asked Michael and smiled at the nervous twitch of his hand as he tried to be still.

"Carmen and Eleazar are taking me with them when they leave to visit Ang – the Cullens," he corrected and Tanya did her best to hide her knowing smile.

"Yes," she said with a nod and looked at him. "You'll always have a home here, Michael, and you will be coming back. Is that what you're worried about?"

"No, ma'am…Tanya," he corrected and gave a shy grin. "I wanted your advice on something."

"It helps to know what it is that you need my advice on," she said with a soft chuckle when he remained quiet.

"I…You know that I used to spend time with Angela," he said and she nodded. "I was thinking that maybe, I could take her for a picnic, or a walk maybe while we were there…Maybe…there are stables not too far outside of Forks…I just wanted to spend a little time with her."

"I can understand that," she nodded. "You've switched to the diet of animal blood flawlessly," she praised him. "But you haven't been around humans since you moved in with us. Are you certain you'd feel comfortable being alone with her?"

"Alone?" he pulled back as though her words were completely inconceivable. "The library was a public place that was different. Certainly Carlisle or one of her siblings would accompany us."

"Accompany?" she said the word slowly as she thought over his words. "You intend to court her," she said with a soft laugh and smile.

"Of course," he said with a confused frown. "Do you think…am I assuming too much? I know it would be difficult to be with a human."

Tanya smiled and leaned toward him to place her hand over his. "I think it's perfect," she told him. "Especially with what Eleazar and Carmen have told me about Angela, I believe that courting her in the way you were raised matches her perfectly. But don't forget the first step," she told him with a smile.

"I won't," he said with a smile. "But which one do you think would be best?" he asked and she chuckled.

"Take her riding," Carmen chuckled from the open doorway. "Alice already made the reservations," she told Tanya with an amused roll of her eyes.

"That should be fairly interesting," Tanya laughed. "You do recall that Angela's adopted sister can see the future?" she asked of Michael.

"And her brother, Edward, can read your thoughts," Carmen chuckled. "Would you like Eleazar to stand with you when you speak to Carlisle?" she asked him and watched him nod. "Ok," Carmen turned out of the doorway, her smile brilliant as she laughed silently and made her way down the hall to the room she shared with her husband. "Bring your suit," she told him and watched him smile.

"Which one?" he asked with amusement.

"Hmm," Carmen swept her hair back over her shoulder as she stepped closer. "Normally, I would say any of them would work, but I think for this you will need your gold suit."

"The gold one?" he asked her and opened the closet to look at the clear bag it was zipped in to protect the ancient cloth from the elements. "Carmen, you realize that the only gold suit I have is from – "

"The eighteenth century when you last served with the Volturi?" she finished for him. "Yes, I know. But he intends to do this the traditional way. Which means," she said with a grin.

"He intends to ask Carlisle for permission to court Angela," he said with a slow approving nod.

"Precisely," Carmen said as she stood in the circle of his arms and pressed her hands against his chest as she leaned up for a kiss. "You know that he'll want to be dressed nicely as well. I doubt he'll ever take to jeans and t-shirts."

"Will we need to take him shopping?" Eleazar asked and Carmen giggled. "What?"

"Do you remember that box that Alice had delivered here a few months ago that had a 'wait to open' sticker on it?" she asked and watched him nod with a thoughtful frown. "In the letter that was attached to the box, she said that I would know when the time was right. I opened it a few minutes ago," she said and nodded across the room.

"She didn't," Eleazar chuckled and stepped toward the open box. "She did," he laughed as he lifted the burnt amber coat from the box and studied the finely made clothing. "At least she also included relaxed clothes."

"Black dress slacks and a blue silk shirt styled from almost a century and a half ago are not what I call _relaxed_ clothes," she rolled her eyes with amusement. "He's going to make quite the impression on her though," Carmen said with a smile.

"Wait," Eleazar set the coat back in the box and turned to look at his wife.

"What?" she asked as she looked at him, his expression unreadable. "What?" she asked again when he remained silent.

"I should get a camera," he said with amusement.

"Why?" Carmen asked as she looked at her husband, suspicious of the amusement that seemed to make his gold eyes sparkle.

"Think about it, my love," he said as he stepped toward Carmen and wrapped his arm around her waist to bring her in for a kiss. "I will be standing with Michael as he asks for Carlisle's permission to court Angela."

"Yes, we've already established that," she said with a confused frown.

"With the relationship he has with her, whether or not Alice has informed him of Michael's intentions, I'm fairly certain that our friend is going to have a 'my little girl' moment," he told her with a chuckle. "I, for one, would like to have permanent reminder of the look on his face."

"Oh!" she slapped her hand against his chest and laughed as she moved to lift her bag to the bed and rechecked that she had everything packed. "Eleazar, you are terrible!"

"What is family for?" he asked her with a wink.

**:::::**

Carlisle wasn't the least bit surprised to see Edward waiting for them as Esme pulled the car into the garage and shut off the engine. He could see the worry written clearly in the lines on his son's face, knew that Alice had seen them with Bella and that Edward would have shared in her vision through his talent. Stepping out of the car, Carlisle rounded the back of the vehicle and opened the rear driver's side passenger door. He wasn't certain what his son was thinking, but was fairly surprised that he hadn't moved to take Bella himself. She stirred as he undid her seat belt and Carlisle shushed her gently as he lifted her from the car, cradling her in his arms while Esme shut the door for him.

"Where?" Bella mumbled, the word half formed and her eyes barely open.

"Shh hush, Bella," Carlisle soothed her softly. "Go back to sleep, little one, I've got you."

"Alice warned me," Edward said softy, his voice pained as he looked upon his love. "But I ignored her. I was worried about Aro's reactions to Angela and to the wolves," he said as he shook his head. "I should have listened to her."

"What's done is done," Carlisle said gently as he followed Esme out of the garage and down the path to their house. "Right now, all we can do is make certain that she returns to health. Where's Angela?"

Edward released a breathy chuckle, "In the backyard with Seth. She's completely fascinated by watching Emmett and Felix spar. Any other human would be terrified with the speed and power of their movements, but not her, no she finds it entertaining." Edward rolled his eyes with amusement. "You should've seen Emmett's face when she cheered on Felix a few minutes ago."

"Only your daughter," Esme said to Carlisle with an amused grin and he chuckled. "Is Seth sparring as well?"

"No, he's acting as her pillow," Edward said. "Marcus and Aro are outside with them as well. I don't think Aro ever expected anyone to appreciate his talent."

"What do you mean?" Esme said as she nodded her thanks when Edward opened the front door for her and Carlisle to walk through ahead of him.

"You weren't here when we came home from school. You know how she is with those of us she 'adopts'," Edward grinned and moved into Carlisle's office to retrieve the journal he wanted, Esme following him. "The look on his face when she wrapped him in her warmth, the disbelief in his thoughts when she took his hand and spoke to him through his talent…from the thoughts I read from him in that moment, Angela is the very first and only person to respond to his talent with open delight and complete acceptance. She welcomes him into her mind with open arms and no one has ever done that before; not even Suplicia."

"Carlisle always said that he seemed lonely, no matter how surrounded he was by others," Esme said as she watched Edward look through the journals one after another. "Which one are you looking for?"

"Carlisle keeps thinking about reading to Angela and Bella about his years in Italy before he met Aro," Edward said and then laughed softly as he reached up to the shelf above for the journal in question. "Thanks, Alice."

"Anytime," she said as she passed by the door.

_Next time, listen to me_, she projected her thoughts to him along with her displeasure over Bella's current condition. _Carlisle's not going to release her anytime soon. I told you, Edward, she's not as strong as she pretends to be. _

The look on his face spoke of his thoughts and Alice shook her head as she followed him up the stairs to see her human sister. Edward had been damn fool in her opinion. She had seen that Bella had left her window open, she had even pushed it open all the way and locked it into place, but Edward's absence over the past week had only worsened Bella's decline. Alice had been able to tell that Bella wasn't doing as well as she pretended to be and had tried to warn Edward several times, but he had simply been too preoccupied with the idea of the Volturi being in their house to listen. Now it seemed that Bella was the one paying the price for it.

It had nothing to do with her visions and everything to do with the silent language that every female was born knowing that told her Bella wasn't doing well. She could see it in the ever so slightly forced smiles, the expressions made for Edward's benefit that never completely reached her eyes. She had watched Edward in the classes she shared with him and Bella. When her brother had been distracted by his thoughts and worries, Bella hadn't even tried to pull him from his thoughts. For a reason that Alice hadn't been able to understand, Bella's mood had only fallen further when Edward's eyes had rested upon Jessica Stanley when he was too distracted to notice what or who he had been staring at.

Stepping up to the side of the bed, she rested her hand on the blankets and leaned forward to place a kiss on Bella's temple before smoothing the girl's hair away from her face. She looked at Carlisle, her worried frown mirrored on his face and felt at a loss for what to do. Her visions had always told her what would happen, but it was the why that often escaped her. She looked back at Edward, watched him to make certain he was seeing the vision that told her Bella's condition wouldn't be an easy fix. She wanted to know what had put the doubt in the girl's mind; she and Edward had spent time apart before with school being their only time together, but never with such disastrous results before.

"Let her sleep," Carlisle said to his children as he watched them stare at Bella. "Just leave the journal next to me, Edward," he said and motioned to the bedside table.

"She was doing better," Edward said with a disbelieving shake of his head.

"You were only home for two days before I arrived with Marcus," Carlisle reminded him gently. "Two days of good, does not equal better if it does not continue. We don't and may never know how much of what happened with Angela that she blames herself for. After everything that both Bella and Renee revealed to Esme about her childhood," Carlisle sighed sadly. "She had a happy childhood, but too many times the role of adult was left up to her. She took on the responsibilities of being an adult when her mother was unable to and her mother never took them back. Renee told Esme that she never realized that it hurt Bella, she always believed that Bella would tell her if she was unhappy."

"She never would, she's too much like her father," Edward said with shake of his head. "I'll be back in a little while. Seth wants to spar with Felix and he wants me there to translate his thoughts to them."

"And Angela?" Carlisle asked and Edward rolled his eyes with amusement.

"Currently engaged in a conversation regarding truth versus myth about ancient Greece and Rome with Aro and Marcus," he answered.

"What?" Carlisle asked at Edward's snort of amusement.

"Alice," Edward said and turned to his sister.

"The museum," she explained as she looked at Carlisle. "The one you always take Angela to, the weekend after next it's going to have an exhibit on loan from the British Museum. The first floor will be Ancient Rome and the second floor will be Ancient Greece. There will also be a section devoted to Pompeii. I just thought that we should take her there."

"With Aro, Marcus and Felix, of course," Edward grinned at her.

"Of course," Alice said with a definitive nod of her head. "Besides that," she grinned. "Esme's the one who found the listing for the exhibit. She's already purchased the tickets for the entire family, the Volturi included, as well as Eleazar, Carmen and Michael." She smiled softly as she lowered her voice to a level that wouldn't be heard outside of the bedroom. "Aro's never going to know what hit him. There hasn't ever been a single person who's reacted to his talent the way Angela does."

"You can see her?" Carlisle asked with fascination, knowing that Alice's visions of Angela were always very limited.

"When I focus on him, yes," she nodded with a smile. "She won't let go of his hand for a moment. She'll speak with him the entire time through his talent."

"I had never truly given it much thought before," Carlisle said as he smiled somewhat sadly. "But during the time that I stayed with them in Italy, even I was hesitant to be touched by him unless he was wearing gloves or touched my clothing. It is his talent that separates him from the rest of the world. Everyone is always either cautious, suspicious, or completely unwilling to be touched by him."

"But not Angela," Edward said with a grin.

"Not Angela," Carlisle agreed. "I don't think he's ever known what it feels like to be completely accepted before. I don't believe that anyone has ever truly welcomed his talent before. Certainly not like she does."

"It still baffles him that she doesn't see any of us as monsters," Edward said as he read the ancient vampire's thoughts. "He's still waiting for her to be scared away, or for her to find his talent distasteful. He hasn't realized yet that she won't. She never will."

_Edward? Are you home?_

Edward chuckled and shook his head. Bending over to kiss Bella's cheek, he promised to check in on his sleeping love in a little while. He was so used to feeling Angela's warmth surround him that he wasn't aware she had been gently tugging at him until her thoughts had been directed specifically at him. Jogging down the stairs, he moved through the house in a whisper of movement, appearing at her side within a few beats of her heart. She smiled up at him and welcomed him home before telling him that Seth was ready to spar.

_Where's Jasper?_ she asked him as she fell easily into his arms when he hugged her. _I haven't seen him since I got home from school._

"He's…" Edward sighed softly. "He's out with Rosalie scanning the area."

"For what?" Angela asked aloud, her confusion registering on her face.

"He's back, Angela," Edward said softly with regret. "He's back in Forks."


	53. Chapter 51

Chapter 51

"He's back, Angela," Edward said softly with regret. "He's back in Forks."

She looked at him, her brows furrowing in confusion as she tried to puzzle out what he was saying and Edward knew that although she didn't understand what he meant right now, she would very soon. Looking around at the three ancient vampires standing with them, he watched as Emmett stepped closer to him before meeting Aro's Marcus' and Felix's eyes in turn. He spoke to them softly; his voice below what Angela could hear and asked them to remember that she was there with them, that she was safe.

"What are you talking about?" Felix was the first to respond, his voice kept low as well.

"You'll understand very soon," Edward said cryptically as he monitored Angela's thoughts.

Her eyes had lost focus when her thoughts had turned inward as she tried to understand what Edward was saying, but his words hadn't made much sense to her. _He_ _was back._ But who was _he_ and why had Edward said it in such a manner that he thought she would understand? The only 'he' Edward could possibly be referring to was…realization came to her as her mind slowed to a crawl and Angela turned her eyes back up to Edward. 'He was back'. He, as in her stalker, the man who had tried to kidnap her twice; he was back.

She felt disoriented, weightless and off balance and knew that Edward's arms around her waist were the only thing keeping her standing. She felt cold, the familiar disconnection between her mind and body occurring once more as terror filled her mind. He was gone. He was supposed to be gone. How could he be back and why, damnit, why was he hunting her? What did he want from her? What had she done?

"Not your fault," Edward reminded her softly as he rubbed her back.

Marcus was the first to feel the change, Felix and Aro looking upon him as they felt it as well before all three men turned their eyes on Angela. The warmth that had filled them each was fading away, being replaced instead by something they had never been prepared for. Coldness seeped into their bones as fear filled them and they each felt an almost desperate tugging sensation. The dull tugging quickly turned into a mad clawing sensation and each of the three men felt almost violent in their need make certain that Angela was safe. As her fear grew stronger, her call for protection grew more powerful, her migraine filling her with a burning pain that she ignored. Her breathing grew faster, her heartbeat speeding into a galloping rhythm as her fear kept her silent.

Emmett placed his hand on Angela's back, soothing her gently with his touch as he watched the three ancient vampires fall into a slight crouch. They looked ready to attack, snarls sounding from each as they began looking for the danger that had inspired Angela's fear. Everything was telling them to attack, to keep her safe and when Edward released his hold on Angela for only a fraction of a second, she was suddenly whisked behind Felix and kept in between the three Volturi as they faced away from her. Edward knew that Jasper would arrive shortly, Angela's call always drawing his brother to her faster than anyone else and he looked up as the southern vampire cut through the forest surrounding their home with Rosalie at his side.

"You need to calm them," he told Jasper and nodded toward Aro, Marcus and Felix.

"What's going on?" Suplicia asked as she appeared next to them in an instant.

"You told her," Esme said simply and Edward nodded. "Angela, honey," Esme called out to her human daughter. "Sweetheart, I need you to calm down. Can you do that for me?"

"What?" Angela choked on the question, her fear overpowering her and she reached out to take the hand of the vampire closest to her.

Aro stilled as Angela's warm hand slipped against his, her fingers wrapping around him as his talent opened him to her thoughts. His posture relaxed slowly as his snarling silenced and her thoughts allowed him to understand that the strength of her call for protection was due to the knowledge that her stalker was back in Forks. He turned to Angela, drawing her into his arms and holding her close. He understood that there wasn't a physical threat to her, at least not where they stood. His knowledge didn't make him feel her call any less, but it did help him understand it. Felix and Marcus, he realized as he looked at his ancient friends, didn't have that understanding. They were still looking for the threat. He needed to find a way to calm her fear, Aro realized, if he could do that then her call would lose the madness of its power.

"Give her to Emmett and Jasper," Edward told him and Aro met his gold gaze. "They've always been able to calm her before."

Aro nodded silently and looked down when she remained still as he tried to lead Angela away. Her fear was keeping her immobile; he could see that as easily in her thoughts as he could the expression on her face. Speaking to her softly as he lifted her into his arms, he promised her that she was safe and carried her over to her brothers. Emmett took her from him quickly, moving to sit on the large boulder near them as he held her wrapped in his arms. Jasper stood next to them, his voice soothing her as he wrapped her in his talent and he looked up as his family closed in around them.

Aro shook his head. He felt completely unable to comprehend what he was bearing witness to. One delicate human girl had the power to turn them all into raging beasts because of her fear, but more than that, she was brought comfort from being enclosed within the tight circle of her vampire family. He could feel the madness easing, her desperate call for protection losing its power as her fear faded away. Looking up at the sound of someone landing near him, he saw that Carlisle had exited the house through an open wall of glass and watched as his friend stepped toward his family. He felt amazed again, completely flabbergasted as the circle of vampires surrounding Angela seemed to move as one, until enough of them had stepped away that Angela was revealed.

He glanced to the side, his attention breaking focus on Carlisle's coven for a half second as Marcus touched his hand and allowed him to see the family through his talent. Turning back to them, Aro felt completely immobilized by the strength of their bonds. There was absolutely nothing that could break this family apart, nothing that could make them turn on each other and he watched as Angela stood slowly from Emmett's arms before running the few steps into Carlisle's welcoming embrace. She buried her face in his sweater, clutched him tightly, but still Aro could hear her whispered voice call him 'Papa'. He was once more left wonderstruck as he tried to understand what he was seeing. Carlisle had never wanted power, never desired to control anyone and yet there he stood with more power surrounding him than Aro had ever been able to cultivate for himself. How was it possible?

The moment was broken, the tenseness easing when Angela laughed at the feeling of a wet nose pressing against her arm. She turned to Seth, found her werewolf friend to be sitting on his haunches next to Carlisle as he studied her. He had felt her call as well and had only barely kept himself from the madness her fear inspired by keeping all of his heightened canine senses focused on her. He groaned softly with appreciation when she lifted her hand to his head and scratched behind his left ear. Kissing her forehead, Carlisle released his arms from around Angela and watched with an affectionate lopsided grin as she wrapped her arms around Seth's thick neck.

"I'm ok," she whispered to the werewolf. "I just got a little scared."

"I'm going to return to Bella," Carlisle said softly to Esme, kissing his wife's cheek when she nodded. "Take care of our children."

"What _was_ that?" Felix asked as he took in a deep unneeded breath in the hopes the action would calm him.

"That," Edward said as he watched the interaction between Angela and Seth, "is what happens when she's afraid. The gentle warmth you usually feel turns into a maddening cry for protection. Like we said earlier," he said and grinned when Rosalie finished his thought.

"When she's afraid, you feel almost demonic in your need to protect her." Rosalie swept her blonde hair back over her shoulder as she looked at Emmett. "Do you see what I see?" she asked her husband with a touch of humor.

"Yup," he chuckled as he stepped closer to wrap his arm around her waist. "Our little sister has her own vampire army."

"I'd certainly like to see anyone try to mess with her now," she said as she met her husband's gaze.

"She's still afraid," Felix said as he fought against the desire to break something, the call to kill still causing his muscles to tremble. "I can feel it."

"She is," Jasper said with a nod. "She calmed for us when we told her stories from our past; give her something else to focus on," he advised the Volturi guard. "Tell her about Rome, your time with the army, the culture of the world you grew up in. Give her that and you will take away her fear."

"Seriously?" Felix asked with a mix of confusion and amusement. "Just history?"

"You have no idea how much she loves history," Edward chuckled. "Trust us on this, history is the key."

Nodding even as he frowned, Felix turned to the girl in question. "Angela," he called out to her and waited for her to turn her eyes on him. "You wouldn't happen to have a bit of sketch paper around here, would you?"

"I think so," she said and bit her lip as her brows furrowed. "Why?"

"I thought I could teach you a bit of ancient Greek, if you'd like. Perhaps tell you more about my time with the army," he offered and watched as her eyes widened slowly.

The change in her demeanor was somehow both immediate and slow. Biting her lip as she looked at Felix, Angela studied the ancient man as a smile curved her lips. Aro, Marcus, Felix and Suplicia watched in silent fascination as the trace edges of her fear ebbed away completely only to be replaced by the subtle warmth that they had felt earlier. As her excitement for the history lesson grew, the warmth that was felt turned into a flash fire of elation that engulfed them all in her happiness. Aro chuckled as he looked upon her and shook his head with wonder. As he watched her dash for the house, he couldn't help but think once again how very much she reminded him of Carlisle.

"She does call him 'Papa'," Edward mused with a grin and Aro looked back at him and nodded slowly.

"So she does," he agreed.

**:::::**

Esme stepped into the open doorway and looked down on Bella with a worried frown. She was still sleeping tucked against Carlisle's side, her body hidden beneath the thick covers of their bed. Her gaze shifted, her eyes meeting her husband's when he held out his hand to her and Esme stepped up to the bed, taking his hand as she sat down next to his hip. He brought her hand up to his face, kissed the back of her hand before reaching up to cup her cheek in his palm while he held Bella to his side.

"Tell me what you're thinking," he requested of her as he looked into her worried gaze.

"I'm worried about our daughter," she said looking at Bella and brushing the human girl's hair behind her ear before meeting her husband's gaze once more. "I want to call Renee," Esme told him. "I have questions that demand answers and she's the only one who could provide them."

"Questions about Bella," he said and she nodded quietly. "Do you think she'll answer them?" he asked as they both turned their attention on the sleeping girl when she whimpered. "Hush, little one, you're safe."

"I don't know," Esme said quietly as she reached out and brushed the backs of her fingers down Bella's cheek. "But I have to try."

Carlisle nodded, understanding her sentiment completely. Turning his head, he pressed a kiss to Bella's forehead and rubbed her back gently when she stirred again. Her hand that was curled around Carlisle's shirt next to her face tensed as the scent of salt water began to fill the air.

"She's crying," Esme mourned the pain of Bella's sleep and bent low over her husband to kiss Bella's cheek. "You're alright, sweetheart, you're with family."

"I'm sorry," Bella mumbled against Carlisle's chest, talking in her sleep.

"For what, sweetheart?" Carlisle asked softly as he petted her hair slowly, hoping that she would reveal in her sleep what she hid when she was awake.

"I hurt her," she answered, her voice only loud enough for their kind to hear as her words slurred together while she slept.

"Who did you hurt?" he probed further, cupping her cheek in his palm and chaffing her temple with his thumb.

"Angela," she sighed her friend's name and Carlisle wrapped his arms tighter around her as he kissed her hair.

"Sweetheart, no. You didn't hurt her," he promised Bella as she lay sleeping against him. "Little one, it was an accident. What happened wasn't your fault."

"Left," she mumbled and he frowned in confusion, turning his gaze up to meet Esme's only for her to shake her head.

"What, honey?" he asked Bella and brought the blankets higher around her shoulders when she shivered slightly.

"Everyone always leaves," she murmured and turned her face into Carlisle's chest as she whimpered in her sleep. "I hurt them," she mumbled almost unintelligibly before growing quiet as she entered a deeper sleep.

"Call Renee," Carlisle told his wife. "In here," he clarified and nodded to Bella's cell phone sitting next to his journal on the end table. "I'd like to hear her responses, too."

Esme nodded as she picked up the girl's phone and used it to dial Bella's mother as her cell phone was downstairs in her office. The call was answered on the third ring, the woman sounding amused and distracted as she greeted Bella. Esme was gentle; her voice comforting as she told Renee that she was calling instead of Bella and asked if the woman had a few moments to speak with her.

"Is Bella alright?" Renee asked and Esme could hear a door closing in the background.

"Not so much," Esme said as her eyes remained locked on the girl in question while she lay sleeping. "I have a few questions I'd like to ask you if that's alright? They're a bit personal," she offered as a bit of warning.

"Personal?" Renee asked and Esme could hear the soft depression of metal springs that human ears would be deaf to as Renee sat on a bed. "What are your questions?"

"The first one is in regards to Bella," Esme said and met her husband's gaze. "Did she ever have a relationship before Edward? A boyfriend in Phoenix?"

Renee sighed softly. "No. I know that there was one boy she was sweet on at her high school here, but nothing ever happened between them."

"Do you know why?" Esme probed further and watched Carlisle soothe Bella when she stirred in her sleep.

"She never said for certain, Bella never seemed to talk about anything deeply personal, not even with me," Renee said and Esme watched Carlisle frown as he looked at the phone in her hand. "I do remember her watching him the few times I picked her up from school, I always thought she would talk to him and then one day…"

"One day what?" Esme asked when Renee grew quiet.

"I don't know," Renee said, her earrings clinking against the phone when she shook her head. "One day she just stopped looking at him entirely. She never mentioned him again, but I remember the look in her eyes that day…I thought she was going to cry, but she never did. She's always been so much like Charlie, independent, swallows her emotions, rarely lets anything show."

Carlisle frowned again, looking to the girl tucked against his side as he listened to Renee describe Bella. She was quiet and independent yes, but he wouldn't describe her as being emotionally distant, not the way that her mother was. He looked up when he caught movement by the door and found Alice to be hovering in the doorway with a deep frown on her face. His daughter looked at the bed on the other side of Bella, the question clear in her eyes and Carlisle nodded quietly. She moved silently, lying down behind Bella and wrapping her arm around her friend as she listened in on the call as well.

"Could I ask you a personal question now?" Esme asked Renee and sighed silently when the woman fell silent. "There are no judgments here," she promised the woman and waited for Renee's soft reply before she voiced the question burning in her mind. "Renee how many relationships did you have after Charlie, before you met Phil?"

"Five," Renee answered hesitantly.

"Just woman to woman here," Esme tried to soothe Renee's discomfort. "Were any of those relationships unhealthy in any manner?"

"No," Renee replied immediately, confusion in her voice. "No, they were all good, kind men. They treated me very well."

Esme nodded silently as her brow furrowed with suspicion. "Did they simply not work out, or was there a common denominator in their endings?" Renee grew silent once more and Esme bowed her head before meeting Carlisle's gaze. "What was it?"

"Bella," Renee answered sadly. "Usually around the fifth or six month of being together, when I felt that the relationship was turning serious, I would bring them home and introduce them to Bella. Sometimes just after meeting her or a few weeks later they would all disappear. It was never fleeting," Renee said with a sad laugh. "I loved them each, but no one wanted an 'instant family'. At least not until Phil. But I didn't meet him until Bella was just shy of fifteen. She was already grown at that time."

"How old was she the first time it happened, the first time she met one of your boyfriends?" Esme asked and again assured her that she wasn't judging anyone.

"Her ninth birthday party," Renee said slowly and Esme met Carlisle's gaze, sorrow and understanding in their expressions as they both looked down on Bella. "Ben, he was…he was the first one that she met. We had talked about kids and I truly thought…"

"Did you ever talk about it with Bella?" Esme asked as she looked at Carlisle. "Did you ever let her know that it wasn't her fault?"

"…No," Renee said after a moment. "I guess we never really talked about the bad things. Just ignored them," she answered. "I didn't react as severely to the losses of the others as I did to Ben, but he was the first."

"Ok," Esme nodded to herself and spoke a few more words before ending the call.

"Everyone always leaves," Carlisle repeated Bella's sleep filled words and sighed. "When her mother married to Phil, she came to Forks by her own choice, but I can't help but wonder…"

"If she thought he would leave Renee if she didn't," Esme finished his thought and looked at Bella with sadness. "Her birthday party," she lifted her hand to her face, covering her lips with the tips of her fingers when she felt near to crying.

"We all left for one reason or another and Angela broke down just like Renee did, only this time it was much, much worse," Carlisle finished for her, Alice remaining silent as she allowed their adoptive parents to speak their discovery aloud. "But we came back," he said as he looked down on Bella's sleeping face.

"No one ever came back," Esme said as she shook her head and moved to sit by her husband's side once more. "I don't know that she truly understands that we won't leave again."

"Edward's been really distracted this past week," Alice said softly and smoothed her hand down the length of Bella's soft, warm hair. "He hasn't really talked to her that much during school like they usually do and he hasn't spent the night with her like he always does."

"She's afraid he's going to leave," Esme mourned Bella's heartache.

"She's afraid we'll all leave," Edward said from the doorway having overheard their thoughts and conversation, Esme's cell phone in his hand. "Charlie called, he's on hold," he said as he carried the phone to Esme. "I know, Alice," he said when he saw her disapproving frown. "I don't like it, either."

"Like what?" Carlisle asked his children as Esme took the call off hold and greeted Charlie.

"Hello, Charlie," Esme greeted him and looked down at Bella with a soft smile. "No, she's still sleeping."

"Good, she needs it," the man's voice sounded over the line, displeasure and worry coloring his tone. "I have some news, and it's not exactly good news."

"What kind of news, Charlie?" she asked him as she met Carlisle's gaze and watched him look up at Edward before they traded places with vampire speed, too fast for Bella to register the change.

"It's an offer, I suppose," he said as she followed Carlisle out into the hall and closed the door so that the conversation wouldn't wake Bella.

"An offer?" Carlisle asked when the man remained silent. "You've got both of us here, Charlie," he told the man.

"Angela's parents," he began slowly. "Their lawyer came to see me a little bit ago. He said that they're willing to sign papers that will give up parental rights to Angela, apparently the DA petitioned for them after they were arrested." He grew quiet for a moment, his sigh speaking of his displeasure. "The only condition that they have is that they be allowed to speak to Angela before they sign the papers."

"Speak to her?" Esme questioned slowly and turned her eyes up to Carlisle.

"They wish to call her?" Carlisle questioned Charlie as he looked at the phone.

"No," Charlie said after a moment. "They want to see her, in person…alone. That's their condition. They'll give up parental rights to her after that. I almost told him no myself," Charlie sighed. "But this isn't my decision to make."

"When would we need to have an answer by?" Carlisle asked as he looked at Esme.

"Friday," Charlie said. "If they don't receive an answer by Friday, then they are refusing to sign the papers. There is one catch though," he said and grew silent.

"What kind of catch?" Esme asked.

"I didn't think this would be a problem, but this decision wouldn't just affect Angela. The DA apparently didn't feel comfortable with simply having their rights to her severed," he said slowly. "The papers would transfer all parental rights from her parents to the both of you. So, it's your decision, too. I've seen the way all of you are with her, and I know that she's seventeen and almost old enough to be on her own, but you have to decide if that's something you want."

"She's already part of this family," Esme said without hesitation.

"Thank you, Charlie," Carlisle said. "We'll speak with Angela and let you know what we decide," he told him.

"Carlisle, not to dissuade you from signing the papers, but her parents, they're insisting to meet with her alone. As in no lawyers, no guards, none of your family with her; there will be a security feed monitoring them to make certain that she isn't physically harmed, but she would be completely alone with them."

"For how long?" Carlisle asked his voice calm but tense.

"One hour," Charlie sighed. "At least that's what the DA told me. I called him after their lawyer stopped by for a visit. He negotiated it down to an hour, they wanted longer."

"What could they possibly have to say to her?" Esme asked as her anger over the constant abuse Angela had suffered showed on her face.

"I don't know," Charlie said. "But I just thought you all should know. I've got to go, but I'll call you if I find out more."

"Thank you, Chief," Carlisle said and pressed the end call button before turning to Esme. "As much as I want to say no, if only to save her from them, I can't. This isn't our decision to make."

"We can talk to Angela after dinner," Esme said, "or tomorrow. I should get the food started though."

Carlisle smiled softly with amusement. "Suplicia certainly seems to enjoy helping you prepare the meals."

"She's fascinated by it," Esme chuckled. "She has this wonder about her as though everything is new to her. Then again it has been awhile since she was human," she quipped with a smile. "She finds such comfort in mundane things like helping me prepare the meals for Angela. She's not what I expected."

"The wives weren't allowed very much freedom," Carlisle said with a slow nod. "After the discovery of what the loss of one's mate could do, they were put under heavy guard to maintain their protection so that Aro and Caius wouldn't suffer in the same manner should something happen to them."

"And yet Suplicia was still hurt," Aro said with a despondent tone, drawing their attention to him. "I was curious," he said nodding to the closed door behind them. "I caught her scent."

Carlisle nodded with a silent chuckle and turned, opening the door slowly to allow his friend to look inside. Edward looked up from where he lay on the bed, Bella sleeping in between him and Alice, and nodded his consent at Aro's thought. Kissing Bella's forehead as he held her against him, he waited for Aro to step close enough before holding out his hand for the ancient vampire to read him. Nodding his gratitude, Aro took Edward's hand between both of his and felt his world shift yet again.

He had lived a short life in comparison, Aro thought as Edward's memories glided through his mind. Where most of their kind were only able to retain a few memories of their human life, Carlisle and Edward, the only two of his friend's coven that he had read, seemed to remember everything. He had been named for his father, and though he was a good man, he hadn't had much a relationship with him. His tight emotional bonds with his mother were mirrored in the relationship he had with Esme, but what amazed him most was the constant flow of music throughout his memories, both human and immortal. His love of music and endless study of the piano seemed to provide the melody to his life.

His love of his studies had followed him throughout his immortal life, his ease for understanding his mother and what other people were thinking from their mannerisms when he was human had developed into the talent he held. His romance with becoming a soldier during World War I had led him to study everything that he able to get his hands on regarding travel to Europe and by the time of his seventeenth birthday he was fluent in both French and German. The music turned sullen, dark and slow as his memories saddened when he watched his mother grow ill with Spanish Influenza. His father had died first and just when Edward had believed that he and his mother had escaped the death sentence the flu brought with it to so many others, they fell ill again. It was then, with the second coming of the Spanish Flu that Edward and his mother had met Carlisle.

His mother Elizabeth had been too far gone with the flu to save, and though Edward's memories were muddled by the disorientation of his illness, Aro could hear Elizabeth beg of Carlisle to do everything in his power to save her son. It was a trick of nature that for those on the very brink of death, they could see the truth of what his kind were. His first months of his new life were difficult, his anger and grief over losing his mother and father coloring his experience and turning the melody of the piano angry and dangerous. He followed Carlisle, their relationship rocky at the beginning only to become one filled with curiosity when Carlisle learned that Edward could read his thoughts.

It had been Carlisle's thoughts of Esme that had driven the boy to madness only to make him angry once again when she had been added to their family. It had nothing to do with his hate of Carlisle, as his friend had believed Aro realized, but everything to do with the thoughts he was reading from Esme. Her first two years with them had been filled with hardship, her control tested by the delivery men arriving to furnish the larger house Carlisle had purchased for the comfort of his growing family. The thoughts Edward had read from her, the thoughts Aro could see through Edward's memory, had been filled with a lifetime of verbal abuse from her parents and the later physical abuse from her human husband. It had been those memories of abuse, the way that she had skirted around them carefully for months afraid of both him and Carlisle that had led Edward to rebel.

Aro could see the four years Edward had spent away, feeding on humans, but it was his first hunt that stayed with him the most if only for the pleasure he had gained in bringing an end to the life of Charles Evenson. He had stalked the man, used his talent for reading minds to find out what the man was afraid of and used those fears against him. He had terrorized Charles for nearly a week before finally taking his life and in the four years of drinking human blood, Charles was the only one that Edward had truly enjoyed killing. He had used his talent to find the worst of society, the rapists and murders, men who beat their wives and children. He had killed them quickly, ending their lives in only moments.

The return to his family, to his life of animal blood had been bittersweet and it was Esme that Edward had seen first, Carlisle away at the hospital. He had knocked on the front door, taken Esme into his arms when she had begun to cry and promised her that she would never be hurt again. Though he had never told her in so many words that he had killed Charles, she had read between the lines and through her thoughts Edward had known that she knew the truth. From that moment on, Edward had taken on the role of doting son to her while being her most steadfast protector save Carlisle. He watched his constant sibling rivalry with Rosalie, his easy camaraderie with Emmett and the often humorous relationship he had with Alice and Jasper. But it was Bella that silenced Aro's mind completely.

Her scent brought the music flowing through Edward's mind to cascade in a storm, flowing between moments of curiosity, elation, frustration and the often dizzying array of love. Her mind was silent to him, leaving Edward without any insight into her at all through his talent. But her scent, it took restraint that Aro doubted he possessed for Edward to resist the pull of her blood. He knew that if Bella affected him with the strength that she affected Edward, he wouldn't be able to resist her. Perhaps it was his diet of animal blood, perhaps it was the fact that Bella was his mate, but whatever the reason Aro praised Edward for the control he had. The melody changed, became something almost familiar and he recognized the music flowing through Edward's memories of Bella to be the lullaby he had created for her.

"Amazing," Aro breathed out as he released Edward's hand only short moments later. "She is completely silent to you?" he asked in wonder as he studied Bella's sleeping face.

"Completely silent," Edward said with a nod. "I know," he said to Alice and smiled. "Bella," he called to her softly, rubbing her back as he gently roused her from her sleep. "Sweetheart, dinner's going to be ready soon. You need to wake up."

Bella sighed softly, turning her face into his chest as she yawned and gave a soft whimper as she woke. Her eyes fluttered slowly, as she breathed in and sat up slowly with Edward's help. She mumbled his name, her mind heavy and clouded by the exhaustion that had kept her in such a deep sleep for the past three hours. Alice spoke softly to Edward, told him that she would help Bella and wrapped her arms around her human sister as she helped her up from the bed and led her out of the room. Smoothing her hand against Bella's face, Alice felt the warmth that should have dissipated with her rise to consciousness and sighed sadly. Breathing in deeply she studied Bella's scent. She wasn't sick, at least she didn't think she was.

"I'm ok," Bella rasped and cleared her dry throat as she tried to get her voice to work.

"No you're not," Alice said with worry before letting her usual cheerfulness color her words. "But you will be. Now, go take a few human moments and then meet me in the kitchen. You've got a few new faces to meet and _we_ have catching up to do. A week, Bella. I can't believe you haven't been over in a week," she said as she rolled her eyes and listened to Bella laugh before closing the bathroom door.

Alice let her smile fall away, worry clouding her eyes as she looked at Edward and shared with him her worry. Stepping up to his sister, Edward rubbed his hands over her upper arms before pulling her into a hug and knew that she had already seen what he was going to say to her. They were the only members of his family who could speak to each other without words at all. His talent pulling her thoughts from her mind and her visions telling her what he wanted to say, they would have entire days in which they never spoke a single word out loud to each other.

"Edward!" Alice shrieked and pushed at him when he reached out and ruffled her hair. "Not the hair!"

Aro couldn't help but laugh as he watched them and found himself once again to be humbled and mystified by all that Carlisle had created. He was glad, truly grateful that he had never once given into their demands and never cowed under Caius' constant and hateful harassment. Carlisle had remained pure and good and as Aro stepped off the last stair and looked around the house filled with vampires, he could only be thankful that his friend had bestowed upon him the honor of allowing him to see all that he had created. He looked up as one conversation in particular caught his attention and he followed the voices into the library. Felix was standing, moving about in the library while Angela sat at the wooden table watching him with fascination while practically sitting in Jasper's lap.

"He always did love to teach," Marcus said as he stepped up behind Aro.

"You knew?" Aro asked him with curiosity.

"Of course," Marcus smiled. "Who do you think taught Didyme about the constellations?"

"I thought that was you," Aro said and was pleased to see the smile on his brother's face where once it was filled with pain and sadness.

"No, that was Felix. When we held court, as we built our coven, he would sit with her and teach her about the stars, the myths and legends that he knew," Marcus suddenly laughed and shook his head. "He even taught her how to scout as he did, just so that she could learn to hunt better."

"He did?" Aro chuckled.

"He did. And now, it looks as though he is teaching Angela," Marcus turned to look at Carlisle as the man approached them.

"She's never going to let him go now," Carlisle shook his head with amusement. "You may as well just leave him here," he jested with a chuckle.

"Actually Carlisle, if we could speak in private," Aro said and Carlisle nodded before leading him into his office. "I have a request to make of you, my friend," Aro said as he closed the door.

"What is it you have to ask?" Carlisle asked as he leaned back against his desk and crossed his ankles.

"Until the matter with Caius and the others is settled, it will not be safe for Suplicia to return. If I may impose upon you, would you allow her to stay here with your coven until it is safe for her to return to Volterra?"

Carlisle breathed in deeply as he considered Aro's request. It could be years before the matter in Italy was settled and for him to add her to his coven, ancient vampire or not, he would request that she changed her diet. Meeting Aro's gaze, he told his friend of his concerns, but gave his agreement for Suplicia to stay with them.

"Let me talk to her first," Aro said as he nodded slowly. "Perhaps…your family does need to feed," he mentioned and though he knew that he would never adopt a diet of animal blood, he respected Carlisle enough to comply with his request. "Perhaps you could take Suplicia with you when your family goes to hunt. Even if she doesn't feed, it would allow her to see, allow her to choose. She fed on animals in Kauai, so it is not as though the idea would be foreign to her."

"And Felix?" Carlisle asked as he studied Aro. "I know that she views him as a guardian. In fact, I would say that their relationship parallels the one that Angela shares with Emmett. He would be welcome to stay as well, but I would ask the same of him."

"I will hold a council with them and Marcus, you shall have our final decisions in no less than a fortnight," Aro said and Carlisle smiled.

"Just make certain that none of you leave before the twenty-third," Carlisle said with a secretive grin.

"The twenty-third?" Aro asked as he looked at Carlisle and thought over the current date. "That's the weekend after next."

"Yes, and Esme had made plans for us all. You shouldn't disappoint a beautiful woman," Carlisle said wisely. "Or her daughter," he chuckled and held out a computer print out to Aro.

"The Washington State History Museum?" Aro read and looked up at Carlisle.

"On the weekend of the twenty-third the museum will be hosting an exhibit on loan from the British Museum. We will be taking Angela and Bella with us, but you, Marcus and Felix must be present."

"Angela's idea?" Aro asked with amusement.

"Not at all," Carlisle grinned. "Her mother's – Esme's. It will actually be a surprise for her, she knows nothing about this and won't," he said pointedly, "before we arrive at the museum."

"You spoil her," Aro said with a grin. "It was as prevalent in her thoughts as it was in yours when I read you both. You spoil her, and she adores it." He frowned as he thought about the incident from a few hours earlier. "Her stalker is back, he is here in Forks."

"Yes," Carlisle sighed heavily. "He is. And the biggest problem any of us, including the authorities, have in finding him…"

"Is his ability to become anyone he wishes," Aro finished for him. "Yes, I saw through all of your minds that he is known as 'The Chameleon', isn't that correct?"

"Yes," Carlisle nodded once.

"I know and understand your distaste for violence," Aro said with a dangerous glint in his crimson eyes. "But I ask that you leave this matter to Marcus, Felix and I. For what she has done for us, let us do this for her."

Opening his mouth to respond, Carlisle frowned at the vibrations from his pocket and took out his cell phone. Believing that it was Charlie calling him, he looked at the device only to find a text from Esme waiting for him instead. Her message was clear, her words few, but the emphasis he knew them to have was strong. Amused by her words, he tucked the phone back into his pocket and looked up at Aro once more.

"If I say no, my wife will have my head. My reluctance toward violence aside, her torment has gone on long enough and too many families have been made to suffer for this human's cruelty. As the head of my coven, and as Angela's father," he said the word with an amused twitch of his lips. "You have my consent."

"It will be done," Aro said with an air of finality.

Their eyes turned in unison as a steady heartbeat approached the door, Angela's scent and her welcoming warmth coming from the other side. Grinning and nodding to Aro, Carlisle watched as his friend opened the door and Angela smiled, slipping her hand into his to greet him through his talent before moving to stand before Carlisle. Chuckling at Aro's continued surprise of Angela's easy acceptance of his talent, he wondered if his friend would ever become used to the idea of someone who welcomed him in with such ease. Stepping away from his desk, he wrapped his arms around Angela and kissed her hair before letting her lead him out of his office to the kitchen.

Smoothing his hand down over her hair, he smiled as she sat at the table and watched Esme set a plate before her and saw Angela's frown as she looked down at the meal. He knew that she liked the food and wasn't able to understand why she seemed hesitant of it. Angela looked up from the food slowly, her eyes questioning Esme silently as she looked down at the plate filled with a dish she had eaten only once before. The dish in question was one that had been made by Carmen. Esme nodded silently with a smile and they all watched as Angela's eyes grew impossibly wide before she leapt up from the table at Esme's slow nod toward the back door.

"Did I miss something?" Bella asked as she watched Angela disappear out of the house.

"Carmen and Eleazar arrived as I was beginning to prepare dinner," Esme told Bella with a grin and looked at Carlisle. "Carmen asked to be allowed to make the food. She knows Angela well. Oh, and Carlisle, Michael is here with them," she said with a curious expression. "He and Eleazar are dressed rather…formally. From what Carmen said, Michael has something important he wishes to discuss with you."

"Oh?" Carlisle asked and moved to the back door. "Well that is formal," he said with surprise as he stared at the men dressed in eighteenth century suits.

"I'll go bring Angela back inside," Esme chuckled. "Go talk with them before Angela's brothers do away with Michael."

"Yes, dear," he chuckled and stepped outside as Aro followed, nodding to Eleazar as he watched on with interest.

"Eleazar," Carlisle greeted his friend and listened to Carmen's melodic laugh as she and Esme walked back into the house with Angela. "I can honestly say, I did not expect to see you in such attire."

"Michael has asked that I stand with him as he speaks his request," Eleazar said his tone and stance formal.

"Sir," Michael bowed forward slightly and Carlisle felt his eyes widen. "Is there someplace more private we may converse?"

"My office," he said and swept his arm toward the door. "Please follow me."

Carlisle was silent as he led them in through the kitchen and glanced down at his human daughters as he passed them by. He was beginning to suspect that he knew what Michael's request was, his mannerisms familiar, but he couldn't be certain. Stepping into his office, he held the door as he waited for Michael and Eleazar to step inside before closing the heavy wood slowly. Moving around them, Carlisle felt his eyes widen once more at the way Eleazar stood to the right and just behind Michael. No, Carlisle thought as he moved to stand in front of his desk, Michael couldn't possibly be making this request. Certainly Alice or Edward would have given him fair warning, enough time to accept the idea before he was presented with it.

"Speak your request," Carlisle said to Michael.

"With your permission, Sir," Michael said, his hands clasped behind his back and his feet slightly apart as he bowed his head at a regal angle. "I humbly request your approval to court your daughter, Miss Angela Weber."


	54. Chapter 52

Chapter 52

Carlisle stood silent as he looked upon the vampires in front of him. His suspicions had been proven correct and though Angela had been his for just shy of a year, he hadn't known until the very moment Michael had requested to court her just how much he considered her to be his little girl. He had said the words before, yes. He called her his daughter and she called him Papa, but until now he hadn't realized how deeply attached to her in a true fatherly fashion that he was. There were so many things that he felt prepared for: neurosurgery, coordinated hunting with the Quileute werewolves, comforting his distraught daughters, to name a few. But this, the idea of Angela being courted, this he had not been prepared for. She was seventeen, he knew logically that she was old enough to date, but in the time that she had spent being his daughter he had never seen her go on a date and had not been presented with the idea before.

The silence in the room was nearly deafening, the ticking of the wooden clock on the mantel providing for them a metronome, but it was the sound of a familiar clicking that drew his eyes to Eleazar. Arching a brow at his friend in silent question, he saw the corners of the man's lips twitching in a barely hidden smile and narrowed his eyes at his friend's amusement. He knew what the sound was, the shutter of a digital camera, but he couldn't see the device anywhere on his friend from where he stood and rolled his eyes when he realized that Eleazar had most likely used his cell phone's camera to snap the photo. From Michael's presentation and attire, Carlisle knew that the young vampire's intention was to court her in the traditional manner and he silently laughed at the realization that Angela had somehow found herself the perfect suitor. No human boy would understand the slow romance that a courting would develop, nor would any of them be patient enough for such a relationship, but Michael was from a different time and raised with different values.

"Your family lives in Alaska," Carlisle stated as he looked at Michael. "Would you request to add yourself to my coven in order to court her?"

"No, Sir," Michael said slowly after a moment. "I would correspond with her and see her once a month, perhaps twice a month."

"Correspond?" Carlisle inquired further as he studied the boy dressed in the formal clothing of the late eighteenth century, the era he had been born in. "How would you correspond?"

"Letters, of course," Michael asked with a frown, his expression clearly stating that he did not understand the question.

"And what of the methods of this time, Michael? This era," Carlisle said as he looked at the boy. "Angela is from a much different time than you are. She would wish to hear your voice, perhaps even see your face, something obtained through a phone call or video chat."

"Sir, if I may?" Michael asked and Carlisle nodded. "It is true that my experiences with Angela were limited before now, but I believe that she is worth the time and effort of a traditional courtship. I would never wish to press upon her anything that she is not comfortable with."

Carlisle took in a deep breath and gave a slow nod. Angela, he thought, was probably the one girl from this modern era who would truly appreciate a courtship, the slow romance. Michael, he could tell from the boy's words and eyes, was sincere in everything he had said. Straightening up from where he had been leaning against his desk, Carlisle stepped forward and held out his hand to Michael. He watched as the young man hid his excitement, letting only a small smile show as he stepped forward and shook Carlisle's hand.

"You have my approval, Michael. But in truth, I am not the one you should be asking," he said with a relaxed smile. "The person whose approval you truly need is my daughter. And Michael," he chuckled with a lopsided smile. "Call me Carlisle."

"Yes, Sir," Michael said with a smile before laughing softly at himself. "Carlisle," he corrected and the blonde doctor chuckled.

"I do hope you brought other clothes to wear," Carlisle said as he looked at Michael before glancing at Eleazar. "Eighteenth century garb is just a little bit conspicuous."

"Yes, we brought other clothes," Eleazar said with amusement as he clapped his hand on Michael's shoulder. "He just wanted to do this the traditional way, Papa," he teased and Carlisle narrowed his eyes. "You should have seen your face," Eleazar grinned as he opened the office door and stepped into the hall.

"Go change before I beat you," Carlisle teased his friend and was met with Eleazar's rolling laughter.

"Come, Michael," he led the boy toward the stairs. "We shouldn't upset Papa Bear, he looks rather grumpy today. I think he woke up on the wrong side of the cave."

"Hey!" Carlisle protested with humor.

"Papa Bear?" Michael asked in confusion as he was led to the second floor and Carlisle rolled his eyes.

Carlisle turned his attention on the vampires approaching him and rolled his eyes to see the amusement on his children's faces. Oh, Alice had known all along and Edward, he knew his son had read Michael's thoughts but he had chosen to say nothing. Looking at Edward and raising a brow, he projected his thoughts to his son and asked why he hadn't been informed of the boy's intentions. Edward laughed; his face full of humor and ducked at his father's playful punch.

"I couldn't very well ruin Eleazar's chance to take that photo, now could I?" Edward asked as he chuckled. "Besides, if I had any concerns at all regarding his intentions toward her, I'd never let him get past Emmett."

"Smart ass," Carlisle grumbled and stepped around him as he headed toward the kitchen. "She's my little girl," he said to himself and rolled his eyes at their laughter.

"Is everything alright, dear?" Esme asked him with barely concealed humor.

"Traitor," he said and she laughed merrily as she stepped close enough to cup his cheeks in her palms and kiss him.

"I had my suspicions," she said with an amused smile, "but I didn't know for certain until Alice told me."

"Alice said nothing," Carlisle told her with an almost pout and she laughed.

"It's a woman thing, my love," Esme winked at him. "We have our own language."

"What did I miss?" Felix asked as he stepped into the living room where they were standing just out of sight of the kitchen.

"Oh nothing," Esme grinned and winked at the guard. "Carlisle just had a 'my little girl' moment," she said and watched Felix shake his head before moving past them into the kitchen and out the back door.

Carlisle shook his head and blew out an amused breath as he watched his wife disappear into the kitchen. Moving to follow Esme, he caught sight of Bella moving toward the entrance and his amusement faded into worry as he watched her move. He doubted that she gained much more than a few pounds in the entire time that they had been back. Stepping up to her, he blocked her path and smiled down on her comfortingly as he touched his hand to her cheek. She was still warm, the slight fever still present and he frowned with worry at the feel of it.

"You haven't been sleeping," he observed gently as he dropped his hand from her face and let it rest in the small of her back as he led her to the couch and sat down with her. "Tell me why."

"I…I don't know," she said softly and looked down at her hands. "I try, I've even taken the unisom Charlie bought me, but I just can't fall asleep."

Carlisle brushed the backs of his fingers down her cheek, the action bringing her eyes back to his and he saw the haunted look in her gaze that was hidden underneath the exhaustion. She held so much back, never talked about what hurt her and after listening while Esme spoke with Renee, he understood why. Bella had seen the pain her mother was caused time and time again when the woman's suitors had been brought home to meet her only to disappear shortly thereafter. She had believed that she was the one who had caused the pain and had never spoken of her own heartache because no one had ever told her that it wasn't her fault.

"It wasn't your fault, Bella," he told her softly with conviction. "What happened with Angela was not your fault."

She nodded quietly, her gaze averted and he knew that she didn't believe him. Wrapping his arms around her, Carlisle pulled her close while he sighed. Rubbing his hand over her back, he kissed her hair and sat back against the couch as she turned enough to tuck herself into his side. He would tell her every day that it wasn't her fault, but he doubted that the words would have any effect at all until she became secure in the knowledge that he and his family wouldn't be leaving again. It wasn't that late, barely past seven thirty, but he could feel her tiring quickly as she rested against his side. Kissing her hair once more, he loosed his arms from around her and told her to go get ready for bed, promising that he would be up shortly.

He hid his grin at the sight of her soft blush, watching as she moved from the couch and rounded it to reach the stairs. Though he knew that she would never openly admit to it, her appreciation for the way that he would hold her and read to her was clear in her actions and eyes. He wondered when it was that Renee had stopped tucking her into bed at night. Had it been when she became a teenager, or had it been earlier than that when she had begun to take on the role of adult? Standing from the couch, he looked up to find Esme watching him with a worried frown and knew that her conversation with Renee was still weighing heavily in her mind.

"Angela?" he asked his wife as she stepped up to embrace him.

"Being doted on by her brothers while they try and intimidate Michael," she chuckled and nodded toward the kitchen. "She's outside with them all. Seth is with them as well and you should have seen Aro's face when he phased to his human form and offered him his hand. I don't think he expected that."

"Probably not," Carlisle smiled. "Angela's influence, I'm certain."

"Alice said that we'll be having a few more visitors tomorrow. The professor Angela works for will be coming to see her," she told him as they walked toward the stairs, the sound of Edward's voice as he spoke with Bella comforting them both. "Apparently, this professor is someone you know; at least Alice told me that you would recognize her."

"Oh?" Carlisle looked at her with curiosity as they ascended the stairs. "Who, did she tell you?"

"No, and Edward won't either. Apparently, it's a surprise. Neither one of them seem to be worried in the least, so I'm not concerned, but Alice keeps referring to Angela as a magnet," she said with a bemused grin.

"She does seem to collect our kind, doesn't she?" he chuckled as they stepped up to Edward's bedroom. "Hello, sweetheart," he greeted Bella and smiled when she blushed. "How are you feeling?" he asked as he sat next to her on the side of the bed and Esme sat in an arm chair pulled close to the side.

"I'm fine," she said and he shook his head as the look on his face told her that he clearly didn't believe that. "I'm a little tired," she admitted softly.

"Mhmm," he hummed as he touched her cheek. "Any headache or sore throat?" he asked and watched her frown. "You have a mild fever," he explained the question.

"Oh," she said and bit her lip before offering a short nod. "Um, headache mostly, but it's not that bad."

"How bad is 'not that bad'?" he inquired further and saw her avert her gaze. "Have you taken anything?" he asked, reading her expressions and mannerisms as easily as he read Angela's.

"I don't really like taking pills," she said softly.

"How long have you the headache?" he asked as he watched her eyes droop with her growing exhaustion.

"A few days," she admitted and blushed when she met his gaze. "Alright, a week, but it really isn't that bad. It's just kind of a dull throb. It's more annoying than anything."

"And it's a sign of dehydration," he told her with a soft sigh. "Charlie told us that you're not eating very much."

"I'm just not very hungry," she said and he looked up at Edward, his thoughts asking his son to step outside of the room for a moment and Edward nodded silently before moving away.

"Bella," the tone of Carlisle's voice drew her attention back to his face and shushed her gently at the sight of the anxiety in her eyes. "Esme and I need to talk to you, sweetheart. No, don't do that," he admonished gently as he cupped her cheek and kissed her forehead. "Don't pull away from us, Bella. No one is upset."

"What did you want to talk about?" she asked slowly and looked between them both.

"I spoke with Renee earlier," Esme told her gently and Bella frowned in confusion. "I called her, sweetheart."

"Why?" Bella asked and felt her heart begin to race with the fear that they might be sending her away.

"No, shh," Carlisle soothed her gently as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and held her to his side. "We were worried."

"A-about what?" Bella asked as the desire to run filled her.

"You," Esme said as she took Bella's hand in hers and met the girl's dark gaze. "We spoke for a few minutes, mother to mother, and she told me about her history."

"Her history?" Bella frowned in confusion.

"Her other boyfriends, sweetheart," Esme said and sighed sadly at the look in Bella's eyes. "Oh, Bella, no. It wasn't your fault," she promised as she leaned close enough to kiss Bella's forehead. "She should have talked to you about it back then, but she didn't and I am sorry that no one told you it wasn't your fault. I promise you, Bella, we are not leaving, sweetheart. You're stuck with us," she told her with a soft grin.

Her ending words had the desired effect and Bella gave a soft chuckle, even as the haunted look remained in her eyes. Esme stood from the chair she was in and moved to sit on Bella's side opposite Carlisle. Her arms wrapped around Bella as she drew the girl into her and hugged her close, petting her hair in long slow strokes. She repeated her promise as she held Bella, told her three more times that they wouldn't leave her and felt the first of the soft trembles vibrate through Bella as she fought against her tears.

"Let it out, Sweetheart," Esme soothed as she held Bella. "It's ok to cry."

Bella bit her lip as she held tighter to Esme and fought against the tears stinging behind her eyes. Her chin trembled, her eyes squeezing closed tight and when Carlisle wrapped her in his arms as well, she lost the battle. Held between Carlisle and Esme, she cried, her tears silent and aching as they burned in rivulets down her cheeks. They held her between them until she calmed and pulled back slowly when she sniffled and lifted her hand to dry her tears. Kissing her forehead, Carlisle told her that he would be back shortly with medicine for her headache and a glass of water. She nodded, knowing it would be pointless to argue and looked toward the door when Edward entered as Carlisle left.

"Hey," he greeted her softly, cupping her cheek in his hand and smoothed away her drying tears. "Come on," he said and took her hand to help her up from the bed.

"Where are we going?" Bella asked as she followed him out of his room.

"Carlisle's going to read to you and Angela tonight. He loves it, Bella, don't ever think he doesn't," he told her with a lopsided grin as he led her into his parents' room. "Angela's changing and will be in here shortly. Go on," he said and nodded to the bed.

Bella bit her lip as she looked at the oversized king bed and glanced back at Edward. He chuckled softly, wrapping her in his arms and kissing her slowly, cupping her cheek in his hand he deepened the kiss before pulling back a short moment later. Resting his forehead against hers, he promised her that he wasn't going anywhere and looked up when Carlisle entered the room carrying a small glass of water and stepped up to Bella, dropping the ibuprophen tablets into her open palm.. Encouraging her to take the medicine as he handed her the glass, Edward nodded his gratitude to his father and smiled at the man's answering thoughts.

"Papa?" Angela stepped into the open doorway and frowned tiredly. "We're in here tonight?" she asked as he held out his hand to her.

"It's the only bed big enough," he told her with a grin and kissed her forehead before toeing off his shoes. "Alright you two," he said affectionately to his human daughters, "let's get you to bed."

Carlisle moved first, climbing onto the bed and laying down in the middle on top of the blankets. Angela moved without hesitation, climbing beneath the covers and curling against his right side as Edward led Bella to the left side and held up the blankets for her. She blushed softly, but he could see the soft smile in her eyes as she moved closer to Carlisle and curled against his side. Edward tucked the blankets around her before lying down behind her and propping himself up on his elbow as he tucked himself against her back. Rubbing her arm, he chuckled as he watched Jasper step into the open door way and smile at the familiar scene.

"Did someone call for me?" he asked as he smiled at Angela before removing his shoes and curling up behind her.

"I told you she wasn't going to let you go," Edward teased his brother, his voice too low for the girls to hear.

"I'm perfectly ok with that," he said with a smile and turned his head to look at Alice. "There's room," he told his wife and held out his hand to her.

"Of course there is," Alice said happily and moved to lie behind him, her arm resting over his waist as she rubbed Angela's arm. "Somebody didn't think ahead of time," she teased Carlisle and reached behind her for the journal to hand him the book.

"I didn't anticipate a full bed," he chuckled and looked down at the feel of a gentle tugging near his feet. "What's one more?" he said with amusement as Rain climbed up the bedspread and jogged up his leg to knead happily at his shirt before curling up in a ball on his abdomen. "You do realize that you're supposed to be afraid of us?" he asked the kitten and rolled his eyes when she began purring.

"Completely dimwitted," he heard Felix say, his voice kept to a level too low for humans to hear and rolled his eyes. "Esme told me about this, but I had to see it to believe it," he said and looked back over his shoulder when Aro and Marcus appeared next to him.

"You're supposed to be reading," Angela reminded Carlisle gently, her cheek on his chest as she took comfort in his arm holding her and her family surrounding her.

"Excuse me, gentlemen," Esme said as she stepped into the room and moved to the bed.

Sitting on the bed behind Edward, Esme leaned back against the headboard and reached her hand across her son to brush her fingers down Bella's cheek. Though she kept her cheek pillowed on Carlisle's chest, Bella smiled at the touch and sighed contentedly as she curled closer to Carlisle. Edward whispered to her of his love and rubbed her arm gently before turning his attention on his father. The man's thoughts were full of the love he felt for his family, the concern he had for Bella, and the touch of embarrassment he felt for the attention he was receiving from his ancient friends.

_Oh, for crying out loud,_ Carlisle thought and rolled his eyes as he hid his face behind the journal as he opened it, his arms wrapped around Bella and Angela. _I really should remember to shut the door._

Edward chuckled and looked at Alice when she smiled. Aro and Marcus parted again, Emmett, Rosalie and Suplicia stepping into the room to listen as Carlisle read from his journal. Aro smiled down at his wife when she took his hand to lead him further into the room. He doubted he ever would have believed Carlisle to be in the position he was now if he hadn't seen it with his own eyes. Meeting his wife's crimson gaze, his lips twitched with amusement and love when she pushed him to sit in the dark blue wingback chair by the bed and sat down in his lap. Kissing her temple as he wrapped his arms around her, he rested his chin on her shoulder and stared at his friend. It had been Carlisle who had given Suplicia back to him for a brief time a little over two centuries ago and it was Carlisle's daughter, Angela, who had given him back his wife permanently. He owed them both a debt of gratitude he didn't know that he would ever be able to repay.

Carlisle kept his voice low and melodic, the hypnotic vampire charm infused around the edges as he listened to the steady heartbeats grow slower as his human daughters neared sleep. Bella blinked slowly, her body feeling heavy as an almost soothing immobility settled into her limbs and with a slow sigh; she gave into the sleep pulling at her brain. Angela was beginning to fall asleep as well when Carlisle saw the movement of his Volturi friends once more and rolled his eyes in amusement when Eleazar and Carmen slipped into the room with Michael following behind them.

He turned his attention back to the journal in his hands as he tried to take his mind off the fact that Michael had requested his permission to court Angela. He had no problem with the boy and even thought that he was a good match for her, but he was reluctant to let another man to take his place in her life. She was his little girl, the fatherly possessiveness something he never thought he would ever feel and glanced down at Angela when her soft sigh announced her descent into the world of dreams. Folding his journal closed, he handed the book back to Alice and watched her place it on the bedside table as he held his daughters to him while they slept.

"I doubt she'll ever stop needing you," Edward told Carlisle softly and kissed Bella's hair. "You'll always be her Papa."

**:::::**

"Alright," Carlisle said as he stepped into the library and leveled a look at Eleazar. "Why do you look like the cat that ate the canary?"

"I'm certain I have no idea to what you're referring," he answered almost formally, his eyes lit with humor.

"Mmhmm," Carlisle nodded as he stepped closer to his friend. "And my real name is Elvis Presley."

"Why, Elvis, you look amazing," Eleazar teased and Carlisle's lips moved, his mouth remaining closed as his tongue stroked along his canine as he looked at the man with amused annoyance. "Tanya asked what you were up to."

"And?" Carlisle asked with a raised brow and sighed when the ringing of his cell phone cut into their conversation. "Hello," he said, staring at Eleazar as he answered the call without checking the caller ID.

"Carlisle that was absolutely the most adorable thing I've seen in ages!"

"Tanya?" Carlisle replied before sighing and looking at looking at Eleazar, shaking his head at the way his friend was chuckling. "What did that devil send you?" he asked her.

"How often do you read to them all like that?" she asked instead and Carlisle growled at Eleazar as the man laughed and dodged the playful blow thrown at him. "If we actually sent out holiday cards it would be the perfect picture to put on them," she gushed and Carlisle sighed.

"Kate's already gathered her oils to turn it into a portrait, hasn't she?" he asked her with a chagrinned smile.

"Of course!" Tanya giggled and he rolled his eyes with humor. "So, has Michael asked you yet?"

"About Angela, you mean?" he asked and she hummed her reply. "You know a little warning would've been nice."

"Oh that wouldn't have been fair," she teased him. "Eleazar kept saying that he couldn't wait to see your face. How could I ruin that for him?"

"Brat," he teased and she laughed.

"You know you love it," she teased back and he could hear Kate's laughter in the background. "You always have been a family man…Go," she said with humor.

"What?" Carlisle asked as he frowned in question.

"Carlisle after all these years, you think I don't know you. It's just after eight and I'm certain the only reason that you're not still with your girls right now is because you either had a bit of business to attend to or you were helping Esme prepare the food. Eleazar told us more than once how easily you had taken to the role of 'father'. Go, be with your children," she said and he looked at the phone when the call disconnected.

"She knows you well," Esme chuckled as she stepped up behind Carlisle and wrapped her arms around his waist, pressing her cheek against his back while she hugged him.

"Are they still sleeping?" he asked her as he turned and lifted his arm to wrap it around her shoulders.

"Both of them," she said with affection. "I'm glad they're both here," she mused and met his kiss. "How is Emily?"

"She's alright," he told her as he walked out of the library, Esme tucked against his side. "It's just worries, this will be her first check up since the surgery and Dr. Ramanajan has never made her feel too comfortable."

"What is he like?" she asked with concern and Carlisle laughed.

"A brilliant surgeon with absolutely no bedside manner. He is gifted at what he does, but he doesn't know how to relate to people, especially children. Emily just needed a bit of encouragement, she's still afraid that the surgery won't have worked and that she'll still have migraines," he told her and kissed her hair before dropping his arm as they stepped into the kitchen. "Good morning, Seth," he greeted the teen as he stepped into the kitchen from the back door.

"Morning Dr. Cullen," Seth greeted with a nod. "Sam's getting worried. No one's seen hide nor hair of Victoria since our last joint hunt. She's just disappeared and that's not really sitting well with anyone."

"No, I don't imagine it would be," he said and waved his arm to offer Seth a seat at the stools by the counter. "Alice hasn't seen anything of Victoria in her visions either."

"So she's hiding?" Seth shook his head. "That doesn't seem good."

"It isn't," Esme said as she began pulling out fruits, eggs, and other items to begin making breakfast for Angela and Bella. "Are you hungry?" she asked Seth and smiled when he chuckled.

"You spoil me, Esme," he said and nodded. "You ever grow tired of Carlisle…"

"I doubt that would happen, but I'll keep you in mind," she winked at him.

"You have amassed an odd family," Aro said as he stepped into the open doorway and looked at Carlisle.

Nodding, Carlisle laughed and kissed Esme before leaving to wake Angela and Bella. He knew that Alice would have already seen his intention to wake them both, but also knew that she would make Edward wait for him. He had to admit a certain fondness for reading his daughters to sleep at night and waking them in the morning. There were moments that he would find himself looking around at his family unable to fully believe that they were his. In just shy of a century, he had gone from traveling the world alone to being surrounded by a large family full of love. Stepping into the open doorway, he could hear the rhythm of Angela's heartbeat change as she began the slow rise to consciousness.

Alice and Jasper smiled at him as they moved from the bed so that he could sit next to Angela and stood watching as he reached out to touch her face. Bending low over her, Carlisle kissed her forehead and brushed the backs of his fingers over her sleep warmed face. She moved slightly, her face turning into the pillow beneath her head as her mouth opened in a drowsy yawn. Blinking slowly, she turned her face up to look at him and smiled as she raised her arms in invitation and Carlisle chuckled as he bent down to hug her.

"Good morning, Papa," Angela said and he kissed her cheek.

"Good morning, baby girl. Esme's making breakfast," he told her as she sat up.

"Hm? Carlisle?" Bella mumbled tiredly, her voice muffled against Edward's chest.

"Good morning, sweetheart," he said and reached across Angela to smooth his hand over Bella's hair. "You two should get dressed and come down stairs," he told them.

"Is there a cat on my head?" Bella asked groggily feeling an odd tugging sensation.

"Yes, there is," Edward chuckled softly. "Rain hid herself in your hair a few hours ago."

"Oh great," Bella mumbled with dry humor and Edward laughed as he pulled the kitten from the nest she had made in her locks. "You're not helping my bed head, kitty," she said as Edward tucked the ball of grey fur into her arms.

"How is your headache?" Edward asked and nodded to his father as Carlisle stepped out of the room.

"Pretty much gone," Bella said as she yawned and sat up. "How long did I sleep?"

"Almost twelve hours," he told her with a grin. "You needed it," he said and kissed her lips. "Get dressed. I'll meet you downstairs."

Edward stepped out of the room and shook his head at the excited expression on Alice's face. Two hours it seemed, he read from her vision. In two hours, Angela would get to meet the historian she worked for and finally receive her remade crest. She had tried a few times to put Jasper's wrist cuff back on him, but he wouldn't allow it, not until she had a new crest of her own. Jasper smiled as Angela stepped out of Carlisle and Esme's room twisting the leather wrist cuff around her arm as Bella following behind. He was glad to see them both regaining their lost weight, though Bella's progress was much slower than Angela's and he knew that she still feared them leaving. Words and even his talent would bring his sister the true comfort that she needed, only time would and he gave Alice a lopsided grin as she pulled him toward the stairs, Edward following behind them.

They weren't surprised to find everyone gathered in the kitchen and Edward was silently glad that the room was as big as it was. He remembered how he used to always think that the wide open space was excessive for a room that they never had occasion to use, but now he smiled at the thought that it was just right. His lips twitched with the knowledge that Angela and Bella were approaching them, having changed in haste. The thoughts filling Esme's mind were shrouded with maternal affection and it amazed him once again that the warmth shining through their house was Angela's doing.

"No, we can't stay very long," Eleazar's words drew his attention back to the conversation at hand and he smile at Bella when she tucked herself under his arm. "I actually have to be back by Monday."

"That's only two days," Suplicia protested the loss of her old friend. "Why do you have to return to Alaska so soon?"

"Uncle Merlin's a professor at the college there," Angela said as she plucked a raspberry from the bowl of fruit Esme was working with and blushed darkly when she realized what she had said.

"Uncle Merlin?" Aro asked Angela with humor before turning his eyes on Eleazar.

"Shut up, old man," Eleazar groused good naturedly and Aro laughed openly.

"It's really quite an adorable story," Carlisle teased and chuckled at the blush on Angela's face.

"How is it that I don't know this story?" Aro asked as he looked at Angela. "I have seen everything else."

"Well, I was kind of asleep at the time," she said as Carlisle wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

"It was just after she was attacked," Eleazar said, his voice subdued as he looked at Angela. "Carlisle brought her home from the hospital, she was unconscious then when he entrusted her to our care," he said and looked to Carmen.

"Carlisle told us that she found comfort in being read to and Eleazar had brought his book with him thinking that he would need the bit of entertainment while we watched over her as they hunted. Neither one of us expected the effect she would have on us," Carmen said as she stepped around the island stove and handed the plate of mixed berry pancakes to Angela, placing a second one in front of Bella. "She woke a few times," she said as she dabbed the freshly made mint flavored whipped cream onto their plates.

"Because of the drugs in her system, she didn't remember anything except for a bit of the book I had been reading to her and the words I had spoken to her just before she woke the final time," he smiled at Angela when she looked back at him as she munched on her breakfast. "She had talked in her sleep and thought I was Carlisle."

"You told me that your closest relation would most likely be considered that of an uncle," Angela said and took a drink of her orange juice.

"I did," he said with a nod and smiled at her.

"Well, that explains the 'uncle' part," Felix chuckled. "What about the Merlin part?"

"The book he had been reading to her was an Arthurian fiction," Carmen said with a smile. "It focused mostly on Merlin's early life."

"To have what you have," Suplicia whispered, her voice too low for humans to hear as she looked at Carlisle. "I never would have thought this possible."

"A hundred years ago, neither would I," he told her with a smile.

**:::::**

Esme's lips parted as she took in a deep breath and shook her head with amusement. Glancing at Carmen and watching as her friend chuckled silently, she stepped through the hall and into the kitchen. Gliding up behind Carlisle, she wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her temple against the side of his arm as she looked around him. Rolling her eyes and doing well to hide her growing amusement, Esme followed his gaze out of the kitchen window and into the backyard where Angela sat on a blanket in the grass with Michael. Emmett and Rosalie were outside as well, sitting at the table on the deck as they watched them and Esme released a soft chuckle as she looked up at Carlisle's face.

"How long are you going to stand here?" she asked him and smiled at the look on his face when he cast his eyes down to meet hers. "They're just talking and you know, you did give him your approval," she reminded him and he sighed.

"He's taking her riding today," Carlisle said evenly. "They have to wait until it's closer to sunset because of how bright it is today."

"This isn't a surprise," she said patiently. "Eleazar told us last night before you put the girls to bed that reservations had been made. Alice was the one to make them and it's not as though they'll be going alone."

"You're missing the point," he said with a sigh.

"And what is the point?" Esme asked as she slipped around him and put her hands on his chest as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

Carlisle sighed as he looked over her shoulder and out of the window once more. The point, he thought, was that Angela was his little girl. The point was that she was still dealing with so many stressors in her life. The _point_ was that he wanted a little more time with her before he had to think of her being with someone else. Slow traditional courtship or not, he had gotten used to being her hero. She had her brothers, yes and they did dote on her and spoil her as much as he did, but _he_ was her hero. He heard Esme's soft chuckle and looked down at her with a raised brow.

"The point is you never had to think about letting her go before now," Esme said with a knowing smile and leaned up on her toes to kiss him. "But, my love, don't you see? Look at our other children. They are married, they are happy, but they remain with us. Do you really think that she's going to run away and start her own coven tomorrow?" she shook her head and cupped his face in her hands, smoothing her thumbs over his cheeks as she stared into his eyes. "A traditional courtship, from his day, lasted two years. _Two years_," she reminded him. "Sometime down the road, she will have her honeymoon and she will occasionally go away with him, but my dear, you will always be her Papa. No one can take that place."

"It's not fair when you do that," he told her and took in a breath as he leaned down and pressed his lips against hers.

"What isn't?" Esme asked a moment later.

"You used wife logic," he told her and she chuckled before throwing her head back and laughing.

"Wife logic?" she repeated through her laughter.

"Yes, _wife_ logic," he said and mock frowned at her.

"Ah, wife logic," Eleazar nodded sagely as he stepped into the kitchen, Marcus following him. "That's something I'm very familiar with. Carmen uses it on me quite often."

"Problems?" Marcus asked with amusement as he looked between Carlisle and Esme.

"No problems," Esme said with a smile. "Someone's just having a little trouble adjusting to the idea of Angela being courted."

Marcus chuckled. "Does Angela know she's being courted yet?"

"No," Eleazar smiled. "That's what tonight is about. Michael intends to ask her."

"They are a good match," the ancient vampire nodded as he looked at them through the glass window.

"You all do know that Angela is aware of your surveillance?" Edward asked as he stood behind them with his arms crossed over his chest.

"You told her?" Carlisle asked as he turned to see the amused and disapproving look on his son's face.

"I didn't have to," he said and looked pointedly at his father. "Apparently none of you are as stealthy as you thought. Especially you," he grinned. "Angela knows you just a little too well. Besides that, Bella caught sight of you about an hour ago."

"How is she doing?" Carlisle asked his son and watched him frown.

"I don't know," he sighed. "Alice said that she keeps wanting to call Jacob, but in her visions Bella dials the number only to hang up or the call rings without being answered. She doesn't understand why Jacob won't come around and why he won't talk to her."

"Do you know?" Carlisle asked, remembering their last encounter with Jacob.

"Not entirely," Edward shook his head. "I know that there was something about our scents – Bella's and mine – that threw him off, but I don't know what it was. Whatever it is, it confuses him and that makes him angry."

Frowning thoughtfully, Carlisle turned his attention back outside and watched Angela remove her cell phone from her pocket. Though she was facing away from him, he was quite certain that she had her bottom lip between her teeth, the mannerism a habit that he had seen her practice almost every time she looked at the device. She stood up from the blanket and when she turned he caught the surprised expression on her face when Michael stood up as well and gave her a slow quarter bow as she walked ahead of him. The blush dusting her cheeks and smile curving her lips sealed it for him and Carlisle shook his head.

"I suppose I'll have to get used to the idea," he said and Jasper's chuckle sounded next to him.

"It's not so bad," Jasper said as he crossed his arms over his chest. "He's a good kid and he's treating her right. Alice and I are going with them riding tonight as their chaperones," he said with a smile. "He's doing this old school, he's doing this right."

**:::::**

Angela bit her lip as she walked beside Michael, smiling at the way he kept his hands clasped behind his back and stood a respectable distance from her. She wasn't certain what it meant exactly, but his mannerisms were both amusing and comforting. Frowning in question as she saw him turn his head to look behind them for a second time, she turned around and found Emmett and Rosalie to be walking a fair distance away but following them. Her brother offered her a lopsided grin and Rosalie met her eyes with a smile. Though their presence confused her slightly, she turned around and kept walking next to Michael.

"Am I making you nervous?" he asked her as they rounded the corner of the backyard to walk around the house.

"No, not nervous," Angela said. "Curious, but not nervous."

"Miss Weber - "

"Michael, how many times do I have to tell you to call me Angela?" she asked with a grin and he nodded to her once.

"Miss Angela," he said and she chuckled. "Would you go riding with me later tonight?" he asked and Angela stopped their slow walk to give him her full attention.

"Riding?" Angela asked with a frown. "What kind of riding?"

"Horses," he said and frowned when she seemed hesitant. "Have you ever been riding before?"

She hummed a negative response as she shook her head and looked into his eyes, fascinated by what she could see. His fear was gone, the dark cloud that had always followed him during their times meeting at the library so many months ago was gone. In its place was a confidence that seemed to be growing and she was pleased by its presence.

"Do you like horses?" he asked and she nodded. "What is it?" he asked when he noticed that she seemed to be entranced.

"You," Angela answered with a curious grin. "You're different. You seem so much more confident now, so at ease in your own skin," she told him and blushed at her words. "It makes me happy to see it."

He smile was lopsided and he chuckled softly as he tipped his head to her before waving his arm in a gentle arc to the path in front of them.

"I am told that I have you to thank for that," he said as they resumed their walk.

"Me?" Angela shook her head in confusion. "What did I do?"

"You brought me peace," he said and smiled. "You gave me a family."

"You're happy then, with Un – Eleazar and Carmen, I mean?" she asked and he nodded. "I'm glad," she said and moved impulsively, wrapping her arms around his waist in a hug before he could stop her. "What?" she asked when he rubbed her arms and stepped away. "Oh! I'm sorry. Do you not like to be touched?" she asked thinking that she had offended him.

"No, no it's not that," he rushed to comfort her and Angela turned her head back to her siblings walking behind them, frowning at Emmett's chuckle. "I just wasn't expecting it is all," he said.

Though he had been about to tell her that it wasn't proper, he knew that she wouldn't understand and realized that he would have to make minor adjustments along the way. Certain things about the traditional courtship would have to be changed, such as physical contact. Angela was the type of person to hug someone else, her delight in touching those she cared about apparent in all of the interactions he had witnessed with her family. Telling her that they shouldn't touch for the first few months, he could tell, would not be well received. Shaking his head at himself, Michael took Angela's hand and tucked it into the crook of his arm as they resumed their walk.

"Who was it that messaged you?" he asked and saw her smile.

"The historian that I work for, Dr. Jamison," Angela said. "She said that she finally made it to Forks, but was having trouble following the map. I told her how to get here the simplest way that I know and promised I would wait for her at the edge of the drive. You don't mind waiting with me, do you?"

"Not at all, Miss Angela," he said and smiled when she giggled. "I must admit, Eleazar got me a cell phone as well, but I have absolutely no idea what to do with it."

"How about I show you later?" Angela grinned at him before turning her head back to look down the road. "I think that's her now."

She waved to the approaching car and smiled when she saw her friend's face as the vehicle came closer. As the car pulled into the drive, Angela was surprised when Michael adopted an almost guarding stance in front of her and she looked at him curiously before turning her attention back to the car. Hearing the front door open and close, she glanced to the side as Carlisle stepped across the path toward them and her eyes widened when she saw the familiar gold of the professor's eyes that had always looked to be a light hazel in the video chat conversations. She understood now, Angela thought with wonder and shook her head as Carlisle moved to approach the professor. Dr. Jamison was a vampire.

"Angela Weber," the woman shook her head and laughed. "Angela Weber your Papa is Dr. Carlisle Cullen?" the woman asked as she rounded the car.

"Who else would he be?" Angela asked with confusion and watched a man step out of the car as well.

"Monica," Carlisle shook his head as he embraced the woman. "It has been a long time."


	55. Chapter 53

Chapter 53

Eleazar kissed his wife's hair and winked when he caught sight of the amusement sparkling in her amber gaze. Offering her a lopsided grin as he stepped away from her, he carefully lifted his smart phone and, being sure to keep his actions unseen by his subject, took a second picture of Carlisle. The previous photo he'd taken when he had first stepped into the room had been while Carlisle was still reading. That picture he had sent immediately to Tanya, but this one, this picture was for himself – a reminder of all that he had to protect. Angela and Bella were both asleep, curled tightly against Carlisle with their heads pillowed on his chest and Carlisle had his cheek resting against Angela's hair. Most of Carlisle's family surrounded them in the bed; the only two who were unable to fit were Rosalie and Emmett. It amused him how the couple had affected an almost guarding position, Rosalie standing next to the bed just behind Esme and Emmett in a similar position just behind Alice.

Slipping his phone back into his pocket, his hint of a smile fell away as his eyes landed on Aro seated in the chair with Suplicia in his lap. He had been surprised to say the least to find Aro in the Cullen's home, but the more he had watched the ancient man, the more suspicious and confused he felt. The man that he had left in Italy all those years ago was not the same man sitting in the chair and that realization only left him with more questions. Stepping across the room slowly, he came to stand behind the chair Aro was seated in and performed a movement that he had perfected while being a member of the Volturi. The action appeared friendly, and while he meant him no harm, the gentle grasp he had on Aro's shoulder allowed him the angle needed to brush his knuckles against the man's jaw before stepping away.

Taking in a slow deep breath, Aro nodded once and kissed Suplicia's temple before standing from the chair and motioning for her to take his seat. Gathering her hands in his, he brought them to his lips and kissed her knuckles before stepping away. She smiled at him and nodded; the gesture one he had always used to let her know that he would return to her shortly. Standing tall, Aro walked out of the room slowly and found himself amused that Eleazar could still affect that move as graciously as he always had. The brush of his knuckles against his cheek was so slight that it remained unnoticed by anyone else, and though the touch lasted less than a fraction of a second, it was just enough to let Aro see the man's desire to speak with him privately.

Ghosting down the stairs, Aro followed Eleazar through the house and into the library. It was past midnight, he discovered as he read the clock on the wall, and was surprised at just how long he had been keeping vigil over Carlisle and his family. He looked up to find Eleazar standing before the window, the darkness of the night turning the clear polished glass into a ghostly mirror. Looking to the man that had once served as guard of his court, a seeker of those with talents that would bring him power, he met his eyes in their reflection upon the glass.

"You wished to speak?" Aro said as he stared at Eleazar only to watch him nod silently.

"Please, join me," Eleazar requested as he waved an arm to the stuffed wingback chairs in front of the lit fireplace.

"I have never known you to be so reserved, Eleazar," Aro said after a few long moments of silence. "Not when you are the one to request the meeting. What is it you wish to speak of?"

"You," Eleazar said evenly and turned his head to look at Aro. "You are not the same man that I left in Volterra two centuries ago. And I know _you_ too well to believe that your change in attitude is any kind of deception on your part. Regardless of that, tell me this: what are your intentions toward Angela?"

"My intentions," Aro mused with a breathy chuckle. "You sound like Marcus; he asked me the same thing."

"Then consider us her guardians," Eleazar said with a flick of his wrist. "She is protected," he said with a glance toward the floor above them.

"Yes," Aro chuckled, "of that I have seen. Not even I have had such faithful protection before."

"Aro…"

"Yes, my friend, I know. You wish to know my intentions, but before those can be revealed, a story must be told."

"A story?" Eleazar asked and turned in his seat to give Aro his full attention.

"Yes," Aro smiled, "a story."

Aro took in a slow deep breath, his face growing somber as he stared into the dancing orange and gold flames. He began slowly, his voice holding a note of something curious that Eleazar would dare to call whimsy. The ancient man told the tale of how he had been born, the family he had when he was human had been one of nobility and power achieved through domination and fear. He had been the only one in his family to desire nothing but the knowledge and peace he was brought through the many scrolls he collected. He had wanted to read, to learn and had gathered all of the scrolls he could find or purchase. He had filled six chests with stories about the beginnings of man, the tales of beliefs and myths, magic and alchemy. He had sat with philosophers, called them his friends and consulted them on matters of the kingdom he was to inherit instead of the chief of the guard or his father.

"I was married," Aro said after a moment. "I had a wife when I was human. We had a son together and she was expecting our second child."

"You never told me this," Eleazar said with a frown.

"I've never told anyone this," Aro returned, his eyes hard as the rubies they appeared to be.

"Were they changed as well?" he asked and heard the soft growl from the ancient man.

"No," Aro said, his voice deadly calm and dangerous. "My _human father_ found out that I would rather rule our lands with thought and… _foolishness_ as he put it. I didn't want to spill blood or go to war unnecessarily. I didn't want to terrorize the people into being faithful to me. But he was not a man that would abide anyone challenging his authority, not even his own son. I had left my home to go see the philosophers that I often took counsel with. When I arrived at the place we met, the hall made of stone and wood, I found all eight of them dead. _Beheaded_. There was a note left, pinned to the chest of the oldest man with a dagger. _By order of Lord Lucius for crimes against the court._"

Aro shook his head, his anger filling him to completion and he had to clench his jaw against the desire to break things. He released the breath he had been holding slowly and continued only when he knew that he would be able to keep a tight rein on his temper. It wasn't often that he felt himself overpowered by rage, but those few times when he did it felt to be a beast fighting him for control.

"I was furious," Aro said, his voice kept to a volume that only their kind could hear. "I returned home with the intention of confronting my father, demanding some kind of retribution for what he had done, only to find that he had killed my family as well. My wife, my son, my unborn child…he had killed them all because I dared to be different. I ran. I didn't know what else to do, my emotions were too high, my fury too great. That night was when _he _found me. My master, my immortal father. He asked me only one question: what would I give to exact my vengeance? I, of course, said 'anything'," Aro said flippantly. "He bit me, three days later I was reborn…a year later, once I was no longer controlled by the scent of blood, but rather held my own control over it, I left to take my revenge."

"Aro?" Eleazar asked when the man remained quiet. "Did you get your vengeance?"

"No," Aro said, emotions filling his voice. "He was felled by an illness. I found that he had died peacefully in his sleep. _Peacefully_ from an illness," he growled low. "It was better than he ever deserved. I went back to where I cohabited with my master; I don't even remember his name now, some days I wonder if I even bothered to learn it. _He_ wanted _me_ to be his tool, his to control, his to wield. A prized possession to be shown off like some trinket and made to perform like some trained beast. I refused him. I killed him and I rejoiced as I set fire to his remains. That anger, that…_pain_ never left me. It followed me as I wandered alone for the decade before I found Marcus and Caius. It ruled me and Caius knew it from the very moment we met when he was still human and he played the chords of my pain as though it were a finely tuned harp. The larger the Volturi grew, the more influence and power we held, the more I grew fearful of losing everything as I had when I was human. Caius built upon that fear so subtly that I never knew it. I never should have turned him, I know that now. I had seen something familiar in him and until I met Angela, I did not know what that was, but I do now. In Caius I saw my human father, I saw a man who would allow no transgression against his rule and would destroy anything that got in his way."

Aro stood from the chair and stepped closer to the fireplace, staring into the flames as if the dancing light held the answers. Turning to face Eleazar, he looked upon his friend and let the emotions brought by his memories fade away. His smile returned as a new memory flitted across his mind.

"There has been nothing, not even the time when Carlisle lived with us, that has ever been able to take away that pain. Until her," he chuckled as his smile grew with amused disbelief. "She did not simply heal the broken relationships or take away what falsehoods Chelsea and Caius planted," he said with a shake of his head. "You see, Eleazar, Angela – she healed a pain so deep, so _ancient_ that I have never known what it is to be without it. The underlying fear that has forever been with me is gone; she took that away as well. She has freed me. She gave me back my wife. She gave me back…my heart. Do I still desire power, yes and I probably always will. Do I still desire to rule as I have? No. Our secret must be kept, that will never change, but I am not the same man that I was before. So, as to my intentions toward her, she will never want for anything and she will always have my protection."

"Do you intend to..."

"Take her to Volterra? Add her to the power of the Volturi?" Aro cut in. "No. _If_ she ever becomes a part of the Volturi it will be a choice she makes freely. I will not take her from her family." He shook his head, laughed as he felt the pulse of soothing warmth flow through him. "Even in her sleep she is able to heal our kind and she truly has no knowledge of her power. How is it possible for her to be this strong while human?" he asked his friend.

"There are only two things that I have found that have ever brought humans the ability to use the active talents they would have once turned…great trauma or great passion. For Angela, she suffered such great trauma at the hands of her human parents and all her life she was unknowingly calling out for protection. It drew our kind to her like a magnet. First Michael, then Emmett and the rest of his family," he chuckled, "then Carmen and I when we came to watch over her…Through the care and love given to her by Carlisle and the rest of his family she was able to grow, her true power – the power to heal coming forth as she found love and acceptance with her new family."

"What aren't you saying?" Aro asked as he looked at Eleazar. "You would not have warned them against me if her power was strictly to heal."

Eleazar sighed with a frown and nodded slowly. "I will tell you only this – her power to heal has a mirrored twin that is equally as strong if not stronger."

"A mirrored twin?" Aro repeated confusion furrowing his brow before realization dawned and his features relaxed. "She will be able to destroy."

"Yes," Eleazar breathed the word as he rose from his chair.

"How?" Aro asked and watched his friend shake his head.

"I have no idea. The _only_ other time that I've heard of one with her power was in the records kept at Volterra. There were scrolls that told of one of our kind named Alexander, a man who was driven insane by his own power – a man who destroyed a village because it pleased him to do so."

"You do not fear the same with her?" Aro asked as worry twisted his heart.

"Look at _her_, Aro," Eleazar commanded. "Touch her hand and look into her heart. There is no darkness within her. That man, Alexander, he was by all definitions unstable before he was turned. In the scrolls that spoke of him were tales from his human years, records he kept detailing the animals he'd killed, the children he'd murdered, even the way he slaughtered his own family in the hopes of drawing the attention of one of our kind. He was already a great evil and someone turned him anyway. But Angela…"

"She is pure," Aro finished with a slow nod.

"Yes," Eleazar nodded. "For everything she has been through, she is still pure of heart. It is why I do not fear the power she holds at all. She could never be evil, not on her own."

"That's why you warned them against me," Aro said as he studied the Spanish vampire. "You believed I would destroy her, make her 'evil' as you say, to turn her into a weapon."

"Yes," he nodded once. "I feared that if you knew of her, you would do what you could to turn her into Jane. It's why I left Volterra," Eleazar said and walked to the wooden table sitting in the room.

"You left because of Carmen, because she is your mate," Aro said, his tone confused.

"You know why I left," Eleazar said as he turned and stared at Aro with surprise. "You took my hand the day I left, gave us your blessing. Are you saying that you did not read me?"

"I didn't have a need to," Aro denied. "I read Marcus when you presented Carmen. I saw what you two had, the connection, the bond. I had no need to read you."

"Carmen was the deciding factor, yes," Eleazar explained slowly. "But she was not the only reason. I was never content with that life. There were days that I even hated it, hated what you did and how you did it, but I had always believed that I was serving a greater good."

"What changed your mind?" Aro asked and Eleazar chuckled.

"The same thing that changed yours," he answered. "I met Carlisle. He is what I always wanted to be."

"A doctor?"

Eleazar leveled Aro with a look that made the ancient man chuckle. "Good," he corrected. "Carlisle has always been good and kind. He has always done what is right because it is right. He has gained such faithful followers, such a strong family because he has never wanted power, all he has ever wanted is the happiness of others. He has never done anything for selfish reasons. That is what I wanted to be."

"Carlisle," Aro shook his head with a chuckle. "Carlisle, of course, he is what changed things the first time and now it is his daughter. You can't tell me you haven't seen it," Aro said at his friend's expression and Eleazar nodded.

"She holds his spirit. Yes, I've seen it. She is exactly like him," Eleazar smiled. "She will always be protected."

"You are still worried," Aro said as he studied Eleazar's concerned frown. "I will not bring harm to her," he promised.

"Think back, Aro," he advised. "Who was it that sought to destroy Carlisle?"

"Caius," Aro hissed.

**:::::**

"Shh," Carlisle kissed Bella's forehead as he carefully extracted himself from the center of the bed.

"Papa," Angela mumbled without waking.

"Shh, it's alright. Go back to sleep, baby girl," he shifted carefully, moving to kneel between his sleeping daughters and kissed them both on their foreheads. "Jasper, Edward," he said softly and watched as his sons wrapped their arms around the girls.

He moved slowly, backing out of the bed as carefully as he could so as not to awaken the girls. He could hear his cell phone ringing downstairs; it was the ringtone he had programmed in for Emily. He was out of the bed by the time the second ring finished sounding and ghosted down to his office to retrieve it before the call could go to voicemail. He answered it quickly, assuring his young east coast patient that she hadn't woken him and asked her how she was feeling as he took a seat behind his desk.

"Scared," she answered hesitantly, her voice soft.

"Tell me why," he requested gently as he opened up the digital copy of her medical file that he had brought with him from New York.

"I'm meeting with Dr. Ramanajan in an hour," she said slowly.

"Your first check up since the surgery," Carlisle said as he nodded to himself and sat back in his chair. "Tell me what's bothering you about that."

"Everything," her voice shook slightly as she released a shuddering breath. "I don't know why he scares me, but he does," she admitted softly. "It's just this…feeling, like he sees me but doesn't. It makes me not trust him," she sniffled softly and Carlisle frowned with sympathetic worry.

"Sweetheart, did you keep your laptop?" he asked and smiled softly at her positive response. "Turn it on and I'll call you with the video program as soon as it's booted up," he promised and could hear the smile in her voice when she agreed. "There you are," he smiled and hung up his cell phone when her face appeared on his computer screen in front of him.

"Hi," she greeted shyly and gave a soft sound of amusement when he smiled in return.

"How are you feeling?" Carlisle asked and studied her eyes and the corners of her mouth as he looked for any signs of pain.

He watched as she looked behind her, making certain that she was alone, he reasoned. Her expression was worried, somewhat afraid even and he wondered why. She bit her lips, folded them in over her teeth and rubbed them together as she looked away. She looked over her shoulder once more before turning her attention back to the built in webcam, her eyes frightened.

"There's still soreness, I mean it's expected I understand that, but I uh…it's hard to sleep," she admitted softly.

"And you've been trying to keep that from your parents?" he correctly guessed and watched her nod. "Why?"

Emily frowned, sadness and worry filling her eyes as she looked through the camera at him. Her voice was slow, soft and hesitant as she began to speak her worries, confessing to him fears that she felt reluctant to tell anyone else. She had been the one to suffer the pain, she told him, but it was her parents who had been forced to deal with the constant worry. They had suffered through the late nights when the migraines had become more than either she or the medication could handle. They had been the ones forced to come up with the money to pay for medications, exams, doctor's appointments as they sought an answer to her growing migraines.

"They have enough to worry about," she said and shook her head. "A few sleepless nights won't kill me."

"Perhaps not, but don't you think they'd like to know? They love you very much, that was apparent in every move they made, every word they spoke. I could see it clearly, you shouldn't keep this from them," he admonished gently. "Now, tell me what else there is."

"Your kids can't hide anything from you, can they?" she asked with a suspicious expression and he laughed.

"Not very well anyway," he smiled and nodded for her to continue.

"Sometimes it hurts too much to sleep," she said softly.

"Hurts too much," he repeated slowly. "How much pain is there? Are you taking the pain medication I prescribed?"

"Sometimes," she said and grimaced. "I'm trying not to get addicted to it."

"That shouldn't be an issue with that medication," he told her. "Are you taking it when you need it or trying to hold off until the pain is more than you can stand?" her expression answered his question and he sighed. "Emily, waiting too long will render the medication ineffective. If you are truly that worried about becoming dependant on it than half the dose," he instructed gently. "I made certain that those pills are able to be split apart."

"I can do that?" she asked with relief and he nodded. "I didn't know that," she admitted softly and bit her lip.

"When you are able to get to sleep, how is your sleep?" he asked and watched her frown.

"Uneasy," she said uncertainly. "I think I have nightmares, but I can't remember them. I just know that I wake up afraid."

"Is there anything in particular that you're afraid of?" he asked gently. "Anything that worries you?"

"What if it didn't work?" she asked after a moment, the vulnerability showing in her eyes. "What if I still have the migraines?"

"Oh, sweetheart," he sighed softly. "You won't," he promised her. "The nerve cluster was removed and I promise you that there will be no more migraines. The residual pain from the surgery will fade and eventually disappear completely, but the migraines will not return. You will not have to suffer anymore. You will be able to lead a full life without worrying about migraines or medications."

She nodded slowly and gave him a weak smile, her fear still evident. He probed further and she confessed quietly that no matter who was with her she didn't feel safe with Dr. Ramanajan because of the way he responded to her. Too often he had been impatient with her or disregarded her completely and she worried that he wouldn't listen to her if she spoke her concerns or told him about how she felt physically. Carlisle nodded slowly, understanding the unspoken concerns she held as well.

"I am always here, just a phone call or video chat away. You're welcome to call after your appointment if you'd like," he told her and she nodded.

"Thank you," she said and looked back over her shoulder when there was a knock at her closed bedroom door. "I have to go; we have to get to the hospital."

"I understand," he smiled. "Emily," he looked at her and smiled. "Make certain that your parents know they are welcome to call me as well. I'm a father too, not just a doctor and my daughter, Angela, has very similar migraines to what you experienced. Sometimes it can help greatly just to talk to someone who understands."

"I will," she said and smiled. "Thank you, Dr. Cullen."

"Anytime, my dear."

He watched the screen go dark and minimized the video chat program as he looked back and reviewed her medical records once more. Everything in her records and scans pointed to the nerve cluster as being the cause. He looked up at the feeling of a presence in the room and found Aro to be staring at him curiously. Meeting his ancient friend's gaze; he arched a brow and nodded to the chairs in front of his desk. Aro smiled with humor and stepped closer as he looked around the office.

"It's more than just about the medicine for you isn't it?" Aro asked as he moved closer and sat in the chair. "That's the one thing that never quite transferred through to me when I read you – any of the times, your reasoning. You love medicine, I could always see that, but I never understood why."

"It's the people," Carlisle said simply. "It's helping them in a way that others can't. I can smell things that won't always show up on blood or fluid tests. Our eyes are sharper, our hands steadier, our focus greater. You heard me speaking with Emily," he said and nodded toward the computer watching as Aro nodded once. "Her migraines were similar to Angela's, but unlike Angela's hers had a definitive cause. The surgery that I performed on her," he said and watched Aro tip his head in thought.

"The one Marcus had me watch?" he asked and Carlisle nodded.

"Yes, the nerve cluster that I removed was smaller than the top of a pin. One wrong move, one slip or miscalculation and she could've suffered memory loss or worse. I understand the fears of the patients, I relate to them better because I am not seeking to climb the proverbial ladder. Too many doctors refuse to take the time to actually get to know their patients. Too many people are left frightened by those doctors who believe themselves to be above anyone else. Emily, just like Angela, has always been terrified by her migraines and she fears them returning now even after her surgery. Dr. Ramanajan, the man spearheading the study, is a brilliant but distant man. The way I watched him interact with his patients, they were nothing more than a case number to him. He spoke to them as though they meant nothing and should understand everything without question. He never addressed their fears or concerns and spoke to them all as though they were medical students."

"You take away their fear," Aro said wisely and smiled. "You take away humans' fear and pain by bringing them comfort in difficult times through your knowledge of medicine and your compassion; and your daughter takes away the fear and pain of our kind through a touch, through the brush of her spirit." Aro laughed. "She truly is your daughter, perhaps not by blood, but in every other way she is yours."

**:::::**

He released a breathy chuckle, the sound nearly silent and turned from where he was standing to face the doorway of the kitchen as Angela and Bella stepped into the room. He watched Bella tuck herself under Edward's arm against his side and chuckled again as Angela's soothing warmth enveloped him, welcoming him without words. He smiled when she stepped close enough to brush her hand against his, the quick brush of her skin against his allowing him to hear her voice through his talent as she greeted him. Turning his attention back to the conversation Suplicia was having with Eleazar, he fairly barked with laughter when Angela called the Spanish vampire 'Uncle Merlin'. Her blush amused him even as the tale of how his friend was given the nickname both saddened and endeared him.

Aro looked to Carlisle, felt a smile grace his face and chuckled when he realized that not once since arriving at Carlisle's home had he been forced to fake a single smile as he always did at Volterra. He felt different here, free and for the first time completely genuine. He looked to side; his gaze spotted the young vampire who had come with Eleazar and Carmen to visit Angela. It amused him to know that this boy intended to court Angela in the traditional manner, but it amused him more to see that look on Carlisle's face. His friend, who had several other immortal children – one of which was dating a human girl, was having a very difficult time accepting the fact that Angela had a suitor.

He shook his head at Carlisle, watching as the blond man stared after Angela when she slipped out the back door with Michael to converse with him in the backyard. It was bright outside, the cover of the trees and seclusion of the house making it easy for them to stay hidden even as the sun's rays fell to light upon their skin and cast sections into a myriad of fragmented shimmers. Stepping through the house, he made his way into the library where Suplicia, Marcus and Felix stood. He rolled his eyes at the sight of Rain, the tiny grey kitten chasing after the length of yarn his wife had found. As soon as she spotted him, the kitten stopped playing with the yarn and scampered toward him, her claws gripping his pant leg as she set about climbing up his clothing.

"What do you think you are doing?" Aro asked the kitten with an annoyed tone as he fought against the underlying amusement he felt.

"She likes you," Suplicia said as she stepped over and plucked the kitten from his pant leg when she reached Aro's thigh. "She's not afraid of any of us at all."

"Like I keep saying," Felix told her, "she's completely dimwitted. You found the one brainless cat that doesn't know a dangerous creature when she smells one."

"She is _not_ brainless," Suplicia said haughtily and held the kitten up to her face. "Are you, Rain?" she asked and rubbed noses with the creature. "No you're not. Now," she set Rain on the floor and looked at her husband. "You have something you want to discuss. Don't deny it," she told him with a shake of her head. "I can see it in your eyes. What is it?"

"Marcus and I need to return to Volterra," he told her and lifted his hand to touch her cheek, smiling when she nuzzled against his palm.

"Marcus and you?" Suplicia lifted her head as she stared into his eyes. "What about Felix and I?"

Aro breathed in and leaned close enough to kiss her lips. He wasn't certain what her reaction would be to the news, but the last thing he wanted to do was upset her. Cupping her face in his hands, Aro looked into her eyes and smiled before pulling her into his arms and hugging her close. He met Felix's gaze, projected his question through his eyes and watched as the man nodded solemnly. He didn't need Aro to speak the words to know what he was asking. Returning Felix's nod, Aro released Suplicia and stepped back from her.

"It's not safe for you to return to our home yet," he told Suplicia. "I have already spoken with Carlisle and asked that you be allowed to stay here with his family until the problems in Volterra are dealt with. I cannot risk your safety," he said and brushed the back of his index finger down her cheek. "I love you, Suplicia and your safety is the most important thing to me."

"But we would be separated," she said and shook her head slowly.

"And if I were to take you back there before cleaning house, you would be subjected to the same hell that you were in before," he kissed her forehead. "You will be protected here, you will be happy with them," he promised his wife. "Carlisle has one condition though; change your diet so that you feed only on animals. I know that it is not nearly as satisfying as our natural diet, but if you do that he welcomes you with open arms."

"It won't be hard," she said, the frown still present on her face. "Felix and I fed mostly on animals while in Kauai. How long, Aro? How long will we be apart?"

"As long as it takes, my love," he said and kissed her chastely. "Hopefully no longer than a year or two, but I cannot guarantee any set time. I have to be careful, I have to read through everyone and find how many have betrayed me – us," he said looking at Marcus and Felix. "Once I know all those who need to be dealt with, I will begin to weed out the weakest of them. But you must understand, once Caius finds out that I know of his part in all of this a war _will_ begin. I want you safe. I _need_ you to be safe," he told her and kissed her once more. "Felix will remain here as your personal guardian and your friend as I do not wish you to be completely alone."

"Aro," Suplicia shook her head, but her protests were silenced when he placed his finger over her lips.

"I know you're scared, especially after everything that's happened," he said and knelt before the chair she sat in. "But I need you to do this for me. I love you, Suplicia. I have just gotten you back and I will not lose you again."

"You will come back for me?" she asked and he read the fear she held of his abandonment when he cupped her face in his hands.

"I will _always_ come for you, my love. _Always._"

**:::::**

Carlisle stepped slowly through the front room and looked out of the clear glass wall. He frowned as he watched the car round the end of the drive and pull closer only for Michael to take a guarding stance in front of Angela and hold one arm angled back in an effort to keep her behind him. Opening the door, he stepped outside slowly and looked at the car, his eyes widening as he felt disbelief over what his senses were telling him. There was no way that what his nose was telling him could be possible, but as he watched the driver's door open and the woman step out from behind the wheel, he shook his head in wonder. A magnet indeed, he thought as he remembered Alice's comment from earlier.

The woman's cinnamon red hair shined like blood-fire in the sun and Carlisle shook his head as he walked down the stairs and stepped forward. Her eyes met his, excitement shining in her gold orbs and he chuckled when her immortal father, his friend Frederick, stepped out of the car as well. He could almost see the hyper energy that had taken hold of his dear friend and laughed out loud when she spoke.

"Angela Weber," she shook her head and laughed. "Your 'Papa' is Dr. Carlisle Cullen?" Monica asked and he shook his head with humor.

He watched Angela frown and look at him curiously before turning back to face the woman she had known virtually for well over a year.

"Who else would he be?" Angela asked and Carlisle chuckled.

"Monica," Carlisle smiled brightly. "It's been far too long, my friend, how are you?"

"Don't tell me," Frederick said his voice a rich baritone colored with humor as he glanced at Carlisle before looking at Angela. "My dear," Frederick greeted Angela and held out his hand for her to take. "You wouldn't happen to have received a necklace from your Papa around…oh say, four months ago, would you have?" he asked and brought her hand up to kiss her knuckles.

"Mmhmm," she hummed her reply as she nodded and blushed at the attention she was being paid.

"If you don't mind my asking, what happened to it?" he inquired and stepped back from her as Michael tucked her hand into the crook of his elbow.

Michael couldn't suppress the low growl that sounded from him at the feel of Angela's nervousness and moved without thought, tucking her completely behind himself as he stared at the man. Though his expression remained neutral, he felt the need to protect her and wasn't entirely certain why. No one had made any outward threat to her, nor had she seemed frightened before hand, but he felt his need to protect her only increase with each passing second.

"It was stolen," Angela answered timidly as she peeked out from behind Michael.

"Angela was attacked," Carlisle clarified, keeping his voice below the range of human hearing. "It was taken from her and destroyed by her attacker."

"One of our kind?" Frederick asked as both he and Monica turned their full attention on him.

"No, her attacker was human," he said with displeasure at the memory.

"Michael, it's alright," Angela said when felt the soft vibrations that she knew meant he was growling. "No one here will hurt me," she assured him, unaware that they had an audience to their conversation.

"But you are frightened," he told her, frowning in confusion as he met her gaze.

"Memories," she shook her head and offered him a fleeting smile meant to soothe his worries. "I'm not afraid of them."

"Your attack?" he asked softly and watched her nod quietly. "I feel very protective of you," he told her and his lips twitched in a grin when she blushed and bit her lip.

"Then you won't let anything happen to me," she told him sincerely and he stared at her in wonder.

"Your trust in me is unfailing, Miss Weber," he said and touched his bent fingers to her cheek in a fleeting caress. "How is it that you do not doubt me?"

"You've never given me a reason to," she said simply and his eyes widened.

"I've never – I am a vampire," he nearly stumbled over his protest borne of surprise.

"So is Papa," she reasoned and he opened his mouth to protest again.

"Give it up," Edward chuckled to Michael quietly. "She'll never doubt you simply because of what you are."

"You humble me, Miss Weber," Michael said and caught sight of the amused frustration on her face. "What?"

"Angela," she told him with a barely hidden laugh. "Say it with me. Angela."

"Miss Angela," Michael corrected and Angela chuckled as she dropped her forehead against his chest, so close were they standing.

"You are so stubborn," she laughed and playfully pushed at Michael, blushing when he smiled and tucked her hand into the bend of his elbow.

"So I am," he chuckled. "But you are worth it," he promised her and though she didn't understand what he meant, she smiled all the same.

"They're staring at us," she whispered to him when she caught sight of the gathering of her family and guests.

"We were standing rather close together," he told her and she frowned up at him in confusion.

"What does that have to do with anything?" she asked and glanced at Emmett when she heard him chuckle. "What?"

"I'll explain later," Alice told Angela quickly, before Michael could say what her vision had told her he would. "Sister talk," she said with a wink and Angela nodded quietly.

"Nice save," Rosalie told Alice too low for Angela to hear.

"Well she certainly wouldn't have understood the 'it's not proper' comment that he was going to make," Alice said.

Jasper shook his head, "I can't wait for tonight," he said with a smile. "If today has been anything to go by, she's going to be glowing."

"You'll share?" Alice asked him excitedly and smiled brightly as she gave a decisive nod. "You will share. Oh…"

"Now that's not fair," Edward looked at Alice. "Really, fashion week? Ugh, at least Rose thinks about cars."

"Some things are best left as surprises," she said primly and Edward shook his head.

"If you say so," he said and looked back at the door when he heard the approach of Aro and Suplicia.

"More of our kind?" Suplicia asked with surprise.

"The historian Angela's been working for, for well over a year," Edward said and nodded to Monica, "and her father, Frederick who also happens to be the one that crafts Carlisle's crests."

"A magnet, indeed," Marcus said as he stepped outside and looked around at all of the vampires. "Aro, we should leave for our hunt soon," he reminded his brother.

"Hunt?" Angela asked and looked back at them all. "You're leaving?"

"We'll be coming back, dear one," Aro assured her and still felt amazed when she willingly took his hand.

_Just a hunt, right? You'll be back?_ Angela spoke through her thoughts to Aro and he nodded. _What? You always have that strange look on your face when we talk like this. Do you…do you not like it? Am I…Am I invading?_

"You?" Aro asked and laughed with incredulity. "You are asking if you are being invasive of _me_?" he asked and shook his head. "You are not being invasive in the least," he promised and touched his free hand to her cheek. "My continued surprise is because of you. No one has ever welcomed me into their minds with the ease that you do. How is it that you do not see me as invasive?"

Angela tipped her head to the side in question and bit her lip as she stared at him. She truly didn't understand the question. Why would she consider his talent invasive? It was a part of who he was, it was how he understood people, how he learned about them. She didn't see his talent as something to be afraid of or something that he should be made ashamed of. Aro felt his being filled once more to overflowing with the depth of her compassion, the wealth of her healing and warm spirit. Closing his eyes as he regained his internal balance, he stepped closer and kissed her forehead.

"Thank you," he whispered to her with reverence.

"I didn't do anything," she said with a confused shake of her head and Edward chuckled behind them.

"She doesn't see it," Edward told Aro, his voice too low for her to hear. "No matter how powerful she is, she doesn't understand that she's the one who's healing you or anyone else. All she wants…"

"Is for those around her to be happy and at peace," Aro finished his thought and smiled. "We will return as soon as possible, my dear," he promised Angela as he returned his attention to her. "We simply have a bit of business to take care of."

Angela nodded silently. _Be careful,_ she told him as she thought of the threats made by Victoria and her stalker. He chuckled at her thought and nodded as he released her hand and nodded to the others before he stepped away. She was telling him to be careful, worried that one rogue vampire or a vile human would harm him. He looked back once before skirting into the woods, Felix, Marcus and Suplicia already having slipped into the trees. In all of his three thousand years, he had never met a single person like Angela – except perhaps for Carlisle.

"She truly is his daughter," he whispered to himself before disappearing into the woods.


	56. Chapter 54

Chapter 54

His anger was a palpable thing. It coursed through him as strong and as turbulent as the ocean currents causing his muscles to quiver with the force it took to rein it in. His joints were stiff, locked into place as he stood tall and strong, if only to keep himself from attacking as his temper pushed him to. He knew that he was giving voice to his anger, but even if he wanted to stop the sound that vibrated through his chest and rumbled from his throat as powerful as thunder, he knew he wouldn't be able to. He tried once more to subdue the will of the one who stood in front of him, but it was to no avail and he pulled back as Jacob Black refused his command and towered over him instead, his russet fur ruffling in the wind.

_I don't care if you like it or not, Sam. This _is_ what we do. He may be human, but he's still a monster. Seth's going and so am I. _Jacob growled low in his throat, baring his fangs as he stepped closer in a threatening manner when Sam snarled. _Has it ever occurred to you that if both Seth and I are feeling so strongly about this and willing – _actually willing_ – to work with those red-eyed vampires that maybe it's _you_ who's seeing things wrong? _

_You're talking about hunting a _human! Sam shouted through the pack telepathy and felt Jacob's disbelief through the bond that connected the wolves.

_Seth's right, you really are blind. I'm going and I will come back once the hunt is done, but maybe you should think about these absolutes you've created. You're a complete hypocrite if you think that all humans are good. What this guy has done is worse than what vampires do, at least those leeches kill to eat, he kills because he _likes_ it. _

Sam snarled once again as Jacob turned away from him, the command of his bark ignored as the russet colored wolf ran into the forest and disappeared among the trees. They had all seen through Seth's shared memories that Carlisle had granted Aro the permission to hunt down Angela's stalker, the serial killer who was hunting her. They had each also seen Seth's decision to assist the vampires and no amount of commands or anger projected through the pack telepathy could stop the youngest wolf. Once he made up his mind there was no changing it and just like his grandfather, Seth didn't see anything in black or white.

"You know, I hate to say it," Jared said as he stepped up in his human form. "But I think he's right. Look, we all know he holds alpha blood that they both do. If you keep pushing them like this you're going to divide the pack. You can argue that the man they're after is human all you like, but do you really think someone like that deserves to live?"

"When did you start defending them?" Sam asked after phasing back to his human form.

"When you got stupid," he quipped. "Just to be clear here, Sam, in case you can't feel it let me be the one to tell you that you're causing a rift. If you keep pushing them both like this, they won't take command from you, they'll leave the pack and form their own."

Sam snorted and ground his teeth together. "You've never been supportive of Seth's decision to guard Angela before, why the change now?"

Jared shook his head and gave a huff of amusement. "Let's just say that I had to get past myself before I could see anything differently. I was pissed off for a long time about being a wolf. Hell, I was the ladies man at the res high, then after I phased I imprinted on a girl I'd never even looked twice at. I was angry and confused and took it out on Seth and the Cullens."

"So what are you saying?" Sam asked, his eyebrow raised in equal parts question and defiance.

"I'm saying, let them go or stand by them, but if you keep fighting them you're only going to break apart the pack," Jared sighed and shook his head. "I've thought about joining them for this hunt, but I can't fight your orders like they can, so I stay behind."

Sam turned his attention back to the forest and growled low in his throat as he released the last of his anger. He couldn't join a hunt when the target was human, regardless of what the man had done; he had sworn to protect humans. Hunting one made him feel no better than the vampires they were supposed to protect the town from. No, Sam shook his head and turned away from the forest, he would not join the hunt nor would anyone else. Jacob and Seth were on their own for this and he prayed that they survived, but he wouldn't allow anyone else to join in. Jared was right about one thing though, the more he pushed at Seth to give up his friendship with Angela, the larger the rift grew between them. If he continued to do the same with Jacob, then it wouldn't be a question of 'if' but rather 'when' the two split to form their own pack. Now more than ever he couldn't risk the pack being torn in two.

"I know you don't like it," Jared said as he walked beside Sam back to Emily's house. "But you should know them both well enough by now to know that neither one of them would join a hunt like this if they didn't feel so strongly about it."

"You really agree with them?" Sam asked as he fought against his rising temper.

"I do," Jared nodded slowly only once. "If you could see outside the lines of species, you'd see it too."

"You are not to engage in the hunt _at all_," Sam commanded. "I am only allowing you to go as protection for Jacob and Seth. Back them up if they get in trouble, but do not engage otherwise."

"Done," Jared said with carefully controlled excitement.

Sam stood watching as Jared ran for the trees, phasing just before he reached the edge of the forest and shook his head. He didn't see what they saw; he didn't understand how they could willingly bring harm to a human. Then again, Sam shook his head and stepped inside the house, Emily had once told him that logic was never exactly his strong suit. She had told him once that he held too many boundaries – this is right and that is wrong – and that the world didn't run on absolutes. Maybe it was time he started listening to her.

**:::::**

The trees welcomed him, the forest surrounding him as his sandy brown and dark blond fur acted as the perfect camouflage and made him nearly unseen. His thick paws sank into the damp earth, the ferns, grasses, and wet leaves cushioning his steps and muffling the noise of his movements. He had followed the four ancient vampires from the moment they had left the Cullen's house and was trailing downwind behind them. Quickening his pace when he heard Jacob's voice in his mind telling him to stop, Seth trotted closer only to stop when the vampires turned as one and hissed at him, the movement little more than instinct. Phasing back to his human form, Seth held up his hands in a defensive manner and shook his head.

"I'm not here to stop you, I'm here to go with you," he said and offered his hand to Aro.

"You truly mean what you say wolf," Aro said as he nodded and clasped Seth's hand.

"Seth," he corrected when Aro released his hand. "This guy's a monster," he said his words colored by notes of anger. "At least you all kill to feed, he doesn't."

"Seth!" Jacob's voice sounded behind him and he turned to watch as the older teen approached him. "I'm going with you."

"Two wolves joining us for this hunt?" Felix said with surprise. "You two do realize that we are intending to kill a human."

"A human who's killed twenty-three girls Angela's age and at least two children under the age of six that we know about," Jacob said. "Human or not, he's a threat to the town. They'll be three of us, actually," he said after a moment and looked at Seth. "Sam sent Jared after us for back up, but he won't be taking part in the hunt."

"It's not even sunset yet," Seth said and turned back to the vampires in front of them. "How do you plan on doing this? We're faster and stronger in our wolf forms. Night will provide us both with needed cover."

"How is it you said it the other day?" Felix said as he looked at Seth. "This is recon. We find him first, we keep track of him and then when it's dark enough or he's alone we take him down."

"And if he's not alone?" Jacob asked.

"Then we draw him away," Marcus said and grinned when Aro looked at him.

"Which one?" Aro asked after a moment, not wishing to move to read the man's thoughts.

"Felix," Marcus chuckled.

"Of course it is," Aro rolled his eyes.

"What is me?" Felix asked and looked to Marcus.

"They will follow your lead," Marcus told him and nodded to Seth and Jacob.

"Oh," Felix nodded slowly. "You're ok with that?" he asked Aro, the men forgetting that the wolves could hear them perfectly no matter how low they kept their conversation.

"That is another conversation we need to have, but it will happen later," Aro said to his friend and guard. "We should go."

Suplicia watched with wide eyed wonder as Seth and Jacob phased into their wolf forms. She smiled when Seth wagged his tail and yipped at her before moving to trot close to her as they resumed the hunt. In all of his interactions with the female vampire, she reminded him a lot of Esme and he found that he truly didn't like the thought of her getting hurt. Vampire or not, Seth knew that he would protect her on this joint hunt. He realized that Aro knew his intentions as well when the man nodded to him and offered a soft sound of amusement in reply.

Jacob shook his head as he trotted forward, keeping a distance from the group as he adjusted once more to the scent of the vampires. He agreed with the hunt completely, but it was still an adjustment for him to become used to fighting alongside vampires instead of against them. Especially considering that these four vampires fed on humans. Their goal was the same though: protect the town and protect Angela. He cast his eyes toward Seth when he heard the younger wolf speak to him through the pack telepathy.

_It hurts her, Jake. Bella won't say anything, but I can see it in her eyes that your avoidance hurts her. I thought you two were friends?_

_We are, Seth,_ Jacob replied as they increased their speed to match the vampires once they found McGinnis' trail. _I just can't be around her right now._

_Why not? She doesn't understand and quite frankly, neither do I._ _Are you really that repulsed by Edward's scent?_

Jacob stayed quiet, refusing to directly answer the question. He wasn't repulsed by Edward's scent at all, that was the problem. He was confused by the fact that he actually liked both their scents, but more specifically liked the smell of it when they stood close enough for their scents to mix together. He didn't understand it at all and his confusion only made him more irritable. All he wanted was to understand his reaction to their scents, but no matter how hard he thought about it there didn't seem to be an answer. It angered him more that he knew, in loving a vampire, what Bella was really doing was giving up her life. She would be killed, turned into one of them and he didn't understand how she could throw everything away.

_Angela will eventually be a vampire, too,_ Seth told him as he fell back to run beside the russet wolf. _Why doesn't her being changed bother you as much as Bella's does?_

_I don't know. I don't understand any of this, Seth. I didn't ask for any of it. _Jacob shook the thoughts from his mind and breathed in deeply as he focused on the scent they were tracking. _Just focus on the hunt._

Jacob took in another deep breath only to growl low and stop as he lifted his face into the wind. McGinnis' scent was mixed with another's. He could smell it, there was the barest hint of someone else in the scent, but there was a heavy fog of peppers and vinegar covering it up that it was hard to get a lock on. He turned his attention back to the group in front of him when Felix spoke to him, telling him that he caught the other scent as well. Wherever the man was taking this other person, they were heading east and that direction led toward La Push.

**:::::**

She knew she was staring, but she couldn't help it. The man was a few inches taller than herself, six foot three would be her guess as he wasn't quite as tall as Emmett. He held a sturdy build, corded muscles rounding his arms and making him appear a bit like a woodsman. His hair was thick and full, but cut in a manner that lightly framed his face with dark reddish brown waves. His face was pale and beautiful, decorated with a close cut, neatly trimmed full beard that was just a shade darker than his hair color. He didn't look that old physically and as Angela studied Frederick, she would guess that he was in his early forties at the oldest when he was changed. His eyes were crimson, sparkling like rubies and dancing with a light of humor and mischief that made him look years younger than the soft crinkles at the corners of his eyes allowed. Her attention fell away from him when Monica shifted, moving just a step or two closer and as Angela looked at the woman she was surprised by the close physical resemblance. Had Monica truly been this man's daughter before she was turned, she wondered.

"No," Edward chuckled softly and she looked at him. "Frederick chose her for the same reason that the Denali sisters were chosen: her physical appearance and personality are very similar to his own. Similar enough that she would easily be mistaken for a true daughter. He's more than four hundred years older than she is though."

"Oh," Angela said, the word little more than a whisper spoken in her mind and formed by her rounded lips.

Angela bit her lip as she stared in wonder at the woman she had known through phone calls, emails and video chats for nearly four years. She had never even suspected that Monica's excellent grasp of history could be the result of living through it and seeing it first hand, but as she stared at the beautiful golden eyed vampire, she wondered how she had missed it. Blushing when she realized she was staring, Angela shook her head and looked at Monica as she tried to voice the question that she couldn't quite find the words for. Turning her eyes on Edward, she watched her brother chuckle and nod before turning his attention on Monica.

"She has so many questions for you," he told the woman. "It's hard for her to focus on just one, but the loudest one in her mind seems to revolve around when you became a vampire. You two have truly known each other for four years?" he asked Monica with wide eyes.

"Longer than that," Monica said. "I think you were barely twelve when we met in the Oxford world history chat room," she said turning her attention on Angela. "You had such an incredible grasp of ancient and medieval history. I didn't realize how young you were when I first started asking for your assistance in researching local legends around the Olympic Peninsula. I'm surprised your parents never objected."

Angela stilled at the thought of her human parents and shook her head before forcing a smile. She didn't want to think about them or remember the pain of that time as they had abandoned her so soon after her twelfth birthday. Their cruelty towards her in the years before aside, their abandonment still hurt. She looked up when she felt the hand on her back and smiled at Carlisle when he rubbed her back before smiling at her and dropping a kiss to her forehead. Tucking her hair behind her ear and looking at Michael, he instructed his daughter's suitor to lead her and Monica inside the house where they could speak more comfortably.

He knew that no matter how much Angela wanted them all to believe that she had moved past the pain of her parents' neglect, she never truly had. Physically and mentally the abuse she had suffered at their hands growing up had been much worse, but their abandonment had affected her on an emotional level that she was never willing to speak of. It made him wonder just how much their absence had hurt her during the six weeks his family had been split apart. Turning his attention back from the front of the house he saw Frederick staring after Angela as she disappeared into the house. His friend turned back to the car behind him without having seen him and Carlisle shook his head as he wondered if Frederick was aware that he was still outside with him.

Frederick stood still as he looked after the dark haired girl and knew that his lips were turned up in a smile. He had thought that he would be coming to meet a new vampire, not a human girl, but when he had interacted with her he could see the resemblance. He knew logically that there was no biological relation, but when he spoke with Angela and watched the way she interacted with his friend, he couldn't help but think that she truly was the man's daughter. Nodding to himself as he watched Carlisle's family turn and lead Monica and the three other vampires present inside the house, he turned back to the car to retrieve the box containing Angela's newly made crest.

"Carlisle," he spoke his friend's name with surprise when he closed the car door and turned around. "I thought you had gone in with the others."

"Not just yet," Carlisle said with an amused grin. "I was planning to stay out here and collect the necklace from you to present to Angela, but I have a sneaking suspicion that you are going to request that honor."

Frederick chuckled and nodded, "You would be correct, my friend. Tell me about this attack," he requested and walked slowly beside Carlisle. "Why was her necklace taken?"

Carlisle sighed and looked to the ground before turning his attention back to the man at his side. He recounted the incident slowly, explaining that the man who had attacked Angela had only taken the necklace because he had believed it to be a gift from Emmett. He paused outside the door as he went on to speak of who the man was and why he had targeted Angela. Carlisle could see the flash of anger in his friend's crimson gaze and nodded slowly. Vampires naturally killed humans to feed on their blood, but it seemed to be a common understanding among most if not all of their kind that torture and killing unnecessarily was barbaric and cruel.

"When she discovered her crest had been taken she became very upset. I never knew how much comfort it brought her until then," Carlisle said sadly only to smile at the sight of the box in his friend's hand. "Be prepared though, Frederick. Angela's reaction to that may not be what you expect," Carlisle warned, nodding to the jewelry box before opening the door and allowing his friend to step into the house before him.

He wanted to question Carlisle on that particular statement, but found his attention drawn away by the girl in question. He had seen humans around vampires before, but he couldn't remember a single one who seemed to be as comfortable and happy as Angela was. The few he could remember had always seemed skittish, suspicious of the undead monsters that stuck to the shadows, but not Angela. No, the ease and comfort with which she took to the vampires surrounding her made him chuckle. She didn't see any of them as a threat which seemed to beg the question, how had she come to be part of Carlisle's family? There was a story there, he knew there was, but he had a feeling that it was a dark one full of pain.

"I wasn't able to find much," Monica said as she handed the file over to Angela. "But what I did find made me suspicious. Alice isn't an old woman, is she?"

"Depends on your definition of old," a youthful vampire with pixie cut black hair said as she approached them. "I'm Alice."

"You're Alice," Monica nodded and took in a breath as she turned her attention back on Angela. "I _knew _I heard you almost slip during our last conversation. I _knew it!_" she said triumphantly and chuckled. "You almost said 'human years'," she told Angela.

"Well if I'd known you were a vampire, I wouldn't have needed to be so careful," Angela told her with a wide eyed expression of innocence and Jasper chuckled behind them.

"So it's my fault you had to be so tight lipped about the whole thing?" Monica asked as she stared at Angela with humor.

"See? You even agree with me," Angela said with barely concealed humor and Monica stared at her with her mouth open in amused surprise.

"I just got my own argument thrown back at me, didn't I?" Monica laughed. "It's been too long," she said as she looked at the girl who had very quickly become one of her favorite students. "What happened? Why did you disappear on me?"

She watched as Angela's teasing demeanor vanished almost instantly to be replaced a subdued expression that seemed almost fearful. Monica grew concerned at Angela's rushed half hearted excuse of life getting in the way and placed her hand over Angela's to silence her before looking up at Carlisle for an explanation. He shook his head and spoke to her below the range of human hearing as he told her that he would tell her later. She nodded once and turned her attention back to Angela, patting the girl's hand gently and smiling at her.

"It's alright," Monica soothed and sat back. "I am curious though, you never told me what project you were working on before. The genealogy information I helped you with a few months ago regarding the McCarty clan."

"That was for me," Emmett said with pride and a large smile as he sat down beside Angela. "Half Pint found my family history for me. She made me a whole book set."

His arm fell over her shoulders and Angela frowned up at him in question at the feel of his energy surrounding her as though he were trying to protect her. It wasn't the first time that she had felt the ghost of a brush against her spirit, but lately she had been able to feel it much more clearly. He didn't say anything to her, only offered her a lopsided grin and kissed her forehead before turning back to the conversation. She didn't hear the soft chuckle from Edward behind her as he asked Jasper if it was his influence that Angela was feeling.

"Wasn't me," Jasper grinned. "The same way she's able to call for us is beginning to allow her to distinguish between us. She can feel our energy, not very well I don't think, but Emmett and I have been playing a sort of hide-and-seek with her. We don't say anything or announce our arrival, but she's been able to correctly guess which one of us it is every time."

"You all are continuously testing out her talents?" Eleazar asked softly as he stepped closer and looked from Jasper to Angela with concern.

"Yes, why?" Jasper frowned at the Spanish vampire.

"With her 'alarm' being tied to her migraines and her ability to communicate with Marcus draining her as it did, testing her powers while she's human could accentuate her migraines. I never realized before how much of what can she can do is tied to her migraines. Be careful with what you do," Eleazar cautioned and Jasper nodded quietly. "I've never met anyone with power like hers before."

"You're afraid that she'll be hurt by it?" Edward asked as he turned his full attention on the man.

"It's more that I'm advising caution in unfamiliar territory," he said instead and looked at Angela. "But I have a feeling that regardless of whether or not any of you initiated the testing, Angela's talents would continue to grow on her own."

"We don't like it either," Edward said softly as he read the man's thoughts. "Trust me, we all hate the pain her migraines cause her as much as you do," he said before turning his attention away from the Spanish vampire. "There you are," Edward said softly and held his hand out to Bella. "You've been hiding on me," he said as he drew her against his side.

"Charlie called," she said and looked down.

"He wants you home?" Edward asked softly and looked at Alice when he caught the worry in her gaze.

"I don't know, he sounded weird," Bella said and shook her head. "He said Renee called him, but he wouldn't tell me what they talked about. He just asked to speak with Esme. He's talking with her now."

"I'm sure everything will be alright," he said and rubbed her upper arm before dropping a kiss to her bowed head. "Alice?" he asked too low for Bella to hear.

"I can't see anything yet. I know that Renee told him about the conversation with Esme, but he doesn't seem to have made any decisions yet," she said and looked back toward the kitchen.

Edward looked down at Bella and could see the worry in her eyes, the fear that her father was upset with Edward or his family for keeping her away from him. Kissing her lips chastely, Edward wrapped both arms around her and held her against his chest as he bowed his head and pressed his lips against her warm soft hair. Whispering to Bella not to worry, he closed his eyes and blocked out the thoughts of those surrounding him as he focused his talent entirely on Esme. He could sense the growing disappointment and almost anger in her thoughts as she listened to Charlie speak, her maternal love fueling her protectiveness towards Bella. The Police Chief was not upset with any member of Edward's family in the least, Edward found as he listened into the conversation. It seemed that he was quite concerned instead as well as confused and had called Esme looking for answers.

Turning his head and resting his cheek on Bella's hair, Edward kept his eyes closed as he concentrated on the man's words and felt his own emotions rise with protective turmoil. Renee had called Charlie sometime late the night before only to tell him rather vaguely that the best thing for Bella was to remain with Esme. From what Charlie was telling his adoptive mother, it seemed that neither Renee nor Bella had ever told him that there had been other relationships before she had found Phil. Instead, as far as the man knew, Renee had been single until she had met Phil. That perception hadn't been corrected when his ex-wife had called him; instead all she had told him was that Bella's continued suffering was due to an incident from her childhood that Esme was helping her overcome. Neither he nor Esme understood why Renee hadn't simply told Charlie the entire story when she had called him, instead leaving that responsibility to Esme.

He listened as his mother spoke slowly to Charlie, relaying the heart wrenching information carefully. She told him about Ben, the first relationship Renee had had that had begun Bella's downward spiral from carefree child to the terrified guarded girl who had been forced to take on the role of adult. He listened as Esme continued, telling Charlie of her conversation with Renee in full and the other four relationships that had ended in a similar fashion for the same reasons. Rubbing Bella's back as he held her, Edward almost chuckled at the grumbling words from Charlie when he asked how Renee could not have seen how much Bella was obviously hurting. Though Esme did not defended the woman, she told Charlie simply that those closest to such situations were often blind the affects they had on others.

"_I'm working more hours than I would like,"_ he heard Charlie say, his tone betraying the displeasure he felt. _"It's not fair to Bella that I'm gone so often lately or that she's left alone so much. I would never wish to impose like this, but…"_

"_It's not an imposition, Charlie,"_ Esme answered, her voice full of warmth and maternal love. _"She's part of our family too and I promise you that we will take care of her. Stop by whenever you would like to see her."_

"_Carlisle's a lucky man,"_ Charlie said as his voice grew quiet. "_Thank you, Esme."_

"_You're most welcome, Charlie. And don't worry; Carlisle and I are doing what we can to help her through those memories. Be safe,"_ she told him before the call disconnected.

Turning his attention back to those in the room with him, Edward brushed his fingers down Bella's warm cheek and lifted her face to his with a curled finger beneath her chin. Kissing her lips slowly, he rested his forehead against hers and promised her in low tones that everything was alright. Her father had just been concerned about her and was worried about her being alone with the added hours he had been working. She would be staying with his family until Charlie's workload dropped back to normal and though neither he nor Alice knew when that time might be, he promised her that Charlie would visit and speak with her frequently. Smoothing his hand down the length of her dark hair, Edward took in a deep breath and lifted his head, meeting Carlisle's gaze and offering his father a slow nod.

Carlisle released a deep breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding as he looked at his son and the girl held wrapped in his arms. The phone call his wife had been engaged in had not missed his attention either and he looked at Bella, offering her a comforting smile when her dark eyes met his gaze. Both of his human daughters still had long way to go on their road to emotional and physical recovery, but he was glad that they would both remain under his constant care. Charlie was a good father, he had no doubt of that, but he felt better having Bella here with his family. Casting his eyes back to Angela, he felt his lips pull up at the side in a crooked smile when Frederick moved forward as Angela stood from her seat on the couch.

"Do you mind if I interrupt for a moment?" Frederick asked Angela before she could move away.

Frederick chuckled when Angela blushed and nodded but remained quiet. She really was quite a fascinating girl and reminded him very much of Monica. His own daughter often remained quiet, more often than not preferring to observe those around her rather than engage in too much action. Motioning with his arm to invite Angela to step out of the awkward place that she stood between the couch and coffee table, he stepped a few paces away before offering her the box he held. Biting her lip and frowning in curiosity, she glanced at Carlisle and watched him give her a slow nod before she took the box from Frederick.

The silk was cool and smooth beneath her fingertips, the feel of the fine fabric delicate and precious. Holding the bottom of the box in one hand, she gripped the top carefully with her other hand and opened the hinged lid. She stilled, her eyes growing wide as she stared at something she feared she would never again see. Lying upon a bed of black velvet lay her necklace. The platinum stood out in stark contrast to the dark material cushioning it, the red jade stone carved into the intricate arcs and hollows that formed the Cullen Crest. She looked up at Frederick, her mouth moving as she tried to form the words to the question in her mind.

"How did you know?" she asked after a moment, her tone breathless and colored with an emotion he couldn't quite identify.

"I am the one who makes them," Frederick said and frowned when he saw the shine of moisture as tears formed in her eyes.

"You…you made this? By hand?" Angela asked as she looked down at the necklace before lifting her eyes to meet his gaze.

"Yes," he nodded as he began to fear that she was upset by the necklace.

The box closed in her hand as her fingers tightened around the lid and bottom, the clamshell lid snapping together when she moved without thought. No matter how hard she tried, Angela couldn't speak the words racing through her mind, not realizing that she had moved until she felt Frederick's arms close around her. She heard Edward's voice rumbling low in the background and realized that he was speaking her thoughts for her as she cried in the man's arms. She had feared that she would never again see her familiar crest, but when he had presented her with the necklace Angela had felt as though her heart was at once both breaking and fusing together.

Frederick found himself unable to speak as he looked down on the human girl in his arms and felt his being filled with a firestorm of emotion that seemed to be born of love and warmth. He felt as though he were touching the sun, so powerful was the flood of warmth thrumming through him. Petting her dark locks as he listened to Edward speak of Angela's thoughts, he looked back over his shoulder when he felt the box taken from Angela's hand. Carlisle stood next to him, opening the clamshell jewelry box and removing the necklace from it before setting the box aside on the low coffee table. Calling Angela's name to gain her attention, Carlisle looked at his daughter and held out the necklace in both hands. Her tears continued to fall as she stepped forward and stood still while he fastened the necklace around her.

"Thank you," she said, meeting Frederick's gaze before turning her eyes back down to the crest hanging around her neck.

"You're very welcome," he replied almost breathlessly and looked at Carlisle. "Does she know?" he asked in reference to the burning warmth that continued to pulse around his spirit.

"No," Carlisle smiled quietly. "She is unaware of her own power."

"Oh!" Angela said and turned around as she searched for Jasper. "Your wristband," she said as the southern vampire stepped closer to her.

"Allow me," Alice smiled as she moved forward and took the leather band from around Angela's wrist. "Don't ever doubt where you belong," she whispered to Jasper, too low for anyone but him to hear and fastened the leather cuff around his right wrist. "You are a Cullen, Mr. Whitlock."

"It seems that the only one I have left to make a crest for," Frederick said as he turned his eyes on Bella, "is you, my dear."

Bella blushed and looked up at Edward before meeting Frederick's crimson gaze. She could tell that he took great pleasure in his work and frowned in question when she realized that he was studying her. Uncertain of whether or not he was waiting for a response from her, Bella simply nodded quietly and glanced behind him at Carlisle. The blond man chuckled softly, his lips moving quickly, but his words too low for her to hear. Frederick smiled and winked at Bella before nodding and turning around to stare at Carlisle.

"Edward?" Bella asked when the two men left the room.

"Carlisle is generally the one who designs the crests, but it seems that he's going to let me design yours, if you'd like," he said and Bella frowned.

"I never really considered how they were made before," she said as she looked at Angela, not surprised to see that the oval platinum amulet was hidden in her friend's palm as the pad of her thumb stroked repeatedly over the carved red jade.

"Neither had Angela until Frederick presented it to her," he told her with a smile. "Come on, Esme's making you two lunch," he said as he took her hand and led her toward the kitchen.

Angela looked down at the delicately carved stone she held in her hand and smiled as she bit her lip. Logically, she had known that not having her crest hadn't meant that she was no longer part of their family, but emotionally she had been a mess without it. Holding the pendant and feeling the cool smooth platinum become warm from her body heat as her thumb stroked over the curves and hollows of the carved stone brought her a sense of comfort that was indescribable. She smiled up at her four vampire siblings, meeting each of their smiling gazes in turn where they stood in the room around her and closed her eyes when Jasper moved close enough to wrap his arm around her shoulders. Leaning her head against his chest she offered him a smile when he kissed her forehead before moving away to join Alice on the couch. The painful memories of being alone and on her own felt to be a lifetime ago and when she opened her eyes and met Emmett's gaze, she couldn't thank him enough for giving her the family that surrounded her now. Closing her eyes as she thought over everything that had happened in the past near year that she had spent with the Cullens, she felt her heart burn brightly with the love of the family that surrounded her.

Lifting her eyes from the crest hanging around her neck, Angela looked around the room and sniffled as she lifted a hand to wipe away her drying tears. The one thing she had never believed would ever be hers was surrounding her in a way she had never imagined possible. Her smile widened, a somewhat soggy laugh sounding from her as Emmett held her gaze and stepped closer to wrap her in his arms. She laughed once more at herself when more tears fell and wrapped her arms around her brother as she thanked him softly for giving her the family she had always dreamed of. He kissed her forehead, held her close and stroked her hair as he shifted his attention to meet Jasper's gaze.

"I've never felt anything so strong," Monica whispered with awe as she looked at Alice. "It's like…I can't even describe it," she said with a hand pressed against her abdomen as she remained seated on the couch.

Alice giggled softly and looked up at her husband. It wasn't the first time that such a statement had been made regarding her human sister and she was certain it wouldn't be the last. It was a bit like watching a sunrise Alice mused as she turned her attention back to Monica and began discussing the information that the woman had found in Biloxi. Angela's spirit was brilliant and warm, a soothing balm that ghosted across the sky in the most delicate colors until something sparked the light of love and happiness inside her. When that happened, Alice smiled when she heard Edward's chuckle as he read her thoughts, when Angela was made happy it was akin to watching the brilliant orange-gold sun breaking across the horizon over the water. Just like the rising sun, Angela's light filled every dark place it could reach.

"C'mon, Half pint," Emmett chuckled and smoothed away the last of her drying tears. "You need to be fattened up," he told her and she squeaked when he tossed her over his shoulder and laughed as he headed for the kitchen.

**:::::**

Bella slipped from the kitchen with a few soft spoken words, a paltry excuse that she didn't remember seconds after uttering it. She had eaten most of the meal prepared for her by Esme, but still feared her stomach might rebel as her emotions stayed too close to the surface for her comfort. She shook her head when Edward stepped close to her, whispered that she was fine, but refused to meet his eyes as she moved toward the stairs. All she wanted to do was lie down. Her headache was back and she couldn't help wondering if its reappearance was due to her efforts to swallow her fear. Angela was fine, she told herself, glancing at the girl before ascending the stairs. She was fine and she was happy again and fully engaged once more, but no matter how hard she tried she couldn't forget those weeks when her friend had been little more than a zombie at best…unconscious or completely unresponsive at worst.

She had done it again. Just as with her mother's boyfriends, Bella had destroyed another relationship. She shook her head, negating her own thoughts as she closed herself inside the bathroom, the one place where she never had to worry about someone coming in. Sinking slowly to the floor with her legs bent tightly against her chest, she wrapped her arms around her legs and buried her face in the tops of her knees. They were back, she told herself, they were back and Angela was happy so why couldn't she be? Lifting her head, her eyes fell to look at her undamaged finger. One slip was all it would take, one fall, one scrape, one _accident_ and she would tear Angela's world apart again.

She breathed harshly, choking on her own tears and covered her mouth in hopes of silencing the sound of her emotions. She had broken her own mother's heart five times over the course of her lifetime and now she had broken Angela's. When would she learn? How many lives would she have to destroy before she finally understood what the world had been trying to tell her? Some people simply aren't meant to get that happy ever after. She shook her head slowly and buried her face once more in the tops of her knees as her tears continued to fall. She should have understood that message from the ordeal with James, she thought. If she had listened to Edward, if she had just gone back to Florida with her mother and Phil then none of this would have happened.

"Bella?"

She gasped and sat up at the gentle sound of Esme's voice coming through the door from the other side. Sniffling and scrubbing at her face to hide the evidence of her tears, she tried to stand but found the vertical movement to be dizzying. Clenching her jaw as she braced her hand against the lid of the closed toilet seat, she tried to stand, gritting her teeth and squeezing her eyes closed at the heavy and oppressive feeling of the room spinning wildly out of control around her. She could hear Esme call to her again, but with her blood rushing madly in her ears; it felt to her that she was hearing the woman's voice from underwater.

"Sweetheart, are you alright? Can I come in?" Esme asked and Bella nodded.

She struggled to make her voice work, fought against the incessant vertigo, but each time she tried to rise higher than a crouching position her vision turned nearly black as the room spun around her. She thought she spoke up, the sound of her own voice muddled and distorted, and knew that she had almost fallen when Esme's gentle touch stopped her from collapsing. Her vision was too blurred to see anything clearly, but she trusted Esme and relied on her for support and guidance as she was led to sit on the closed toilet seat only inches away.

"Breathe, honey," Esme instructed with gentle force as she petted Bella's hair away from her face and rubbed her back. "That's it, Sweetheart," she coached slowly as the girl's heart rate finally began to slow. "There you go…How do you feel?" she asked after a few moments.

"What?" Bella mumbled the question as she tried to focus her mind and heard Esme utter a soft sound of concern before she felt herself lifted into a pair of strong feminine arms. "Esme," she mumbled as her eyes fell closed, her body refusing her every command.

"It's alright, Bella, just go to sleep," Esme soothed as she lowered Bella to the bed and looked up at Carlisle when he appeared in the doorway. "She was on the verge of passing out. She could barely form words," Esme told her husband in concern as he stepped up to the bed and sat down beside Bella.

"She didn't eat very much, did she?" he asked only to sigh when Esme shook her head as he touched his hand to her brow and then her cheeks. "She's still very warm; her fever isn't going down at all."

"She needs rest," Esme said as she stepped over to the chair and gathered fresh sleep clothes for Bella from the bag she had packed.

"She needs more than that," Jasper said from the open doorway, wincing slightly as he absently rubbed his hand over his silent heart.

"Jasper?" Esme looked at her adopted son as he entered the room only to stare down at Bella's sleeping form.

"She's filled with despair and unease," he said, his expression full of worry as he looked down on his human sibling. "She tries so hard to hide what she's feeling from everyone else, but she can't hide it from me. Why don't you two let me try with her? I think I'll be better able to understand what she doesn't say."

Esme looked at Jasper, meeting his gaze for a long moment as she considered his request. Turning back to the bag resting on the chair, she withdrew a soft set of cotton sleeping clothes from within and stepped back to Bella's bedside. Even she could see the lines of emotional pain written on her human's daughter's sleeping face and when she looked up at Carlisle, she saw the matching answer in his eyes. Turning her silent gaze on Jasper, Esme nodded and turned her attention back to Bella.

"Let me get her changed and then I'll leave her to you," Esme told her son softly.

"She'll be alright," Jasper promised her before stepping aside as Carlisle exited the room and pulled the door closed behind him.

"How bad?" Carlisle asked Jasper.

Jasper looked down as he considered Carlisle's question. He could feel the emotions darkening Bella's heart and though their power had lessened somewhat with her descent into sleep, they hadn't disappeared completely. He wasn't certain if words would be able to provide an accurate insight into Bella's emotional state and frowned as he tried to put his thoughts into words. Shaking his head and turning his eyes on Carlisle, he told his adoptive father that there was no description that would make him understand what Bella was feeling.

"Then let me feel it," Carlisle said softly and Jasper nodded slowly.

Jasper took in a slow deep breath as he closed his eyes and focused on Bella. He knew the instant Carlisle was able to feel the emotions he was projecting from the girl sleeping behind the closed door and opened his eyes as he released Carlisle from the power of his talent. He could feel the man's worry grow tenfold, his amber gaze a shade darker with his own emotional turmoil as he turned his attention on the dark wood door and watched as his wife opened the door and stepped out of the room. Esme nodded at Jasper as she stepped past him, leaving the door open for him to step through.

"What can we do?" Carlisle asked his son and Jasper turned back around with a sigh.

"I don't know," he said softly, his southern accent thick. "Let me do what I can," Jasper offered, "I'll let you know if I find anything specific, anything that might help her more than what we've been doing."

He watched as Carlisle cast one last lingering worried stare on Bella before pulling the door closed and leaving him alone with his slumbering sister. He could feel her exhaustion clouding her as though it were a layer of oil coating her skin, thick and unclean. Leaning down to untie his boots, Jasper toed out of the brown leather slowly as he studied Bella before lying down beside her. Turning on his side as he settled against her, he enfolded her in his arms and curled around her protectively.

The emotions darkening her heart made him wince and he closed his eyes as he tipped his head down, his cheek brushing against the silk covering the pillow as his lips came to rest upon her hair. Kissing her head and brushing the backs of his fingers down her warm cheek, he whispered to her, promising her that she wasn't alone. He was thankful that he didn't actually have a physical need to breathe as her emotions made it feel difficult for him to do so and he released a shuddering sigh as he rolled onto his back and turned her to lie upon his chest.

"Darlin', I promise you you're not alone, and whatever it is your mind is telling you, it's not right," he whispered to the sleeping girl in his arms, his voice full of the pain he felt from her.

He could feel her fear, the emotion seeming to twine around the despair and guilt she felt, each dark emotion playing on the other to make them stronger in turn. It felt to him that those same three emotions were boring a hole in her heart, the feel of it tightening his chest as he felt the doubt underneath it all that seemed to be hollowing her out. Tipping his head forward to kiss her hair once more, he rubbed his hand slowly over her back and fought to think of something that might comfort her while she slept. He searched his mind for something, anything that would at the very least take away the maddening, aching feeling of the loneliness emanating from her.

These weren't new emotions, Jasper realized as he began to softly sing The Hymn of the Republic to her, his southern tenor rich and smooth. No, these emotions had been there before for quite some time, but she had buried them deep enough to almost forget them. He had felt them once before, he realized as he looked up at the ceiling and stroked her hair gently as he continued to sing. When James had threatened his family, before they had all parted ways, he and Alice driving her down to Phoenix, that had been the first time he had felt these emotions from her. Though, at that time, they hadn't held nearly the power that they did now. Back then he had felt her sense of doubt and unworthiness stronger than he did the emotions storming within her now, but they had been there deep beneath the surface even then.

"Shh, hush, little one," he soothed gently when she stirred against him. "I've got you, darlin'," he promised her and rubbed her back.

How long had these emotions been there, he wondered as he pulled the comforter higher around her shoulders. How long had she felt this darkness clouding her thoughts and distorting her self-image? Jasper looked down at the human girl lying in his arms, her warm breaths puffing against him as she slept curled against his chest. He held her close, the blankets she was wrapped in keeping her warm and cushioning while she slept. She whimpered softly, the sound frightened and pained, her emotions tearing at his heart and Jasper used his talent to offer what comfort he could. She curled closer, the grief and pain he felt from her strengthening as her breaths became hitched, stilted and the scent of salt water filled the air. He whispered to her, soothed her as best he could with his talent and his words as he held her closer and rubbed her back.

Bella was exhausted, but more than that, Jasper knew that her emotions were riding at an all-time low. Her heart was filled with deep seated guilt, pain that was both new from the time that they had left months earlier, but also very old. His hand slipped against her cheek, his palm cupping her face and he frowned with worry as he looked down into her face. Her skin was too warm, the usually pale tone of her complexion tinted with pink and he pressed his lips together in displeasure. He looked up at the sound of the steps nearing the door, watched as the hard wood opened to reveal Edward. His telepathic brother's face was set in a mask of worry, the emotions coming from him dark and full of turmoil.

"How much is she trying to hide from me – from us," he amended as he looked at his love lying in Jasper's arms.

"A lot," Jasper said sadly as Edward moved closer to sit on the opposite side of her. "She's terrified, beyond anything I've felt from her before. I think it's her upset that's keeping her from eating too much, if you've noticed, she's been quieter than she usually is. It's more than just us leaving, more than Angela's condition that brought her to this point."

"Carlisle's concerned that her fever isn't breaking," Edward sighed as brushed his hand over the length of Bella's hair. "Esme's almost certain that there's more that Renee didn't tell her and you…I can feel her emotions through you. You're worried enough that you don't want her left alone at all. Are you afraid she might try to hurt herself?" he asked as he moved slowly and laid down behind his love.

"I don't know," Jasper said slowly as his attention returned to Bella's sleeping face. "That's the problem; I don't know what she might do. Neither does Alice. All her visions tell her is that Bella needs sleep and lots of it. As long as one of us is holding her, Alice is certain that Bella will sleep throughout the weekend."

"But if we're not, if she's left alone to sleep, she'll wake?" Edward questioned with a furrowed brow as he tried to understand his brother's thoughts.

"Her visions weren't clear, or at least she wasn't," Jasper said and looked down when Bella whimpered in her sleep and stirred against him. "Shh, it's alright, darlin'. Edward and I are here," he promised her and chaffed the pad of his thumb over her cheek bone, his hand still gently cupping her face.

"Shh, I'm right here, Bella," Edward soothed when she called his name in her sleep. "I'm right here next to you, you're not alone."

She calmed quickly, even as her heartbeat and breathing remained faster than normal. Edward pursed his lips as he studied her sleeping form, knowing that even as she slept, her exhaustion was weakening her, her depleted system unable to fight off even the smallest of illnesses. He slipped his arm beneath the blankets, wrapping it around Bella and holding her close when Alice came to call Jasper. Michael and Angela were ready to leave and Edward nodded to his brother as he moved carefully from his place tucked against Bella. It was a slow, careful dance that was performed as Jasper moved away and Edward took his place, his love curling against his chest as she remained asleep.

"Catch," Alice said to Edward, tossing the object in her hand over her shoulder as she exited the room.

Edward chuckled softly as he caught the stuffed bear in one hand and grinned as he tucked it into Bella's arm. Kissing her forehead and speaking soft comforts to her when she whimpered in her sleep, Edward held her wrapped in his arms. He closed his eyes as he turned his head to press his cheek against her brow. If he'd thought it once, he'd thought a million times how very much he wished he could read her mind. Her silence was deafening, and he knew that she wouldn't speak of those things that hurt her. She had never spoken of James, not after the final battle, but he had seen the worry and fear in her face. She hadn't mentioned how their leaving had affected her, only that she had done her best to care for Angela. It was as though she didn't think that what she felt mattered and that bothered Edward greatly.

"I love you, Isabella Marie Swan and I always will," he promised the sleeping girl in his arms. "There is nothing more important to me than you. You are my life."

"Hurt," she murmured, her voice barely audible, the word almost unrecognizable.

"What?" he asked her as he tucked her hair behind her ear and tipped his head to better see her face.

"I hurt people," she mumbled and Edward stilled, his breath trapped in his chest.

"No, you don't," he told her fiercely, even as he knew that she remained asleep and unaware of her own admissions. "You do not hurt people, Bella."

"Hurt Renee," she mumbled. "Hurt Ang'la, hurt you," she whimpered in her sleep.

"No," Edward's expression was pained and full of grief over her suffering heart. "Sweetheart, no. It wasn't your fault. None of it was ever your fault."

"Hotchkiss," Bella said, the word barely more than the sound of a rolling sigh as she turned her face into his hard chest. "Would've stayed."

"Hotchkiss?" he shook his head as he looked down at her and glanced up at the sound of his mother's concerned thoughts. "Do it," he said reading Esme's thoughts.

Esme nodded silently as she withdrew her cell phone and stepped into the hall, closing the door as she left. Edward wanted to know who or what Hotchkiss was. Releasing his trapped breath slowly, he looked down on Bella and found that she had returned to a deeper state of sleep. She was still and silent as she lay against him, her hand curled in his shirt and he slipped his thumb inside her fist, his long fingers covering the back of her hand as he held her close. He would give anything to take away her pain, anything to make the darkness that Jasper felt from her go away. Kissing her brow as he tuned just enough to curl around her, Edward promised her that he would never leave her side.

**:::::**

He growled low, the sound rumbling from him, vibrating through his chest as he inched closer to the edge of the darkened forest, his ears folded halfway back. He didn't like this idea one bit. She was too gentle, too kind and far too much like Angela. He didn't care that she was a vampire, or that she was the best one suited to act as the bait, he simply wanted to pull her back where he knew she would be safe. His growl rose in volume as he moved closer only to be stopped by a strong hand on the back of his neck grabbing him by his scruff. Felix's voice was steady and commanding even as he reassured the wolf that Suplicia would be fine. He knew just how delicate his pale blonde friend looked; her short stature and willowy frame making her look no more dangerous than the kitten she had adopted.

Seth crouched lower, his muscles tightening as he prepared to attack. He wanted that man. He could smell the waxy scent of the makeup, knew that he was far younger than he appeared to be and felt his gums itch with the desire he had to sink his teeth into him and rend flesh from bone. He had never felt quite this dangerous before. He couldn't remember the last time that a hunt had felt this important or made him feel this level of bloodlust before. He could hear Jacob's voice advising caution through the pack telepathy, even as he heard Jared's voice nearby, their pack mate watching them from a distance. His lips curled up, revealing the barest hint of deadly white fangs as the man followed Suplicia toward the edge of the forest.

"What was your cat's name, little one?" the man asked as he followed Suplicia.

"Rain," she answered with just enough innocence and worry in her tone to make the man believe her story.

"Remember," Felix cautioned Seth and Jacob, "Aro must read him first. We must make certain that he is the correct one."

Marcus looked at Felix, his gaze sweeping to the side as he studied the odd sandy brown wolf he had began to think of as a friend, and the russet wolf that barely seemed able to keep his calm. They were both following Felix's lead, the vampire's military training lending him the ability to remain stoic under the onslaught of the hunting lust they were all feeling. It had amazed Marcus throughout the day to watch how easily Jacob and Seth followed Felix's lead and he wondered, not for the first time, how different the Volturi would have been if Felix had been by their side throughout the centuries instead of Caius. Would the war with the werewolves ever have happened? Would half of the deaths and battles with other covens raged on if Caius hadn't been there to feed into the fears Aro had?

His attention turned away as he watched Aro move toward Suplicia and the human man she was with, the dry leaves making no sound as the ancient vampire traveled over the forest floor. He tried to pull back, tried to get away when he found that Suplicia wasn't alone and Marcus felt his lips twitch in a deadly smile as Aro captured the man's hand. He could almost see the lines of hate and the desire to kill burning from Aro as he read through the man's memories. They had the right man, there was no longer any doubt of that and before any of them could move closer, Aro acted.

The distinct sound of a sickening wrenching crack broke through the night air as the man's neck was snapped and he fell lifeless to the ground. Aro stepped back, his teeth scraping against each other as he looked upon the dead man with disgust. He would not even dare to bite the man, or let his foul blood into his mouth, he thought as he stared at the corpse and nodded to the wolves as he moved out of the way. The only violence in the man's life had been that which he had created for himself. Carlisle had been told that the girl at his high school dance had been the man's first kill, but Aro now knew that to be a lie. He had killed long before that.

Where other humans had started with the killing of small animals, the human filththat now lay dead on the ground had never killed anything that wasn't human. His first kill had been when he was seven years old. He had pushed the boy he was with off of a cliff and stood on the edge, watching as the child's body fell and bounced along the rocks only to land lifeless and bloody on the fallen trees below. No one had ever known the truth, McGinnis always claiming that he had lost sight of his friend only to hear him scream when he fell. Aro shook his head as he stepped back and watched Seth drag one paw across the dead man's chest, his claws making deep gouges that would be reminiscent of bear claws in the flesh.

He had not been abused or tormented as a child. He had not been unduly teased of unfairly harassed. In fact, Aro thought with a disgusted stare, McGinnis had been given everything that Angela had not. He had been born into a loving family that pampered and doted upon him. He had been raised with the best opportunities, given the best education his parents could afford, but McGinnis killed anyway. Aro turned away from the mangled corpse, sickened by the scent of the blood he wouldn't dare touch and knew that the man lying dead at their hands had simply been born bad. He had developed a taste for blood early on and hadn't stopped.

Twenty-three, Aro thought as he held his hand out to his wife, needing the comforting tranquility of her thoughts to quiet his mind. No, twenty-three was only what the authorities had known about. McGinnis' kills numbered into the lower sixties. Mostly women, ranging from sixteen to twenty-three, those were his favorites, but throughout his life he had killed several children under the age of eight. What sickened Aro most was that the majority of those kills had taken place before the man had reached his thirteenth year.

"She is safe now," Suplicia said as she turned her eyes upon Aro, her free hand resting on top of his. "Angela is safe," she promised her husband.

"Yes," Aro breathed out as he nodded once. "Yes, she is safe."


	57. Chapter 55

Chapter 55

Her eyes closed slowly as she held the phone to her ear, her heart feeling as though it were being gripped in a vice. Her jaw moved, her lips folding in over her teeth as she bit the soft flesh tightly and struggled to control her emotions. Walking into the house, she closed the door behind her and shut the soothing sound of the ocean waves away. Breathing in deeply, Renee moved through the house until she reached her bedroom and closed herself inside the room she shared with Phil. She was grateful that he was busy with practice and wouldn't be home until late; this was one conversation that she never wanted him to hear. Sitting down heavily in the chair by the window, she released a soft sigh as she turned her attention back to the voice on the other end of the phone.

"I never knew she knew," Renee said softly. "Bella told you about that?"

"Not directly," Esme answered slowly as she turned and looked at the closed bedroom door behind her. "As I'm sure you know, Bella talks in her sleep," she said and held her hand out to Carlisle as he stepped across the upstairs hall toward her.

"Yes," Renee said and Esme smiled sadly when Carlisle kissed her forehead before opening the door behind her and stepping inside to see the girl they were discussing. "I thought she would've grown out of that, but she never did."

"Renee," Esme said softly, her voice drawing the woman back to the topic at hand. "Who was he?" she asked softly with concern.

Esme stepped in through the open door of Edward's bedroom and moved to stand beside her husband. She leaned her cheek against Carlisle's chest when he wrapped his arm around her waist and tucked herself against his side while they watched Bella sleep in Edward's arms. Renee remained silent and Esme could hear the woman's soft stilted breaths that told her Bella's mother was silently crying. As much as she disliked the pain she was causing the woman, her concern for Bella outweighed the compassion she felt toward her mother.

"Hotchkiss isn't a who," Renee said slowly. "It's a what…Ben was fairly well off."

"I'm not sure I understand," Esme said when Renee grew quiet and she turned her attention up to Carlisle.

"Hotchkiss…Hotchkiss is an academy…a boarding school in upstate New York," Renee said slowly. "About two weeks before Bella's birthday, before she met Ben, I brought him home after one of our dates. It was pretty late and as far as I knew she was asleep…He had pamphlets for the school and talked about sending her there. He kept saying that they could offer her the best education, get her into the best colleges, but all I could see was that it meant sending my baby away."

Renee looked down at her lap, not moving to wipe away the tears falling down her cheeks as she thought back to the conversation that she wanted nothing more than to forget. She hated thinking about that time in her life and how much it had hurt to be abandoned by someone she had given her heart to. Shaking her head slowly as she held the phone to her ear and closed her eyes, she knew that what she hated most was the fact that she had never known how much it had hurt her daughter. Bella had never once spoken up, never once asked her about what had happened or shown her emotions. Renee realized with anguish that Bella's independence had little to do with the girl herself and everything to do with her inability to be the mother her daughter had needed.

"The night of her birthday party, after I thought Bella was asleep, Ben talked to me again about sending her to Hotchkiss. I refused him again and I thought that would be the end of it. A week later I got an envelope in the mail. It was large and thick and held a welcome packet for Bella from Hotchkiss Academy, but it also held a letter from the administrator asking for missing information that wasn't on her application." Renee sniffled as she shook her head and swept her hand across her face to wipe away her slow falling tears. "I confronted him about it and two days later he was gone, but not before telling me that if it wasn't for her he would stay…I never knew she knew about that, about any of it. I threw the pamphlets away, but I guess I forgot to throw the welcome packet away because Franklin, my third boyfriend after Charlie, he found it…he talked about sending Bella there too."

Esme closed her eyes, grief and disbelief storming through her as she brought her hand up to cover her mouth and felt pain grip her heart mercilessly. She spoke to Renee for a few more moments, asking if there was anything else that she should know regarding her history or Bella's. Renee was hesitant, her voice shaking when she said that Bella had never had any friends in junior high or high school until she moved to Forks and she had never understood why. The phone grew silent and Esme brought her hand down when the device beeped signaling that the call had been disconnected.

"They tried to send her away," she whispered as she looked at Bella and felt the desire to cry for the pain Bella had and was once again suffering.

Carlisle sighed with displeasure. "Renee's suitors tried to send Bella away and left her when she wouldn't," he recounted aloud. "Bella moved here to live with her father shortly after her mother married Phil and then once she found Edward," he met his son's gaze.

"James happened," Edward finished for him. "And then her birthday with us…Angela's downfall, the way she fell apart when we all left," Edward sighed and looked down at his love sleeping in his arms. "Oh, my love," he whispered to her and pressed his lips against her brow. "You are so very afraid to be happy. Every time you've been happy it has felt as though the world has turned against you."

Bella stirred, turning just enough to hide her face against his chest and Edward smoothed his hand down over her hair. He shushed her gently, promised her that he was there beside her and pulled the blankets higher around her shoulders, cocooning her in their warmth as he tightened his arms around her. He folded himself around her, protecting her even as she slept safe and sound in his arms. He nodded to the thoughts he read from Esme even as he kept his focus on Bella and pressed his lips together in a sad smile as the bed dipped down when she climbed slowly on top of the blankets and laid down on Bella's side opposite him.

Edward closed his eyes as he rested his cheek against his love's warm, soft hair and grieved for the pain she was in. There had never been a stop to it, he realized. When she was too young to understand the reasons why, her parents had divorced and she had lost her father. Over the years she had seen her mother through one heartache after another and had believed every failed relationship to be her fault because of Ben's wish to send her to a boarding school on the opposite end of the country. When her mother had finally found a lasting love with Phil, Bella had removed herself from the picture under the guise of living with Charlie so that her mother could travel to all of Phil's games. He took in a deep breath, finding comfort in her intoxicating scent as he let his memories sweep back over their relationship.

Their first meeting had been a rocky one. He had never met anyone whose scent had enticed him so very much, nor had he ever met anyone whose mind he couldn't read and he had found both in her. He had tried to get away from her too, if only to save her from the monster that he was, but he had come back to her after a time. They had started slow at first, until she had figured out the truth of what he was. She was too observant, too quick and his little human love had found herself in a world that few ever believed to be anything more than fairytales and legends. And then James had come. He had been drawn in by her scent as well, except he had delighted in the hunt and wanted her blood. They had been deeply and passionately in love at that point and just when Bella had begun to feel secure in their relationship, James had tried to end it by taking Bella's life.

Edward released a sharp breath as his thoughts turned to self recrimination. He had only added upon her pain and insecurities when he had told her that she should return to Jacksonville to live with her mother. He had been telling her to leave, for her own safety, but had never realized just how much that had hurt her. She had been upset, of course, but until this moment he had never understood why her upset had been so powerful. Her birthday party had unfortunately brought everything from her past back to haunt her in waves of pain and doubt that he never could have anticipated. His family had all left, Angela had fallen into a deep, nearly catatonic depression and Bella…Bella had been left to deal with the fallout.

Sighing softly as he opened his eyes and looked down into Bella's sleeping face, he promised himself that he would never again leave her or ask her to leave him. Kissing her temple, he looked up at Carlisle and asked his father to gather his journal. Edward knew the one thing that had brought Bella the greatest comfort was laying tucked against Carlisle's side while he read to her. His voice soothed her and the way that he cared for her, treated her as his daughter, was something Edward knew that she had never truly felt before she had met him. None of Renee's suitors had wanted a ready-made family, the men never caring for Bella at all and Charlie… Bella was already grown by the time that she had moved back to Forks to stay with her father. Charlie hadn't known how to be a father to a teenager and Bella was too afraid to let anyone care for her. Except Carlisle

Edward knew without any doubt that Bella found safety and comfort in the way that Esme and Carlisle treated her. Their support was unfailing, their parental love wrapping her in warmth and safety as they both cared for her in a way that she had never been before. She needed that, more than anything, he knew that Bella needed to know what it meant to be taken care of instead of having to always be the one taking care of everyone else. Looking up at the doorway when Emmett's thoughts reached him, he found his brother's frame to be filling the open doorframe nearly completely.

_She needs them both,_ Emmett spoke to him through his thoughts and he nodded.

"I know," Edward said upon a sigh.

_Words will never be enough for either of them,_ he said as he thought of Angela's torment as well. _They need the comfort and reassurance of our actions. We have to show them that they will never be alone, never be hurt again, we can't simply just say the words._

Edward sighed softly and nodded once again. He understood exactly what his brother was telling him. Promises were truly just words until their actions proved them to be true. He loved Bella and he would hold her as much as she wanted, prove to her his love, but he would never leave her until she demanded it of him. She mumbled his name and he soothed her, stroking the backs of his fingers down her cheek as he assured her that he was there beside her. It wasn't just his love and affection she needed, but his parents' as well. Bella needed to know that her place within their family was more than just that of his mate. The care given to her by his adopted mother and immortal father was undeniable proof that she was loved by them and that she was their daughter as much as he was their son.

With Renee, Bella had been the caretaker, the responsible one. With Charlie, she had been an almost stranger that he lived with and cared for, but with his family… Edward turned his eyes on Esme and smiled gratefully. With Carlisle and Esme, Bella had truly been given a family. She wasn't the one who was relied upon to remember to take care of the everyday responsibilities. She wasn't the one left to play the role of adult and made to look out for everyone else. No, Edward pressed his lips to Bella's hair; with them she had a family. It had been Carlisle and Esme who had first shown her what it meant to be looked after and cared for. It had been his father who had held Bella and read to her until she had fallen asleep. It was Esme who had talked with her about her insecurities, mothered her, and cooked her meals. She was his heart, his soul, but she was their daughter.

Looking up as his father stepped into the room, he smiled at the man and gave a smiling pout when Bella's eyes blinked open and she hid a yawn behind her hand. Smiling down on her and kissing her when she blushed, Edward spoke to her softly of his love and asked if she desired a bath. She nodded tiredly and he watched as Esme helped her up from the bed and led her from the room. Though Bella's fever had yet to go down, she was finally getting the much needed sleep she had lost and accepting the care offered to her by him and his family. Standing from the bed and chuckling softly as he felt the burning warmth of Angela's emotions, Edward looked to Carlisle and asked his father if he would read to Bella once she emerged from her bath. The blond man nodded quietly, smiling softly as Edward moved toward the stairs to greet his human sister, smiling as her thoughts reached him and he shook his head as he realized why Alice had hidden her vision from him. She had wanted him to have this moment, fresh and new without any forewarning and he nodded his thanks to her when she stepped inside the door.

**:::::**

Frederick smiled as he stood back watching Angela speak with his daughter, Monica. Her hand hadn't dropped from her necklace since the moment Carlisle had put it on her and he couldn't help the sense of pride he felt in her adoration of the pendant. Carving the jade had not been an easy task, no mechanical tool had been able to rend the stone without breaking it and he had been forced to turn back to the ancient hand tools that he had kept for such occasions. The first necklace had taken him nearly a month to craft and when Carlisle had contacted him only a few short months after receiving it to tell him he needed a second one, he had known that he needed to meet the new member of his friend's coven.

Angela had not been what he had expected at all. She was human for one, but it was her spirit that amazed him the most. He knew that in this form, while she was human, her talent for healing would only affect his kind. Human senses were simply too dulled to be able to feel her power, even as strong as it was now, he knew that once she was turned her power would increase beyond comparison. He chuckled silently to himself when he watched Angela rub the carved stone with the pad of her thumb. Each of the crests that he had made in the past had simply been symbols of fidelity, physical signs of the family they belonged to and to whom they gave their loyalty, but to Angela… Frederick smiled; to Angela that necklace meant so much more.

"It's time," Alice said as she smiled at Angela.

"Time?" Angela shook her head in confusion.

"She is right," Michael said, glancing at his watch before he rose gracefully from the couch. "Miss Angela, if we are to make it to the stables we need to leave in the next few moments."

Angela looked up at him, her bottom lip folding inward to be clasped between her teeth as the corners of her mouth turned up in a wistful smile. She was enchanted by him; his amber eyes were so very expressive and she felt as though she could fall into them. Her lip scraped against her teeth as her smile widened when he held out his hand for her to take and she placed her palm in his before rising from her seat. She couldn't help the soft blush that tinted her cheeks pink when he bowed forward slightly as he waved his arm in a graceful arc for Angela to step ahead of him. Alice giggled at the sight of Angela's confusion and skipped forward. Linking arms with her human sister, she smiled up at Angela as she led her out of the living room.

"Oh!" Angela turned around, her arm still linked with Alice's for only a moment before she was released. "You'll still be here when we come back?" she asked of Frederick with wide eyes, wishing to speak with him again.

"Yes," he nodded to her and smiled. "We will be here when you return."

"Go on," Monica chuckled at her. "You don't want to be late."

She shook her head as she watched Alice link arms with Angela again and lead the girl through the house. Jasper and Michael followed behind the women, the sound of the front door closing making her chuckle. She turned to Rosalie, the only Cullen still down stairs with them and the look on the blonde woman's face told her all she needed to know. She laughed silently at the knowledge that Angela was to be courted, the boy – vampire, certainly did have very old world manners. Their kind easily adapted to the changing times, but for some they retained the mannerisms they were raised with while human. She had known Angela for five years and in that time she had become very close to the human girl. Michael, she knew, was perfect for her.

The night air was chilled, the fall season setting in and Angela smiled as she breathed in deeply of the clean and fresh wild air. One of her most favorite things about the Cullen manor was the forest it was surrounded by and she looked to the trees as she walked with Alice to the car waiting in the drive. She turned her attention up to the sky above, the clouds painted in the brilliant shades of dark orange and fire red as the sun began its slow descent below the horizon. Everything was peaceful once more, the despair and loneliness from the months prior little more than a bad memory and she silently gave thanks to the stars above for the family she had found with the Cullens.

"Miss Angela," Michael called to her, his smooth voice softly colored with the Irish-American Southern accent gaining her attention.

She smiled at him, feeling as though she had found her home every time she looked into his eyes and slipped into the backseat of Carlisle's Mercedes. He waited for her to buckle her seatbelt before he closed the car door and she smiled down at her hands before looking up at Alice when she climbed into the backseat beside her. It felt almost selfish, her desire that Michael would be more than just a friend, and she looked down at her hands once more. There was something about him that called to her and she realized in that moment that whatever it was, she had always felt it, from the very first moment she had laid her eyes upon him in the library. Turning her attention out the window, she took in a deep breath and focused her eyes on the North Star as she made a wish she prayed might one day come true.

_I want to be with him_, she thought as she stared at the glittering light in the darkening sky. _But even if that doesn't happen, please let him find happiness. _

Jasper glanced at Angela through the rearview mirror before shifting his focus to Alice. She met his gaze, a smile playing on her lips and he returned her grin. Angela was excited, they both knew it, her warmth and excitement tugging at them and Jasper chuckled silently as he cast his eyes to the side. Michael was nervous, his thoughts written on his face and transmitted through his emotions. Jasper shook his head as he directed the car off of the highway exit and turned down the road. The vampire next to him had been changed before he had, but physically he was a few years younger and it showed in the way he nervously played with the cuff of his sleeve.

"You don't have to worry about trying to impress her," Jasper told Michael, his voice kept nearly silent as he slowed the car when he approached a stop sign. "Just be yourself."

Michael looked at Jasper for a moment before shaking his head. "I feel like I'm still discovering who that is."

Jasper's lips pulled up in a lopsided grin. He knew what Michael meant. Once he left Maria and even after the time he had left Peter and Charlotte, he hadn't truly known who he was or who he wanted to be. The only thing he had known for certain during that time was who he didn't want to be. It had been Alice who had given him a second chance, her belief in him unfailing and when she had followed her visions and brought him with her on the journey to meet Carlisle and his coven his world had been opened up to endless possibilities. Finding his heart, his other half and then the family he had now had allowed him the freedom and confidence to discover who he truly wanted to be. The Denali coven was giving that same chance to Michael.

"Oh!" Angela's exclamation drew him from his thoughts and he laughed when he glanced back at her through the rearview mirror. "They're so beautiful!" she said, her fingertips gripping the car door's windowsill as she looked out at the four horses waiting for them.

Michael smiled as he looked up ahead at the two stallions and matching mares that stood waiting for them in front of the stables. The saddles on the horses were elegant; the tall horses stood proud, their bodies thick and graceful. Unlike quarter horses or thoroughbreds, their bodies were not the sleek build meant for racing but rather they held a wider build meant for endurance and grace. The breed was one that he was very familiar with, his father having raised this particular breed in Ireland before bringing his favorite stallion and brood mare with him to America.

Known by several names, the Gypsy horses stood elegant and proud under the pale gold glow emanating from the single flood light above the barn doors. There was a black stallion with white feathering around his hooves and a white star on his forehead. Standing beside him was a chestnut mare, patches of white decorating her sides and legs while her mane, tail and the feathering around her hooves was a deeper shade of red. He smiled as he stepped out of the car, the darkness of the night hiding his movements as he ghosted around the vehicle to open Angela's door before she had a chance to step out on her own. She smiled up at him, biting her lip as she placed her palm in his and let him help her from the car.

"They're so beautiful," Angela said as she stared at the four horses. "They're all the same breed, aren't they?" she asked as she looked at the pair on the left. "Those two are mostly white with patches of black and light red, but they look just like the other two."

"They are," Michael nodded to her. "When I was a child I knew the breed as an Irish Cob, but they're more commonly known as Gypsy horses. My father raised them before he moved to the colonies."

"Gypsy," Angela whispered as she walked with him, her hand tucked into the curve of his elbow as he led her closer to the horses. "Sunset," she read the name carved into the leather harness.

The mare responded to the sound of her name, her white and chestnut head tipping up as she studied the girl in front of her. Michael was pleased with the reactions from the animals. This particular breed of horse was very mild mannered, very tame and perfectly suited for either showmanship or working as a draft horse. His father had used them to pull their wagon, trimming their manes and tails kept short so as not to get tangled in the gear, but Michael had always preferred them kept as the four in front of him were. Long manes and tails, the feathering around the hooves naturally covering their feet and he smiled at how beautiful and graceful the creatures were.

"They're not reacting," Angela said with curiosity. "In every movie that I've seen, animals always react to…explorers," she said and looked around them.

Jasper chuckled as he looked at her. "That's a mixed answer," he told her as he helped Alice into her saddle. "Are we dangerous? Yes, and while they know that on some level, horses and a few other animals react to the spirit of the person and not simply what they are. If you hold a kind and gentle spirit then they will respond to that. If someone with a mean-spirited or malignant personality were to approach them then they would react as though being threatened."

"Miss Angela," Michael said her name as he bowed slightly before helping her onto the back of the chestnut mare. "Are you alright?" he asked when she shifted in her seat a few times.

"The saddle feels weird," she said with a confused frown.

"Here, lean toward me," Michael said as he held up his arms and caught her beneath her arms as he helped her down from the saddle. "Sir," he spoke to the human man approaching them. "Do you mind if she were to ride bareback?" he asked and nodded at the mare Angela was to take. "I promise to keep the closest eye on her."

"You're the first one to ask," the grey haired man said with a chuckle as he stepped up to the horse in question. "Sunset hates saddles; that's why I don't usually let her be ridden by anyone but my daughter, but you asked for four Gypsy horses." He removed the saddle, leaving the soft hand-woven saddle blanket in place. "She's a good horse," he said as he took the saddle over to the fence and returned with a wooden three step short ladder.

"Thank you," Michael nodded to the man and held Angela's hand as she climbed to her seat upon the horse's back. "I won't let her fall," he promised the human before taking his own seat upon the black stallion next to her. "Are you ready, my lady?" he asked Angela and she nodded, a blush dusting her cheeks. "Just nudge her gently with your heels to get her to move," he instructed and watched Angela lightly kick the mare.

Angela's lips parted as she took in the cool night air and she smiled with wonder and delight as the mare she was riding began a slow walk alongside the black and white stallion that Michael was riding. Biting her lip, a habit she was ignorant to, she looked back over her shoulder to see Jasper and Alice waiting in front of the stables. She didn't understand why they were hanging back and frowned as she turned her attention back in front of her. Emmett and Rosalie had done the same thing earlier that morning, walking behind her and Michael at a distance. She hadn't thought much of it because they were at home, but now here at the stables it seemed that Jasper and Alice were doing the same thing.

"Is everything alright, Miss Angela?" Michael asked and she smiled when she noticed that the Irish tones in his accent had become more pronounced.

"Yes," she said softly and smiled. "Why are they so far behind us?" she asked him and turned her head back to see her vampire siblings at a near twenty foot distance behind them. "The trail doesn't look narrow," she said as she looked at the open plush fields in front of them.

"It is custom," Michael said simply before realizing that she may not understand. "Miss Angela," he turned his head to look at her and watched as she nudged the mare into a lazy trot.

"Hmm?" she looked at Michael when he nudged his stallion to trot beside her. "It's so beautiful out here. I feel like I'm in another time. That must sound stupid," she laughed at herself and shook her head.

"Not at all," he assured her and stared at the beautiful girl he felt honored to know. "What would you say if I proposed more to our relationship?" he asked her and watched her frown.

"I'm not sure I understand," Angela said after a moment. "What do you mean more?"

"We are acquainted, we are friends," he said and she nodded as she watched the changing expression on his face. "Would you object if I asked for more?"

"More?" she repeated and looked into his eyes. "You want to date me?" she asked as she tried to understand what he was asking her.

"No," he said and Angela looked away.

Angela felt her heart drop at his answer and shook her head as she looked to the side away from him. Night had fallen completely around them, the meadow ahead of them lit only by the light from the full moon above them and the oil lanterns hung from sturdy wooden poles along the way. The lamp and moonlight offered the flowered wild meadow an air of mystery, a fairytale appeal that comforted her even as she felt foolish to have assumed that he wanted to add intimacy to their relationship. She felt stupid for having assumed he would want that with her and rushed to take back her question.

"Oh, of course no that would be…"

"Miss Angela," he cut into her nervous rambling. "I believe I have confused you again," he said and she looked at him with a mix of hope and caution. "I do not wish to date you, Miss Angela. You deserve more than that."

"What?" she shook her head as she looked at him.

"It would bring me great pleasure, if you would bestow upon me the honor of allowing me to court you," he said and watched Angela tip her head to the side in curiosity.

"Court me?" she repeated, weren't they the same thing, she wondered silently. "Ok," she nodded after a moment.

"Then you approve?" Michael asked in a rush, a smile bending his parted lips into a bow. "You will allow me to court you?"

Angela nodded silently as she looked at him and laughed softly at how pleased he seemed to be with her answer. She didn't understand how dating and courting were different, but she knew who to ask. Feeling the need to stretch, she tightened her legs around the mare's sides to hold her seat as she released the reins and reached her hands up as she looked at the stars in the clear skies above them. She had never seen anything as beautiful as the stars above them, the clouds painted in silver against the midnight blue sky, the stars sparkling like diamonds upon their velvet canvas.

"Do you want to stop?" Michael asked as he watched Angela stare into the heavens.

"Could we?" she asked him with a grin. "I just want to watch the stars."

"Anything you wish," he told her as they brought their horses to a stop. "Simply ask and it will be yours."

"Your saddlebag," Alice reminded Michael as she and Jasper came to a stop as well. "I made sure everything was packed."

"You are a wise woman," Michael said and nodded his thanks to Alice.

He undid the leather belt on the bag and looked inside. Removing the red and white flannel picnic blanket, he held the soft thick cloth in his hands and shook it out before laying it out over the ground. He waved his arm in a gentle arc, offering her the blanket first and Angela smiled as she stepped onto the large blanket and knelt down to her hands and knees. Crawling to a spot near the middle, she laid down and looked up at the star covered sky for a long moment as she let the serenity of the night flow over her. She felt lazy, the kind of lethargy that came with the dreamlike quality of the peacefulness she felt. Turning her gaze on Michael, she blinked up at him in confusion to find that he hadn't moved from where he had been moments ago.

"Why are you still standing?" she asked Michael and held her hand up to him in invitation.

He nodded to her quietly, a smile playing upon his face as he took her hand and joined her on the ground. He laid down next to her, leaving a few feet of distance between them and turned his head to look at her when she turned her full attention on him. He rolled onto his side, rising up on his elbow as he frowned in question.

"What is it?" he asked when Angela remained quiet.

"Do I still make you nervous?" she asked him hesitantly. "You're always so careful to keep a distance between us."

"I only wish to honor you," he told her honestly. "You deserve to be treated with respect."

Alice leaned against Jasper as she stood within the circle of his arms and looked upon the couple resting on the blanket. Angela had so many questions about Michael's behavior, but she knew that her human sister wouldn't come to her or even Esme with the questions she had. Alice turned her eyes up to Jasper, smiling and accepting his kiss. This was the vision that she had kept secret from Edward. Angela would come to him with her questions; she would sit with her brother and talk to him through his talent because she would desire both the privacy of his talent and the comfort he afforded her. It was Edward's talent for reading thoughts that allowed him the ability to understand Angela as easily as he did and it was that understanding that drew them closer together.

"She's so happy," Jasper said as he focused on his wife and projected Angela's emotions to her.

"She reminds me of firelight," Alice spoke of Angela's emotions. "So warm and captivating, I can feel her tugging at me."

"She's tugging at all of us," Jasper chuckled silently. "The happier she is, the more we all feel it."

"Jasper," Alice whispered his name before nodding to the blanket.

"She's asleep," he gave a lopsided grin of amusement as he looked at Angela. "Let's let her rest for awhile. We can ride back in a few hours, but right now she's happy and peaceful."

Alice smiled as she looked at Michael, watched him as he watched Angela sleep. She was dozing lightly and he couldn't take his eyes off of her. She was breathtakingly beautiful, lying on the blanket so relaxed as she trusted him to look after her. He reached out, brushing a lock of hair out of her face as she slept. She mumbled his name in her sleep, sighed with contentment and he smiled down upon her. She was fragile compared to him, just a human girl so easily broken and he felt humbled that she was entrusting her heart to his care.

"I will honor you, Miss Weber," he whispered to her, his thumb brushing against her cheek as he looked down into her sleeping face. "I will protect you always."

**:::::**

Rosalie smiled as she watched Frederick move closer to the fireplace, his eyes focused on the row of framed pictures lining the mantel. The pictures he was looking at had been taken by Alice during Angela's birthday party. There were a few candid shots as well that had been taken of Angela sleeping in Carlisle's arms and another of her cuddled between Emmett and Jasper. She saw him focus his attention on one photo in particular and followed his gaze to the wooden frame that Carlisle had crafted by hand. The photo held inside was the one that had been taken at Wild Waves amusement park. Emmett, Jasper, Edward and Angela were dressed in period clothing, the picture taken in sepia tones and the backdrop behind them making the photo appear to have been taken from the time period it depicted.

She chuckled silently to herself as she watched him lift the frame to study the photo. According to Jasper, that had been one of the happiest moments for their human sister and there were many times that she had found herself to be distracted by the picture as well. Angela's elation shined through the photo, capturing the attention of whoever was looking at it. More than once she had found that simply looking at the picture could make her smile no matter the mood she was in. In every photo Angela was happy, surrounded by the love of the family she had found with them and Rosalie couldn't help but treasure the memories that were made immortal by the film.

"Her birthday party," she told Frederick as he replaced the photo in his hand only to pick up the frame of Angela wearing her first crest. "That picture was taken just after Carlisle put the necklace on her."

"Is she crying?" he asked as he studied Angela's face in the photo.

"She was, yes," Emmett said as he stepped up to Rosalie and wrapped his arm around his wife's shoulders. "She was so happy that day," he said with a wide smile. "Her crest…I've never seen her so happy before. She couldn't even speak for the first few minutes after receiving it."

"I had never thought of the crests I have been commissioned to make as anything more than pieces of jewelry," Frederick said as he looked up from the photo in his hand.

"To each of us, the crests were simply a sign of loyalty a symbol of family," Rosalie said as she looked at the picture. "But to Angela it meant so much more."

"If you don't mind my asking," he said and looked at the couple. "How did she come to be with your family?"

"She was abused," Monica said as she looked at Emmett. "I've been thinking about all of it and that's the only explanation that makes sense. She was never willing to talk about her parents, she was far more mature than even a good deal of the students I taught in the university and she always seemed troubled by something."

Rosalie nodded quietly. "We learned about the abandonment and abuse she suffered over time," she said slowly. "But we didn't learn the true extent of what she went through until she met Aro for the first time. Edward revealed to us what Aro saw as he read her…the word 'abuse' doesn't even begin to describe what she went through."

Emmett hugged Rosalie in his arms as he spoke of the incident from only a short week before when Angela had a run in with her parents in the bookstore. The cruel words her mother had spoken to her and the way her father had assaulted her still angered Emmett. Her face still bore the proof of the encounter, but with the expert assistance of Alice, Rosalie, and Esme, it remained covered by makeup. He spoke of the thoughts that Edward had read from Angela's parents, the knowledge that instead of giving Angela up for adoption, they had decided to do their best to drive her to suicide instead.

Edward stepped down the stairs into the living room as the sound of the water turning on upstairs was heard behind him. He joined his siblings in the living room as he spoke of the memories he had read from Aro, the way Angela had been made to believe that there was something wrong with her instead. The way her parents had treated her was beyond reprehensible, but the way that her mother had doted upon other children in front of her had only made it that much worse. She had been just shy of three years old when the idea had come to her mother, the woman sharing her thoughts with her husband.

"They didn't want her at all," Edward said, his voice thick with a mix of rage and grief. "They couldn't stand the thought of the social ramifications of giving her up for adoption as they were very active in the religious community. They were also very careful to keep their physical abuse to a minimum. If there was no physical evidence that she was being maltreated, then abuse would be very difficult to prove."

"But you said it yourself that they starved her and locked her in closets," Monica protested, shaking her head and leaning against her father's side when Frederick wrapped a consoling arm around her.

"Yes," Edward nodded once, his jaw tight with the upset the topic made him feel. "But a child who appears thin or even melancholy is far less noticeable than one covered with bruises. From what Aro read of Angela, her parents had nearly succeeded."

"What changed?" Frederick asked, knowing that his daughter was too upset to speak.

"Our history teacher partnered us for a project," Emmett said with a slow grin. "I noticed the things that others didn't, things that even her thoughts hadn't revealed to Edward. I took my concerns to Carlisle and not too long after that; Alice brought her home for a girl's weekend at the start of Spring Break. She's been part of our family ever since."

"Eleazar," Edward nodded to the Spanish vampire. "They should be home fairly soon. Alice texted me a few minutes ago to say they were on their way."

"Good," he nodded. "I hate that we have to leave as soon as they return, but I have a class Monday morning. If we don't get on the road in the next hour…"

"We understand," Edward chuckled. "It was quite an eventful visit."

Eleazar laughed heartily as Carlisle came down the stairs. "I will never forget the look on your face, my friend," he said to Carlisle as the blond man joined them.

"Oh?" Monica said with interest as she looked between the men. "What look? What happened?"

"Eleazar stood with Michael as he asked Carlisle for permission to court Angela," Carmen said with a bright smile. "According to my husband and his wife," she nodded at Carlisle, "he had a 'my little girl' moment that was quite the sight to see," she chuckled. "Kate called a few minutes ago, the portrait is almost done. She's making a second one as well, apparently she intends for both our families to have one."

"Portrait?" Monica asked as she looked between the vampires present only for her gaze to land on Edward when he suddenly smiled brightly and chuckled as he turned his attention to the front of the glass walled home. "What is it?" she asked him.

"They're back and now I know what vision it was that Alice has been hiding from me," he said with a chuckle and moved through the house.

The front door opened permitting Alice and Jasper entrance to the home and Edward watched as his adopted siblings turned to watch out of the open door as Angela stood talking with Michael. He gave her a quarter bow, lifting her hand to kiss her knuckles as Eleazar and Carmen stepped outside. The Spanish vampires said their goodbyes to Angela, both hugging her in turn before walking with Michael toward their car. Angela stood just outside of the house watching the car pull out of the drive and disappear down the street before finally turning and stepping inside the house. She closed the door quietly, her hand resting upon the wood as she let her memories from the evening play through her mind and felt the fire of her elation burn through her.

Her time spent with Michael had been magical, the horse ride making her feel as though she were inside of a fairytale and lying with him on the blanket as they stared up at the starlit sky had been beyond anything she could have dreamed. She felt as though she were floating on air and turned around, leaning back against the door behind her, her hands resting on top of one another as they remained pressed between the small of her back and the door behind her. Opening her eyes as she took in a deep breath, Angela looked across the room at Edward and smiled brightly, her warmth wrapping around him as she looked upon her telepathic vampire brother.

_It was amazing, Edward,_ she spoke to him through her thoughts and watched him smile as he stepped toward her.

"Claire de Lune?" he asked her and chuckled when she nodded. "This way, m'lady," he said and offered her his arm.

_Why thank you, kind sir,_ she thought to him as she skipped forward and wrapped her hand around his arm.

"I'm glad you had a good time," he told her as he led her into the room holding his piano. "Have a seat," he directed her to the bench and kissed her temple as he propped open the lid of the grand piano before moving to take his seat beside her.

Edward laughed softly with joy when she hugged her arms around him as soon as he sat down. Returning her embrace and ruffling her hair as he pulled back, he lifted the polished wood cover over to reveal the ivory and ebony keys hidden beneath. His hands moved over the keys, his fingers flowing over the keys in an elegant dance as he began to play the piece of classical music she loved. He closed his eyes for a moment as her thoughts flowed through his mind, her memories from the evening imbued with the burning warmth of her elation and the soothing peacefulness of the atmosphere she had been in. He sensed her confusion at Michael's behavior and the way he had said certain things and looked to Angela, nodding for her to speak her thoughts to him.

_He said that he didn't want to date me,_ Angela thought as she reviewed their conversation. _But then he asked to court me. Isn't it the same thing?_

"No, not entirely," he said and nudged her shoulder gently with his. "Why don't you play with me," he suggested as he slowed the melody and waited for her to place her hands on the keys. "Ok, we'll start over from the beginning. You play in the low register while I play the song as it's written. Are you ready?" he asked and chuckled at the excitement in her thoughts. "Slowly now," he reminded her as they began to play together. "A courtship, the traditional romance to which he was referring is not the same as the modern notion of dating. It's much slower, the pace and intimacy developed something that gradually increases over time."

He spoke to her slowly, defining the differences between the traditional courtship that Michael was engaging her in and how it compared to modern dating. He explained to her the differences in the physical touches, how traditionally it would be months before they even held hands, but because of her having been raised in a different time, Michael had adjusted that small part of their encounters. He smiled, praising her growth with the music lessons he had been giving her. This was their time, these moments in which he taught her to play the piano while she spoke to him through his talent growing their sibling bond. It was a secret pleasure for him to spend these moments with her and he delighted in how quickly she had learned to play the piano, her talent for music seemed to be as natural as her ability to heal those of his kind.

"There will be chaperoned walks or horse rides," he chuckled lightly and smiled at her. "In fact, as per tradition, you two will always be accompanied while you are together until such a time that Michael approaches Carlisle to ask for his permission to court you in solitude. Typically, one would approach the girl's father after a year of being together, but he might take longer as our families do live far apart."

"Why would he approach Carlisle?" Angela asked aloud as she paused in her playing and turned her full attention on Edward.

"Carlisle is your father or Papa as you like to call him. In the time that he was raised, it was the girl's father who made the decision of whether or not a man was good enough to court his daughter. Now although this is a different time with different views, Michael wished to court you in the traditional manner."

_He said he wanted to honor me,_ Angela thought with wonder as she stared at Edward.

"Yes, that is what he is doing," he smiled and kissed her forehead. "By taking it slow and courting you in the manner with which he was raised, he is showing you how important you are to him. Although," he chuckled and glanced over her shoulder toward the empty doorway as Carlisle's thoughts filled his mind. "Someone feels a bit like he is losing his baby girl," he told her upon a conspiratorial whisper. "Why don't you go get ready for bed and meet Carlisle in my room? He'll read to both you and Bella tonight."

"Ok," she smiled and hugged Edward tight before fairly skipping out of the room.

"Thank you," Edward said when Alice appeared in the doorway. "You're right; some things are best left as surprises."

"You should know by now not to doubt me," Alice chirped with a satisfied grin. "Your bed's going to be rather full very quickly," she told him with a giggle. "Esme's going to be helping Bella out of the bath in a few minutes. Go on," she encouraged with a tilt of her head.

**:::::**

Angela jogged up the stairs, closing herself inside her room and changing quickly into a pair of loose fitting sleep pants and spaghetti strap sleep tank. The soft carpet cushioned her bare feet as she stepped through the hall and found Carlisle to be standing inside the room he shared with Esme. He was holding something in his hand, a paper that she couldn't quite see and she smiled when he turned around to greet her. The parchment in his hand was set aside on the dresser next to where he stood and he smiled as he moved toward her. Angela sighed happily as she accepted his hug and returned his embrace with equal fervor.

"How was your evening?" he asked as he led her down the hall to Edward's room where Esme and Bella were waiting.

"It was amazing," Angela whispered and smiled up at him. "Thank you, Papa."

"For what?" Carlisle asked and grinned when he saw the tears of joy in her eyes.

"For everything. For taking me in, for giving me this family…for approving of Michael," she said and he chuckled softly.

"It has been both my pleasure and my honor to have you as a daughter," he told her and took her into his arms.

"I love you, Papa," Angela said, her emotion filled voice muffled against his chest.

"And I you, baby girl," he told her and kissed her hair. "Come, let's get you to bed," he told her and led her into Edward's room. "Bella," Carlisle spoke her name as he released Angela's hand and walked toward his other human daughter. "Oh, Sweetheart," he said as enfolded her in his arms. "You are home, Bella. You are with family and you will always have us. Never doubt that, my child."

She trembled in his arms, her emotions storming through her and nodded against his chest. Stroking her hair as he pulled back just enough to kiss her forehead, Carlisle studied her brown eyes. She was still exhausted, the sleep she had earlier only a fraction of what she needed to regain. Brushing his hand against her cheek he could still feel the slight fever warming her skin and felt worry for both her mental and physical health. Hugging her close once more, he dropped his arms from around her and stepped over to his son's bed. It took him only moments to climb into the middle of the bed and he laid down on top of the blankets, waiting as his human daughters climbed in on either side of him as they tucked themselves beneath the covering of the thick blankets.

Holding his arms out in invitation to them, he wrapped Bella and Angela in his arms as they settled against his sides and pillowed their heads on his chest. It never ceased to amaze him how much they preferred to be cuddled against him while he read to them, despite the fact that he knew his body felt as hard as stone to his delicate human daughters. Turning his head, he kissed each girl on their forehead before smiling at Esme when she climbed into the bed behind Angela. Edward adopted a similar position behind Bella, rubbing his hand over her arm and kissing her temple before handing the book to his father. Though he had been reading his journals to both girls for the past few nights, the title of the novel Carlisle now held amused Edward.

Carlisle's smile was full of fatherly love as he felt Bella and Angela each wrap an arm over his abdomen as they curled closer to him. Opening the book in his hands as he kept his arms wrapped around his daughters, Carlisle glanced at them both before returning his attention to the book in his hands. His voice was warm and smooth, his cadence steady and hypnotic as the words flowed from him and he listened as their heartbeats began to adopt an even rhythm and slow as they both neared sleep. Turning the page as he approached the beginning of chapter two, Carlisle continued to read to them from Charlotte's Web as their eyes fluttered closed and they began the slow descent into the world of dreams. This, Carlisle thought as he took in the pleasure of the treasured moment, this was what he would give his very life to protect. This was what family meant.


	58. Chapter 56

Latin translations:

amor meus sempiternus = my love eternal

Omnia vincit amor; numquam periit amor = Love conquers all things; love never dies.

Sine amore, nihil est vita = without love, life is pointless

In perpetuum et unum diem = Forever and a day.

Chapter 56

_You're fine,_ Bella told herself as she walked slowly to the long table in the back of the high school library. She felt her hands shake as she set her back pack on the floor and looked down at the back of the four-page test she held in her hand. Clenching her left hand into a tight fist, Bella took in a deep breath and released it slowly before pulling out the wooden chair and sitting down. She had taken this test last week and was hesitant to turn it over to see the grade. What if she had failed? What if she hadn't passed with the eighty-percent that she needed in order for it to count as a full make-up for the time that she had missed school? She couldn't stand the thought of disappointing Charlie or worse, disappointing Edward after he had spent so much time helping her study for it. Closing her eyes, she dragged the test toward her as she flipped it over and looked down at the number written in red on the front beside her name.

"Ninety-five," she whispered the grade aloud.

She passed the test. A harsh breath came from her parted lips, the sound almost silent but fraught with emotion. The paper fell to the table top when her hand began shaking too much to keep a grip on it and Bella squeezed her eyes closed as she covered her mouth tightly with both hands. _Not here,_ she told herself as she tried desperately to gain control of her turbulent emotions. _Don't break down here. There's nothing wrong with you, you're fine. Angela's fine. Edward and his family are back there is no reason to be upset._ Choking on the emotions she was trying unsuccessfully to suppress, Bella jumped up from her seat and ran out of the back door of the library. Slipping unseen into the girl's bathroom down the hall, she closed herself inside an empty stall as the tears she had been trying to hold back cascaded down her cheeks.

She was fine. There was no reason for her tears, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't stop them. Her chin trembled, her teeth chattered together silently, and before she knew it she was sobbing into her hands. She couldn't stop the tears, she couldn't bury the emotions and the more she tried to silence herself the more fragile she felt. Everything hurt, she felt more unstable then she could ever remember, her emotions causing her entire body to tremble with the force of them. She jumped, her hands clamped tightly over her mouth as her wide eyes stared at the stall door when she heard the bathroom open and someone step inside. She didn't want anyone to see her cry, let alone hear her tears, but she couldn't make them stop.

"Bella?"

Alice's voice sounded from outside of the stall door and she bit her lip hard as she silently begged for her friend to go away. Squeezing her eyes shut in an effort to stop the tears from falling, her teeth tightened on her bottom lip until she feared she would draw blood. _Just go away,_ she prayed silently and pressed her hands tighter against her mouth as she fought to swallow her emotions. She didn't understand this. Everyone was back; things were on their way to being normal again so why did she feel as though she would shatter apart at any moment?

"Bella," Alice called to her again, her voice gentle and compassionate. "I know you're in there. Please come out. It's alright, I promise."

_Alright?_ Bella thought as she sniffled and shook her head. How could any of this possibly be alright? Scrubbing the heels of her hands over her cheeks as she tried to erase the sign of her tears, Bella reached out for the silver circular handle on the door and turned the paltry lock. Her movements were slow as she pulled the door open and fought back the emotions storming through her when she stepped out. It was difficult to meet Alice's eyes, the vulnerability of her emotions making her feel weak and leaving her with the desire to hide away.

"Oh Bella," Alice mourned the pain her friend was in as she wrapped the human girl in her arms. "What's wrong, sweetie?" she asked as she rubbed Bella's back and held her close.

"I don't know," Bella said, her voice thick and trembling. "I ca-can't make it stop. I try, but…"

Alice sighed sadly as she held Bella. "What happened while we were gone?" she asked, the feel of Bella's trembling making her reluctant to release her friend.

"I-I did my best," she said in a rush only for Alice to deny her words.

"No, hush, Bella, that's not what I meant. What happened to you?" Alice asked as she pulled back just enough to look into the girl's dark troubled eyes.

"Wh-what?" Bella stumbled over the word as she stepped back and rubbed her hands over her face. "Alice, I - "

"Don't tell me you're fine," Alice broken in, her amber eyes hard and filled with concern as she stared at Bella. "You're not fine." Alice sighed heavily. "Come on," she said and turned toward the door.

"Where are we going?" Bella asked as she followed Alice into the deserted hall.

"Home," Alice said simply. "I told Edward to take Angela home. I wanted you and I to have a chance to talk alone."

"The library," Bella turned to go into the room as they walked down the hallway toward it only to be stopped by Alice.

"Your things are already in the car," Alice said as she continued to lead Bella down the hallway. "A ninety-five, Bella," she commented on the girl's test with a smile. "You should be proud, but you're not and I don't understand why."

Bella's brows drew together in a deep frown as she tried to understand her own emotions. It didn't make sense that she was so upset all the time. She was fine and felt stable when she was held at night between Carlisle and Edward when the patriarch read to both her and Angela to help them sleep. She was fine in the mornings when she was surrounded by Edward's family in his home, but when she was here at school or at the part time job she had resumed at the hardware store, her emotions felt dangerously fragile. She had nearly broken down yesterday in front of Mrs. Newton when the woman had asked her if she would sweep the backroom.

"Bella," Alice's voice drew her attention back to her and she looked up at her. "Can I ask you something?"

"Ok," Bella said hesitantly as she let Alice lead her out of the school building and down into the student parking lot.

"When Renee was talking with Esme, she said that you were sweet on a boy from your high school in Phoenix, but that one day your attitude toward him changed. What happened?"

Bella stilled, her steps coming to a stop as she looked at Alice with a shaken expression. She had never once expected Alice or anyone else for that matter to ask her about that and it was the very last thing she ever wanted to talk about. Shaking her head and moving to walk past her, she was stopped by a cold gentle grip on her left wrist. Meeting Alice's gaze, her expression begged her silently to leave the matter alone, but the vampire's steady gaze made it clear that she wouldn't. That incident was almost three years old and the only thing she wanted to do was forget it ever happened.

"What happened, Bella?" Alice asked her. "Renee was fairly certain that you'd never had a relationship before Edward. What happened?" she asked again and watched the girl's jaw tighten.

"Can we not talk about this?" Bella asked as they resumed their walk toward the car. "Carlisle?" she questioned upon seeing the black Mercedes in the parking lot.

"No, just his car," Alice said as she pulled the keys from her pocket and unlocked the doors with the remote. "I had him drop it off around lunch."

Alice pressed her painted lips together in a thin line when it became clear that Bella wouldn't speak of the memory without at little more effort on her part. Getting answers was one thing Alice was good at. She knew the right questions to ask and what wasn't answered with words was usually filled in by her visions. Breathing in deeply, she studied Bella's scent as they climbed into the front seats of the car. At least the muddied scent of her exhaustion was finally gone, but her blood still held a slightly sweet-metallic overtone to it from the loss of weight and resulting malnutrition she had suffered.

"What was his name?" she prodded and Bella gave a sigh that sounded both amused and grief-stricken.

"Matt," she said after a few long moments of silence. "Matt Summers."

"Ok," Alice nodded, her brow furrowing as she realized that getting Bella to talk was going to be harder than she had initially thought. "How old were you when you met him?"

"Freshman," Bella said. "Fifteen."

"One word answers, Bella?" Alice asked as she turned her attention on the girl. "Really?"

"I told you, I don't want to talk about this," Bella said as she looked down at her hands before turning her attention out the window next to her.

"Maybe not," Alice sighed heavily, "but you need to. Bella, please don't shut me out," Alice begged of her when she remained silent. "What happened with him?" she asked again.

Bella lifted her hand and rubbed her fingertips against her forehead, watching the houses and buildings disappear as Alice drove to the edge of town. The lining of trees grew thicker, the road surrounded on either side by ribbons of the Olympic forest. She began slowly, her voice sounding strange in her own ears as she started to tell Alice the story of her first crush. He had been popular because of his good looks and the family he came from. He had been sweet and they had been paired in the two classes they shared for one project after another. She had developed an attraction to him, but had never spoken of it aloud.

"Michelle," Bella took in a deep breath and looked away from the forest lining the roads. "She was a girl who shared classes with us and had always been trying to get his attention, but he never seemed interested in her. She was…gorgeous, like model gorgeous. She always got what she wanted," Bella laughed harshly and looked down at her hands folded in her lap. "Girls always know what other girls are thinking, it's almost instinctual…"

"What happened?" Alice asked as she drove in a one-mile loop around their house without ever turning onto the road that led to it.

"Matt showed an interest in me, or at least I thought he had. One day I found this note in my science book. It looked like his handwriting and the class had just ended so I thought he had slipped it in there when I wasn't looking…" Bella clenched her jaw as she fought back the tears burning behind her eyes. "The note asked me to meet him in the quad after school, I didn't think much of it because we had a project due the next day, but um…" her voice trailed off as she released a shaking breath.

"What happened?" Alice asked wondering why it was that she couldn't see what Bella would say.

"Michelle was waiting for me with her friends," Bella said slowly, swallowing her rising emotions as best she could. "He was there too, but he didn't seem to be waiting for anyone he was talking with his sister off to the side…"

"Bella?" Alice glanced to her side to look at her friend when she grew quiet.

Alice frowned at the sound of Bella's heartbeat, the rhythm gaining speed even as the girl did her best to keep her expression stoic. The scent of fear and something else that Alice couldn't quite identify began to color her human friend and she glanced at her a few times as she slowed the car down. Looking into the rear view and side mirrors, she confirmed what her vision had already told her, they were alone on this stretch of road and she had no need to keep to the thirty-five mile an hour speed limit. Pressing down gently on the brake pedal, she slowed the car until she was barely driving at twenty miles per hour and turned her attention back to Bella when the girl began to speak once more.

"She and her friends started laughing and I didn't really understand why until…There were these papers all over the place…I really don't want to talk about this," she whispered anxiously, her voice full of pain and looked up when Alice pulled off to the side of the road, parking the Mercedes under a cover of tall weeping pines.

"Talk to me, Bella," Alice said as she turned to face her, giving her friend her undivided attention. "Don't hide on me now. What about the papers?" she asked as she took one of Bella's hands in her own and rubbed the back of her friend's trembling hand.

"Michelle was really talented at mimicking other people's handwriting. She'd gotten out of more than one tight spot because of it…the papers were photocopies of notes that looked to have been written by me, but I never wrote them…"

Alice studied Bella's face when her friend grew quiet, her expression both compassionate and anguished as she grieved her friend's torment. Bella began speaking once again, her voice low enough that only a vampire could have heard it and Alice closed her eyes against the revealed memory. The falsified notes were statements made that revealed Bella's feelings for Matt, or at least made it seem that way. There were answering lines that appeared to be written by the boy in question, the words cruel and humiliating. The girl had made enough copies to share the faked notes with her friends and his. Alice lifted her hand to Bella's face, smoothing away the tear that fell upon her friend's cheek.

"Michelle asked me what made me think I'd ever be good enough for him," Bella said, her voice little more than a harsh whisper. "Her friends started…listing out reasons why I would never be with him or anyone else for that matter. One of them…one of her friends' moms worked with Renee. She um…" Bella closed her eyes, feeling dangerously close to crying once more as the memory assaulted her. "She asked me what made me think that I could ever be with anyone considering how I kept chasing all of my mom's boyfriends away. I, uh…I didn't really talk to anyone after that. Renee introduced me to Phil a few months later and um…I uh…"

"You tried to avoid him, didn't you?" Alice asked softly and Bella nodded silently. "Did Matt ever say anything to you about what happened?"

"No," she whispered. "He changed classes a few days later."

"Was there ever anyone after that?" Alice probed further.

Bella shook her head silently; her eyes still downcast and she bit her lip against the tears filling her eyes. She had never been willing to take the chance again. When she moved to Forks and met Edward, she had been inexplicably drawn to him. The pull was deep, hypnotic and too powerful for her to even try to ignore. The difference with him was that he loved her in return, but always in the back of her mind that memory remained. She swallowed thickly, licking her dry lips nervously before looking up at Alice. She admitted to Alice the one thing that she had never told any of them before and felt fear grip her heart as the words fell from her lips.

"Lauren has always made it a point to…to make certain that I've known of my short comings from the very first day that I attended the school here. She doesn't say anything to me directly, not anymore, but she always makes sure that I'm near enough to hear her when she talks about me to her friends." Bella clenched her jaw, feeling the tingling in the back of her throat that made her fear she would become ill.

"Not anymore," Alice said slowly as she narrowed her eyes in suspicion. "Did Lauren say something to you directly while we were gone? ... Bella," she touched her hand to her friend's cheek and turned her face back to hers. "What did she say?" Alice said and shook her head at the vision that flitted through her mind. "Don't do that, don't try to hide it. What did she say?" Alice asked fiercely.

Bella's thoughts went back to that day in school, the memory playing through her mind vividly. Lauren's words were harsh and cruel even as the girl's tone of voice remained neutral and confident as though the truth of her statements could not be denied. She didn't realize that she had been speaking aloud until the sound of Alice's angry growl silenced her and she looked up at her friend with wide eyes. Alice responded to the fear in Bella's gaze instantly, wrapping her arms around her friend and rubbing her back. Renee's history with men, Bella's childhood trials as she helped her mother through one broken heart after another and her own torment in her high school in Phoenix when she had experienced her first true teenage crush had left the girl beyond anything that could be called insecure. What Jasper had said to Bella that day in the garage as they prepared to take her to safety came back to Alice and she closed her eyes against the memory.

Bella felt worthless. That was what Jasper had told her. Bella didn't simply feel afraid or insecure, she felt worthless, undeserving of their affection and support. Lauren had played upon every fear that she could and had only made Bella's self image fall further. It was one thing to know that Bella had never seen herself as pretty, Alice thought, but once her entire history had been taken into consideration it was as though the girl had been made to believe that she would never be worthy of anyone's attentions. Hugging Bella tightly before releasing her, Alice turned the key in the ignition and drove them back to their home. She knew that Esme would be the one to help Bella, but Alice had every intention of enlisting Rosalie's aid once more in dealing with Lauren. She didn't care how long it had been since those words had been spoken to Bella, she would not abide the pain that girl had caused her human sister.

"Aro and the others will be coming back in a few hours," Alice told Bella as she pulled into the garage and turned off the engine. "Why don't you go take a relaxing bath before the house gets over run again," she offered and Bella nodded silently. "Don't worry about your things, I'll bring them in," she said as Edward approached Bella's door.

Alice looked at her brother, sharing with him everything that Bella had revealed to her and she watched his jaw tighten as he helped Bella from the car and wrapped her in his embrace. He felt sorrow at the pain she had suffered in her life and was enraged at Lauren's part in her recent torments. Kissing Bella's hair as he stepped back from her and took her hand, he nodded to Alice's thoughts and called out to Rosalie as he walked with Bella across the grass. Telling his blonde sister simply that Alice needed her help, he led Bella into the house and guided her up the stairs and into his room.

Bella looked up, biting her bottom lip gently as she watched Edward shut his bedroom door quietly before returning to her side. Her brow furrowed in silent question only to relax, her eyes falling shut when he cupped her face in his hands and covered her lips with his. Bella whimpered softly, her hands moving to fist in his shirt against his chest as he continued to caress her mouth with his, letting his actions tell her of the love he held for her. She moaned softly when his tongue brushed against her lips, her mouth falling open and she gasped at the feel of his tongue sliding alongside hers. Her breath was robbed from her, every nerve ending igniting in a delicious fire that was soothing and enticing.

She kissed him back passionately as her hands moved up to fist in his hair and she gasped in surprise when he caught her around the waist and hoisted her up. Her legs instinctively wrapped around his waist and they both groaned at the feeling of the intimate contact through the layers of their clothing. It didn't feel like nearly enough and Bella whimpered when he broke the contact with her mouth to trail icy, open mouthed wet kisses over her cheek until he reached her neck. She panted, her head falling back, baring her neck to him and whimpering in pleasure as he held her tighter. She gasped in surprise, her eyes flying open at the sudden change in position when Edward fell back to lie upon his bed, only to close once more when he began to nibble at her neck.

"Edward," she whimpered his name brokenly, her abdomen tightening with the relentless heat of her growing arousal.

He growled appreciatively against her neck, nipping at her flesh before soothing her delicate skin with slow drags of his tongue. His mouth met hers once more, his lips claiming hers mercilessly as he rolled until she was pressed against the bed underneath him. He could smell her, the sweet spicy scent of her arousal and it was maddening in its power to intoxicate him. She moved beneath him, her hips beginning to rock against his instinctually and he knew that he needed to stop their play before he lost control completely. He could feel every muscle in his body vibrating with the effort it took to resist his desires and pull away from her. He was trembling as he rubbed his nose against the curve of her neck and breathed in deeply.

"I love you, Bella," he whispered to her, his voice colored by the desire he felt. "Don't ever doubt that," he said as he kissed her swollen lips once more before pulling back and moving to sit beside her.

Bella sat up slowly, every muscle trembling with the power of the desire that he had awakened within her. She laughed when he told her that she should go take her bath before he attacked her further and touched her fingertips to her lips as she exited his room. Esme appeared in the doorway a moment later with a smile upon her lips as she asked for Bella's clothes. Edward chuckled before nodding to the bag in the chair next to where she stood and moved from his seat on the bed. He nodded as he read her thoughts, knew that Alice had revealed to Esme all that Bella had told her and smiled at the mother bear that had once again been awakened within her.

"She still won't let you put her clothes in the closet?" Esme asked as she zipped back up the travel bag.

"No," Edward said with a small amount of humor. "I think she's afraid that if her clothes are put in the closet or dresser than that would mean that this move is permanent. She hasn't talked to Charlie since Sunday night and it worries her."

Esme nodded. "Every time I've talked to him he's expressed concern that he's asking too much of us in taking Bella in, but he hates the thought of leaving her alone. Malcolm Jefferies, the Kitsap County Sherriff was one of the people attacked by the bear. He's going to be just fine, but he's asked Charlie to step in while he's recovering. Charlie told me that he's stepped in for the man plenty of times before, but Bella was never living with him any of the other times."

"Are you alright?" Edward asked his adoptive mother as he studied the thoughts he read from her.

"It's just a mother's worries," she said with a soft smile. "Both of my girls are hurting and there doesn't seem to be a whole lot that I can do."

"That's not true," Edward denied with a lopsided grin. "I've seen the way they both respond to you and Carlisle, Bella especially. You give them the unconditional parental support that they've never gotten anywhere else before and they're the better for it. Angela absolutely adores being held between you and Carlisle at night when he reads to her and Bella, and although I can't read her thoughts," he said with a soft grin, "Bella gets this light in her eyes when she curls against Carlisle. You two are exactly what they both need."

_Thank you, Edward,_ Esme thought with a pouting smile before she turned and left his room, Bella's clothes tucked in her arms. He took in a slow breath when he heard the bathroom door open and close and smiled as he stepped out of his bedroom. He was worried about Angela. She had been silent most of the day and hadn't said a word after he'd brought her home from school. She wasn't actively hiding, but with the visit with her parents happening only two days away, she was understandably frightened. Stepping downstairs, he looked first in the library before moving through the house as he searched for her, the silence of her thoughts denying him the ease of finding her through his talent.

"She's outside," Jasper told him and nodded toward the kitchen. "She fell asleep about a half hour ago."

"Seth's with her again?" Edward chuckled as he saw the image in his brother's thoughts.

"Curled up with her and content to let her use him as a pillow while she sleeps. She's waiting for the others to come back. She won't come inside until they return," the southern vampire said with an affectionate grin. "Emmett's guarding her. He was reading to them both until she fell asleep now he's talking with Seth. It's kind of amazing the way they've found to communicate with each other while he's in his wolf form."

"Emmett's far more gifted at reading body language then I ever realized before Angela came to stay with us," Edward nodded as he followed Jasper through the house and into the kitchen. "Even when she was silent he was always able to tell what she was thinking."

"He watches people, he always has" Jasper said as they stepped onto the patio behind the house. "Hey," he greeted Emmett. "How's she doing?"

"Still sleeping," Emmett said and nodded toward the sandy blond wolf she was curled against. "I almost hate that she agreed to do this. I don't want her parents having anymore contact with her, no matter what the end result would be. The pain they continue to put her through doesn't seem worth it."

"I know," Edward sighed. "They're being held in the tri-county jail while they wait for the sentencing hearing. It's almost fifty miles away from here, but still it doesn't feel far enough."

"The temperature's dropping again," Jasper said and looked at Angela when the wind shifted, a gentle breeze blowing through and bringing the colder air with it. "We should move her inside."

"You and I both know that she won't go in until her Volturi return," Emmett said with a soft chuckle. "I tried to convince her to go inside earlier before she fell asleep, but she refused to, especially when Alice came by to tell her that they would be returning tonight before she and Rosalie took off. Rose seemed a bit pissed, but wouldn't tell me where they were going."

Edward took in a deep steadying breath. "You know how upset Bella's been since we came back?" he asked his brother and watched Emmett nod quietly. "Alice was finally able to get her talk this afternoon. Lauren made some comments to her about us and with Bella's history…"

Edward let his voice trail off without finishing the comment, knowing that both his brothers would understand his meaning. Emmett growled low, his expression dark and dangerous as his eyes changed from their warm gold to a fathomless black. The rage inspired by the thought of Lauren's intentional and ruthless verbal and emotional attacks against his human sisters was powerful and damning. Closing his eyes as he regained control of his temper, he opened them once more to reveal the honey-toned orbs. He nodded to Edward, knowing that Rose and Alice would be able to do what none of them could. The wind was picking up speed and he watched as Angela shivered in her sleep even as she was surrounded by Seth's warmth.

"They'd better return before the sun sets," Emmett said and nodded his thanks to Esme when she stepped outside to hand him a heavy quilt. "It's getting colder by the moment and it's still fairly bright outside. I don't want her out here after dark."

"Now who's the Papa Bear?" Jasper chuckled at Emmett and laughed when he was answered with a punch to his shoulder.

"I'm her big brother, thank you," Emmett said as he stepped across the thick cushioning grass to Angela and covered her with the blanket. "It's alright, half pint, you just rest," he told her when she stirred slightly before sighing contentedly in her sleep.

**:::::**

He breathed in deeply and cast his eyes to the cerulean sky above. It had been three days since he had touched the man's hand, three days since he had suffered the violation of the man's thoughts. Allowing a soft smile to turn his lips up, he looked to the side and turned his eyes on his wife when she stepped up to his side. Her hand slipped into his, their palms aligned and he closed his fingers around her delicate hand slowly before turning his full attention upon her. He opened his talent; let the sweet sultry tones of her thoughts flow over him, soothing him with the familiar balm of her love. Turning his body toward her, Aro lifted his other hand and cupped her cheek in his palm as he leaned toward her and rested his brow upon hers.

"I love you," he whispered to her and felt peaceful at the tendrils of love that surrounded him from her thoughts. "I don't know what I did to deserve you, amor meus sempiternus. After all that has happened, all that you thought was done by my command; how is it that you are still by my side?"

"Oh, Aro…" Suplicia shifted, her head tipping up so that she could place a chaste butterfly kiss against his lips. "Omnia vincit amor; numquam periit amor. As terrified as I was that what happened to me was by your command, I was even more afraid that it wasn't."

"You never spoke to me of what happened," he said with grief and confusion. "Why? Why did you never come to me?"

"Aro," Suplicia shook her head slowly and looked up at him. "Come, sit with me," she said and turned, leading him by the hand to a fallen tree nearby. "You've blocked your talent from me," she said knowingly when he sat down and drew her to sit in his lap.

"What makes you say that?" he asked and smiled when she chuckled.

"One," she said and stared at him pointedly, "that little gesture you just made of squeezing my hand gently, brushing your fingertips over my skin before you released my hand…you have always done that every single time you've blocked your talent from me. It's your little way of asking me to speak my thoughts."

"Do I?" he asked with a thoughtful frown. "I've never noticed."

Suplicia chuckled. "Every time," she smiled and kissed his brow. "And two," she said as she brushed her bent fingers over his cheek, "You have that look in your eyes, the curious patience while you wait for me to speak…these are things a lover would know," she told him with affection.

"Suplicia," he spoke her name imploringly and she nodded slowly.

"I was afraid, Aro. Not just of you," she said and cupped his cheek when he broke eye contact with her. "I was afraid of what you would think of me. You had your dalliances, yes, but I had always been faithful. What if you didn't believe me?" she said, sharing her worries and fears openly for the first time. "What if you believed that I had become as fickle as Athenodora? But more than that," she said as she turned her eyes down and felt a tremor pass through her, Aro's arms tightening around her in response. "What if what was happening was intentional? What if someone was trying to destroy you – us? I couldn't bear the thought."

Aro felt regret tighten his heart and slipped his hand up her back until his fingers slid against her neck and combed into the hair at the base of her skull. The pad of his thumb rubbed against her cheek as he tipped her head back and covered her lips with his. She sighed against him, her hands lifting to twine in his hair as she held him close and met his kiss with all the passion and love she felt for him. He groaned appreciatively at her ministrations, pulled her closer and held her tight before breaking their intimate contact to rest his brow once more against hers.

"I will always love you," he promised her reverently. "In perpetuum et unum diem"

"Sine amore, nihil est vita," she returned and tipped her head to kiss his cheek. "We have someone who's expecting us. We've been gone a bit longer than we anticipated," she said with a touch of humor.

"One gentle, fragile little human," he said and took in a deep breath as he smiled.

"A fragile little human who has amassed her own army of vampires," Felix said with a chuckle as he approached the couple from behind. "Marcus is itching to get back," he said when they turned to look at him. "He said he can feel her tugging."

"Tugging?" Suplicia said as she stood from Aro's lap, her lips forming a slow smile. "That pulsing warmth," she said with wonder and looked up at the sky. "I thought that was the sun," she shook her head, her eyes wide. "That's Angela?"

"Songbird," Felix grinned at her pointedly. "In all the time that we were in Kauai, did the strength of the sun ever actually make you feel warm?"

"No," she said slowly after a moment, meeting her friend's gaze. "Certainly not like this. This feels…"

"Like you're being warmed from the inside out," Marcus finished for her as he appeared beside Felix. "I still find it inconceivable that she is this strong."

"Felix?" Suplicia saw the expression on his face turn from amusement to one of surprise and curiosity. "What is it?"

"I don't know," his brow furrowed as he turned around and began to move away from them. "I swear, it feels like she's right here," he shook his head as he stopped moving and looked at Marcus. "Do you – can you - "

"Smell her?" Marcus asked with a chuckle. "Yes. I noticed her scent almost an hour ago when I first felt her tugging at me. It is Wednesday, after all." He chuckled when Suplicia looked at him quizzically. "Suplicia we've all been with her together since last Tuesday. We have greeted her when she returned from school." He turned and looked at Felix, "Told her stories of Rome or taught her the ancient languages each day before she was fed dinner."

"Watched her sleep, tucked against Carlisle when he reads to his girls at night," Suplicia said with a brilliant infectious smile. "She's waiting for us," she laughed and turned to Aro.

"Yes, my love, it would seem she is," he smiled down at her and kissed her chastely. "Let us return."

**:::::**

Angela sighed softly at the feeling of a cool touch upon her cheek. Turning her face into Seth's thick fur to hide her yawn, she blinked tiredly and burrowed deeper between the warm blanket and the pillowing softness of Seth's side. Turning her head slowly as she gave a soft tired moan, she turned her eyes up and met Emmett's familiar warm gold gaze. Smiling tiredly as she turned until she was sitting with her back leaning against Seth, she let the quilt fall from her shoulders to pool around her lap. Emmett chuckled softly at her drowsy movements and leaned close to press a kiss to her brow. Grinning even as he rolled his eyes at her with humor, he scooted close enough to sit against Seth's side as well and laughed softly at the amused groan that sounded from the werewolf.

"How long was I asleep?" she asked, leaning into Emmett's embrace when he wrapped his arms around her.

"Not too long," he told her and smiled when she tucked herself against his side. "Two hours or so," he said as he brought the quilt up and tucked it around her shoulders. "It's getting colder out here, Half Pint; you really should go inside where it's warmer. Jasper just started a fire a few minutes ago. I know how much you love the warmth of the flames."

"Alice said they'd be home soon," she mumbled and he turned his head down to look at her.

"You're almost asleep again," he told her and rubbed his hand over her arm as he pulled her closer. "How's your head?" he asked knowing that she had been suffering a powerful migraine since she had arrived home with Edward.

"I'm fine. I want to wait for them," Angela said tiredly and Emmett sighed heavily.

"How about I make you a deal?" he asked and felt the movement when she turned her head up to look at him. "I'll wait out here with you for them until the sun sets; that's about another hour from now," he said looking at the sky before turning his eyes down to meet her mahogany gaze. "If they're not back by then, you come inside with me where it's warmer. Do we have a deal?"

"Only if you read to me a bit more," she said tiredly and felt the vibrations of his chuckles under her cheek.

"Alright, half pint, you've got a deal," he said and moved to take his phone from his pocket only to look up as Edward came toward them. "Thanks," he said when his brother held a book out to him.

"I know you have it downloaded on your phone, but somehow reading to her from a digital copy just seems wrong," Edward said softly and Emmett chuckled.

"I've noticed that, too," Emmett chuckled and looked down on the girl in question to see that her eyes were closed.

"She's almost asleep, but not quite," Edward answered his brother's thoughts. "She's waiting to hear you read to her. My guess," he said and reached out to brush his hand over her hair, "she'll fall asleep in the middle of the first poem you read to her."

"How's Bella?" Emmett asked softly and saw Edward's jaw tighten with displeasure.

"Scared," Edward said with a frown. "There was this one moment back in the beginning of our relationship when she told me that it didn't make sense that I would love her," he frowned angrily at the ground and shook his head. "I never understood what she meant, but after everything I've learned about her in these past few days…"

"Where is she now?" Emmett asked and Edward offered a crooked grin at his brother's thoughts.

"Taking a bath," Edward said. "She needed some time to herself and a way to relax. Now, I just need to get her to eat more."

"Cheesecake," Angela mumbled as she breathed in deeply, turning her face to hide her yawn against Emmett's chest.

"What, sweetheart?" Edward asked as he tucked her hair behind her ear to see her face.

"Cheesecake and mushroom ravioli with roasted garlic Alfredo," Angela said aloud, her voice breathy and tired, her eyes barely open. "Bella can't resist either one. It's kind of like culinary candy," she said before tucking herself closer into Emmett's side and tapping the book in his hand.

"Demanding little thing," he teased her as he opened the book and turned to the page he had left off. "Are you sure you don't want Jasper to read this to you? After all it is the Civil War Poetry by Walt Whitman."

"Emmett," Angela spoke his name softly with a demanding tone and he chuckled at the drowsy girl in his arms.

"Yes, ma'am," he teased her and looked down at the words printed on the page.

"I'll leave you to her," Edward told him in low tones. "Thank you, sweetheart," he said to Angela and she hummed her reply. "Don't let her get too cold," he said to Emmett as he stood from his crouching position in front of them and turned to walk back into the house.

Angela sighed contentedly as Emmett's rich smooth baritone voice sounded in low melodic tones next to her ear as he read to her from the book of poetry and prose. His arm tightened around her gently, his spirit soothed to be holding her once again and he rested his cheek upon her warm silken hair while he read to her. She was infinitely precious to all of them, delicate and cherished and Emmett felt the smile tugging at his lips when her heartbeat and breathing slipped into the deeper, slower rhythms of sleep. Whispering to her as he closed the book in his hands, he kissed her hair and set the book on the grass next to him only to wrap the folds of the hand-stitched quilt tighter around her.

"We're all home, half pint. We're never going to leave you again," he promised her and smiled when she snuggled against him, her hand fisting in his shirt. "I'll always protect you. From shadows and spiders and broken hearts," he told her affectionately and rubbed her back. "That's what big brothers are for and you've got three of us."

"Emmett."

He looked up at the soft alto sound of his wife's voice and smiled at her. She looked a far bit calmer now as she stood before him then she had earlier that afternoon and he held his hand out for her to take. A perfectly shaped blonde brow arched, her expression making her thoughts clear and he chuckled softly at her. She had no intention of getting closer to Seth than she had to and he knew that it had nothing to do with the boy himself, but everything to do with the strong scent of werewolf that he held. Grinning at her as he wrapped his extended arm back around Angela, he looked up at Rosalie and waited for her to speak.

"Alice and I were a bit too upset to speak earlier," she told him and rolled her eyes before looking back at the house. "Therapy shopping and battle planning," she said with wry humor. "Alice needed new boots and we needed to pay our respects to Lauren."

"Edward told us what she said to Bella," he said, his eyes hard and angry.

"Yes, well, we took care of it," Rosalie assured him. "You should bring her inside," she told him looking at their human sister. "It's getting a touch too cold out here for her."

"I made a deal with her to wait until sunset. If they're not back by then I'll take her inside. What's Esme planning to make them for dinner? Our girls need to eat," he said and his wife chuckled.

"Chili," Rosalie smiled. "She thought it would be good for them. A simple warm dish on a cold fall evening, that's what she said anyway."

"Some beans, a little meat, a few tomatoes and other veggies," he nodded his approval. "They just need to be fattened up is all."

"Carlisle's said that Angela needs to put on twenty more pounds and Bella almost thirty before he'll consider either one of them to have returned to health. Jasper will be happy when she's gained enough weight that Carlisle will put her back on the Toradol. He said her migraines are fairly constant, but she hasn't said a single word about them," she said and crouched down to touch her fingers to Angela's cheek.

"You and I both know she won't, she never has," he said and sighed heavily with displeasure. "Friday," he said simply and shook his head. "I know it's only one hour, but I don't like it."

"One hour, Em," Rosalie said and leaned close enough to kiss him even as she wrinkled her nose at Seth's smell. "She's strong enough to face them and after that…They'll never be able to touch her again. She'll be ours completely. She'll be a Cullen and no one will be able to argue that."

"I just don't like that she has to be alone in there. One of us should be with her. What?" he asked when she grinned.

"She and Alice have been trying to work out a way for her to not be completely alone in there," she told him with a soft smile. "From what Alice said, Angela practiced projecting to her today in every class that they were apart. That's why she's so exhausted," she explained to him. "Alice was able to see and hear everything that she heard and through her talent, Edward was able to as well. They're both worried that she may stop projecting if she becomes frightened or upset though. No one really has a plan around that."

He nodded silently, his expression one of worry and caution. He didn't like the thought of Angela being anywhere near her human parents, especially after the injury and upset she had suffered as a result of their last encounter. He cast his eyes up to the sky above and watched as the first tendrils of color began to traverse the sky. A few more minutes, he told himself and looked down at Angela. He would give them only a few more minutes, but then he was taking Angela inside, whether the visiting Volturi had returned or not. He smiled when Rosalie reached out to smooth her hand over Angela's hair and nodded when she told him that she would be going inside. He looked down at Angela and tipped his head to rest his cheek upon her hair.

In two days they would be taking Angela to see her human parents down at the tri-county jail. One hour. Just one short hour was what it had taken to get the vile humans to agree to give away their parental rights to her. One hour spent with them and she would officially and legally be a Cullen. It was just one hour, sixty minutes, three thousand six hundred seconds. So why did it feel as though he would be taking her to the gallows? Shushing Angela when she stirred gently against him, he gathered the blanket closer around her and moved carefully to his knees before adopting a crouching position and lifting her into his arms. Standing slowly, he cast one last glance toward the tree line and made a sound that was as equally amused as it was annoyed to see Marcus appear first through the thick foliage.

Emmett looked at Marcus, his gold eyes full of defiance. He wanted to take Angela inside where it was warmer. The temperature had dropped another five degrees with the falling of night and it was continuing to get colder. He waited though, against his better judgment and rubbed his cheek against her hair to wake her as he bounced her in his arms gently. She mumbled softly, sighed tiredly as she turned her face into his chest. He spoke to her softly, telling her that those she had been waiting for had finally returned and felt her warm breath when she yawned against his chest. Angela turned her head slowly, blinking away her lingering exhaustion and smiled drowsily at Marcus when he stepped close enough for her to see his face.

"Hello, Little One," Marcus greeted her softly and brushed his hand against her cheek. "She is chilled," he said with a frown, his eyes turning up to meet Emmett's gaze. "How long has she been out here?"

"Nearly four hours, ever since she arrived home from school," Emmett told him and saw the concern on the ancient man's face. "Alice saw your decision to return, she told Angela that you all would be returning home tonight."

"And she insisted on waiting for us," Aro said with amusement and nodded slowly as he stepped forward to greet Angela as well.

"Aro?" Angela whispered, her voice thick with the sleep and pain of her migraine still clouding her brain.

"Yes, little one, we have returned," he said and touched his hand to her cheek.

He could see her memories from the past few days, the times that she curled against Carlisle prevalent in her mind the closer she came to sleep. He smiled gently, feeling to be at peace once more. Her thoughts infused him, warming him from the inside out and he felt the last of McGinnis' foul memories leave him. They would remain with him as did the memories of all of those he had read throughout his life, but she had pushed the memories down, the brilliance of her spirit making them almost unseen within his mind. He watched as Angela blinked tiredly once more before she shifted, turning to press her cheek against Emmett's chest as her eyes fell closed once more.

"Take her inside," Aro said softly as he dropped his hand from her gracefully and stepped away. "You all give into her too easily," he commented with amusement over the memory he had seen of the deal Emmett had made with Angela only a short hour before.

"And you don't?" Carlisle asked from the patio as he looked upon his ancient friend. "She needs to eat," he told Emmett and nodded toward the door. "Esme's waiting for you both."

Emmett turned away from the four ancients standing in front of him and carried Angela up the wooden stairs, a lopsided grin on his face as he looked down at the girl sleeping in his arms. He knew that he would need to wake her, but she looked so peaceful that it made him reluctant to disturb her in any manner. Esme smiled as soon as she saw him and stepped forward to greet her children. Leaning close to press a kiss to her human daughter's cool cheek, she frowned at the feel of Angela's chilled skin and directed Emmett to take her into the living room to wake her. Trailing her bent fingers down Angela's cheek, she watched as the girl's eyes open slowly and frowned at the sight of the pain and exhaustion filling the chocolate depths.

"Leave the blanket on the couch," she told him softly, "but take her upstairs so that she can change into something more comfortable and make certain that she has a sweater. I'm sure she'll want one."

With one last glance at Angela, she smiled at Emmett when he nodded and watched as he carried Angela out of the kitchen. Turning back to face the doorway leading outside, she smiled as Carlisle stepped inside, followed by his four ancient friends from Italy. She was pleased to see the difference in Aro and Suplicia. They reacted to each other differently now, the way they shared secretive looks or reached for each other's hands without thought. They had been close before they had left for their hunt certainly, but now…she smiled; now they looked as tightly bound and as much in love as she and Carlisle were. She didn't give the action any thought as she reached out to greet Aro and smiled when he took her hand between both of his, the expression on his face humbled and honored. It was then, as she watched his brow furrow, that she remembered his talent. She would not refuse him though, certainly not when she had been the one to offer, unintentional though it was.

The first thing that greeted him was the strength of her love, not just for Carlisle, but for her entire family. Her passion burned brightly inside of her, the emotion strengthening her and driving her to fight fiercely for those she loved. Her memories came to him then, flowing over him with the gentleness of a shallow stream and he frowned at the knowledge of what she had been through. While her childhood had been filled with the simple pleasures of exploring the outdoors, it had been overshadowed by her parents' constant reminders of what she shouldn't do. Proper girls didn't climb trees or play in the grass. Proper girls didn't catch butterflies or read books about adventure or exploring the world. The things that Esme had loved to do, her parents had seen as distasteful and boyish.

She had spent her life being told what she shouldn't do. She had never kept her desire to teach a secret and her father had made it clear to her that no daughter of his would ever be anything more than someone's wife. Both of her parents had made certain that she knew of their displeasure with her actions and interests. They had never hit her, never tormented her as Angela's parents had done, but they had done their best to fit her into the mold that they had made for her. Her father preached to her, made her read the Bible and hated that she truly had very little interest in the book or its religion. Her mother had made her always energetic daughter sit for hours on end doing cross-stitch or learning how to sew clothing when all Esme had truly wanted to do was run in the open fields surrounding her childhood home.

His smile was fleeting when he came to the time when she was sixteen and her introduction to Carlisle. The connection between them had been immediate and strong, igniting her passion beyond anything she had ever known. She had broken her leg, the pain excruciating, but every time she had looked upon his pale face and rich gold eyes her pain was instantly forgotten. He had sat with her, spoken with her well into the night until she had fallen asleep. He hadn't been there in the morning when her father had come back to gather her, but he had remained in her mind every day since.

He felt angered and unsteady when he came to her memories of Charles Evanson. The man had been cruel, wanting Esme for her beauty while damning her for it at the same time. He hated that her intelligence, the way that she held a mind of her own and refused to be told what to do. The only time he had spoken any kind words to her had been when she was still living with her parents, before they had been married. Once she had moved in with him the beatings had begun. He would hit her in the abdomen, grip her arms until she couldn't feel her hands and terrorize her all because he couldn't deal with the person that he was. Esme had a strong spirit, that could not be denied, but even the strongest spirit would eventually break if the circumstances were right.

She had run to her mother within three months of her marriage begging for help. Her mother had turned her away, telling her simply that if Charles had been the one to give her the bruises she was sporting than she had obviously deserved them. She was told to be grateful that she had Charles and should do her best to please him; after all, it was a wife's duty to be obedient to her husband. Esme's will had broken then, her mother's abandonment leaving her without hope for anything better. She was trapped with Charles, unable to get away from his violence and hatred, but at night when she slept her dreams were filled with the kindness and beauty of the doctor she had met when she was sixteen. Her memories of Carlisle had been the one escape she held, the one thing that kept her spirit from breaking entirely.

The day she had found out she was pregnant had been the day she had finally chosen to run. She didn't care what she had to do or what hardships she would face alone, she had been determined to keep her child from her human husband's violence. She had run first to her cousin in Milwaukee, hoping that her family would take her in and help her. Instead she had been betrayed by them and had been forced to run in the middle of the night when she had been informed that Charles would be arriving the following day. She had kept running until she reached Ashland, a small city by the water. She had taken a job there to support herself, fulfilling her dream to become a teacher and had believed that she was finally being given a second chance at a better life.

Her peace had been short lived. Her happiness falling to ruin in the wake of her son's death after only two days of a life filled with the pain of the illness he had suffered. She had sobbed while holding the dying infant in her arms, doing her best to sing to him and comfort him as he slipped away. Her heart had shattered then, her spirit breaking beyond repair and as she had watched the tiny casket lowered into the ground she had felt her heart die with him. Her despair washed over him, her pain tightening his heart in a merciless steel grip that left him silent. She had walked aimlessly throughout her last human day only to find herself at a cliff's edge as night had fallen over the land. The sound of the waves crashing against the rocks below had greeted her, the smell of the salt water calling to her and before she had given thought to anything else, she had jumped from the cliff with the hopes of seeing her dead infant once again.

She hadn't died as she hoped to, but rather found herself floating in a sea of pain instead. When she had woken, her crimson eyes had found the face of an angel hovering over her, his familiar amber eyes filled with worry. She had been confused by the burning in the back of her throat and no matter how comforted she had been to see Carlisle and to feel him holding her hand; she had been more terrified to be in the company of two men. Her history with Charles had taught her that men would only ever do two things to her: rape her and beat her. She had never made love to Charles, she had never even had sex with him; no, both of those things implied consent. He had taken what he had wanted whether she wanted him to or not.

She had been so frightened her first year as she adjusted to her new life and to being with Carlisle and Edward. Carlisle had been gentle with her, patient and kind. He had stayed with her when her fear had left her cowering in a corner or her grief leaving her sobbing silent and tearless into a pillow, her body folded as small as she could make it. He would sit near her, reading to her from novels or books of poetry, letting his voice soothe her. Their romance had been slow, cautious, but he had made her feel hope and love again, two things that she had feared she would never know. Their first kiss had been gentle and hesitant at first only to burn with the fire of her passion and be fueled ever more by the strength of the love he had held for her.

Edward had left them almost two years after they had been married. Esme had been devastated, the anger and restlessness Edward had always seemed to hold had made her feel responsible for his disappearance. She had blamed herself, grieving for the rift that she had caused between Carlisle and his son only fall into Edward's arms when he had returned to her four years later. The first thing he had told her was that she would never again be harmed by anyone. The second thing he had done was ask for her forgiveness at his abandonment. She had cried in his arms and he had held her tightly, comforting her until Carlisle had come home from his shift at the hospital.

A bond had been formed then between herself and Edward. The hours that she had spent with him upon his return had been precious and filled with truths shared between the two that they had not revealed to each other before. He protected her, doted upon her even while loving her and accepting her as his adopted mother. He had written her song then, the story of her life and love with Carlisle told through the flowing melody of his piano. Rosalie had come into their lives a few years later and though her beginning had been rocky as well, she had brought Emmett into their lives and their family had grown again.

Emmett was playful, letting things roll off of him without ever darkening his spirit. He had taken naturally to the role of protector, guarding his family while forming the easy brotherly relationship with Edward. It had remained as just the five of them until nineteen-fifty when Alice and Jasper had found them, the girl waltzing into their lives and falling in place as though she had always been there. It was amusing to see the odd acceptance and equal confusion that Alice had brought all while Jasper remained more of a background figure. He had been accepting of the family, but reluctant to get too close. Esme had brought him out of the shadows though, her warmth and unconditional support offering him acceptance and love.

Jasper and Emmett both had suffered slips over the years, almost revealing what they were when the scent of human blood had become too much to resist, but it had been Esme's affections and motherly love that had welcomed them both with open arms. She had never once been upset or angry with their slips, understanding instead that it was more difficult for them both simply because they had tasted human blood. When Bella had entered their lives she had watched with delight as Edward's darkness had been chased away only to be replaced by the light of love instead. It had been a little less than a year later that Angela had come into their lives as well and he watched through her eyes, felt through her heart as the addition of Angela had strengthened the lines between the members of her family in a way that she had never thought possible.

Aro closed his eyes slowly, lifting Esme's hand to his lips and kissing her knuckles before releasing her. He met her honey toned eyes and thanked her for sharing her life with him. She nodded; her expression warm and kind and he knew that if not for her being a vampire, she would have a blush upon her cheeks. He watched her slip easily to stand against Carlisle, the golden haired man wrapping his arm around her waist and dropping a kiss to her lips when she turned her face up to meet his eyes. The love between them shined from them both like a beacon in the dark, a guiding light to those poor souls who had lost their way and Aro felt himself awed by all the beauty he had found since rediscovering a dear friend he had lost centuries ago.

They turned as one, Carlisle and Esme moving to greet Angela and Bella as they were led into the kitchen by Emmett and Edward. Angela was still quite drowsy, but awake enough to eat and those gathered in the kitchen were amused by the picture that she made, her body hidden away beneath the sweater she wore. The soft cream knit fisherman's sweater she wore was a borrowed garment from Emmett and it billowed upon her, her hands hidden beneath the rolled up sleeves. Her voice was soft, colored by drowsiness as she asked to the whereabouts of her werewolf friend and Carlisle smiled, greeting her with a hug as he told her that Seth had left for the reservation to see his family.

"Come on," Esme chuckled and led Angela to the table, encouraging her to sit down. "You need to eat. I've only given you a half bowl, eat that and then you can sleep."

"Jasper?" Carlisle turned to his adopted son and watched the Southern vampire nod slowly. "How bad?"

"Not as bad as they were earlier this week, but enough that I'll need to keep the barrier up tonight so that she can sleep," Jasper answered, keeping his voice too low for humans to hear and Carlisle nodded slowly.

"Has the morphine been helping her?" Carlisle asked and the way in which Jasper pursed his lips answered his question. "Is it effective at all?"

"The drips have been, but the single doses aren't," Jasper said quietly. "Her migraines over power the single doses within a few hours. But I fear that she may be accentuating the pain of migraines each time that she practices projecting to Alice. Today's not the first time that she's done it, but today is the longest that she's held the connection open. Alice said that she was able to see through Angela's eyes almost constantly today, whereas Monday and yesterday the connection lasted only for a few minutes, thirty at most."

"She's afraid of being alone in there with them," Edward said and Aro nodded.

"The more she uses that particular talent, the stronger her migraines are," Carlisle said with worry as he looked upon her.

"What about the migraine medicines Dr. Ramanajan was using in his trial?" Esme asked as she placed a slice of warm cheese cake onto a plate before placing the rest of the freshly made dessert into the fridge.

"I'm hesitant to use either of them," Carlisle said as he watched Esme set the dish in front of Bella as she took the girl's empty bowl away. "They are more effective at relieving the pain of severe migraines, yes. But both are still undergoing clinical trials and are known to cause brain hemorrhaging and grand mal seizures. I'm not willing to take that risk with her."

"Cheesecake?" Bella questioned, her softly voiced question breaking their conversation.

"A little bird told me you favored it," Esme said with a teasing grin. "Emmett," she called to her son with amusement. "You may as well take Angela up to bed, she's practically asleep."

Emmett chuckled and approached Angela, smiling at the picture she made hidden inside his sweater and dressed in the loose flowing yoga pants she wore as bed clothes. He held out his hand, helping her up from her chair and smiled at her tired moan when he lifted her into the cradle of his arms. Jasper followed behind him, the boys content to hold her between them as she slept, a favorite past time that had been missed as of late when she was held instead by Carlisle. The blond doctor watched as they exited the kitchen, Edward and Bella following shortly behind and he smiled gently at his retreating family.

"I'm afraid that this will be the last weekend that Marcus and I will be able to stay with your family," Aro said and watched his friend as Carlisle turned to face him.

"With the few things that you have revealed to me of the unrest taking place in Volterra, I must ask," Carlisle began and Aro nodded.

"Is it safe?" Aro finished for him and took in a deep breath as he considered the answer. "I know that Caius would have taken our absence as a chance to strengthen his hold with those who follow him, but he would not actively defy me, not yet. I do not know what we can expect upon our return-"

"I do," Alice said, interrupting him. "It will not be easy," she said and held out her hand to Aro.

He nodded silently, his expression speaking of his gratitude as he took her hand in between both of his. He could have read everything from her, known her life story, but chose instead to focus only on the vision that told of his future. His decision to return to Volterra had opened the door for her gift and through her talent she had seen that it would be difficult for him and Marcus upon their return. Caius would be more aggressive in his efforts to over throw them, more vicious in his desire to destroy those who opposed him.

"I can't see what he'll do yet, but I can feel him and he feels…dangerous," Alice said slowly and Aro nodded as he released her hand.

"Alice," Aro began and caught himself before he could roll his eyes at the sight of her amused grin. "You already know what I am going to ask," he said and she nodded.

"I'll keep you informed," she said. "But I believe that you know what I will ask in return," she said and he nodded.

"And you shall have it," he promised and she smiled brightly.

"Then neither one of us has anything to worry about," she told him and fairly bounced out of the room.

Carlisle's family would have his protection, Angela especially. Turning his eyes on Marcus, he found the man to already be moving toward the stairs and knew that his friend would keep his vigil over Angela as he had every night since arriving. If anyone were to lay one finger upon her there would be hell to pay and not just from Marcus. Angela had awakened the man, brought him from the darkness of the pain Aro had unwittingly inflicted upon him back into the light by healing his heart. She had given Marcus a second lease on his life, something Aro had never let himself imagine possible. She had healed Suplicia's pain as well, taken away her fear and given her back the curious innocence his wife had lost. Angela had set them both free, him as well, and he would protect her and all that she held dear.

He knew that for those who did not know Angela, they would assume that the power she held over him would be akin to Didyme's, Chelsea's or Corin's. They would believe her to be influencing him, controlling him, but the truth was vastly different. She did not hold any control over him, she did not ask anything of him or ever even try to influence him. In fact, Angela's power was one of grace and delicacy. What she did was take away those things that held his kind trapped. She took away their pain, their grief and anger. She rid his kind of the dark emotions that clouded their hearts and influenced their minds like possessing demons. She freed them from the darkness that they could not escape, never knowing that she held the power and never once asking for anything in return. Angela's gift, her talent…her gift to heal his kind had nothing to do with controlling or influencing others, her talent was about granting them freedom.

"It is almost strange now," he spoke his thoughts aloud to Carlisle, "to think of all that I had done before and to look back upon myself. I feel as though I am a different person. I don't feel as…hungry as I was before for power. I feel more like I did before my human family was slaughtered."

"Angela's power is very subtle," Carlisle said with a warm smile as he thought of his human daughter. "You never know how much she has affected you until you find the doubts that once plagued you to be blissfully absent."

"I wish to be there," Aro said as he turned his full attention on the blond doctor. "When she meets with her human parents, I wish to be there."

Carlisle nodded slowly. "You need to take that up with her," Carlisle told him, though he would not refuse the man's request. "I will not make that decision for her. Too many times the freedom of choice has been robbed from her, by them especially, and I will not add to that."

"Carlisle," Felix stepped up to the men as he looked toward the stairs. "What we felt before, when Edward told her of her stalker's return. I've been feeling more of that recently. Some of it this morning, more of it this afternoon, but it doesn't fully take hold. What exactly is set to happen?"

Casting his eyes over his friends, first Felix and then Suplicia and Aro, he told them of the deal that had been struck between the D.A. and the lawyer representing Angela's parents. The time Angela would be forced to spend with them alone would result in the complete severing of their parental rights and formal –human – papers that would mark her as his and Esme's daughter. It would be a new beginning for her, a promise of life without the pain they bestowed upon her, but it would come at a price. He would not have objected or felt disappointed if she had turned down the offer, but she hadn't. Angela had instead stood strong and told him, her voice soft and barely trembling, that she would face them if it meant that she would get to keep the family she had found in all of them.

The thought of her facing them upset and worried them all, but her show of strength, her willingness to face what she feared most made Carlisle feel quite proud of her. He watched as Suplicia stiffened, her hand dropping from Aro's arm as she moved away and disappeared through the house. Carlisle didn't need Aro's talent or even that of Edward or Alice to know exactly where the woman was going and what her intentions were. Over the past few weeks that she had spent with his family, he had watched the ancient woman become increasingly protective of Angela, as protective as Esme herself was and knew that she had gone to watch over the girl as she slept.

"She will be protected," Felix said, his tone of voice making it clear that he had every intention of being there as well to support Angela.

Carlisle nodded, hiding the amusement he felt. He had no doubt that Angela would be protected and knew that the only reason that Monica and Frederick wouldn't be there to support Angela was because they had flown out yesterday evening to return to England. He had no doubt that if Eleazar got wind of the confrontation that he would wish to be there as well. Turning away from the men, he walked out of the room and made his way upstairs to check on his human daughters. Angela was tucked snuggly between Emmett and Jasper in her bed, sleeping soundly surrounded by her brothers. Leaning over Jasper, he kissed her temple before moving out of the room to check on Bella. He smiled softly when he found her to be lying in the circle of Edward's arms, but her eyes were still open, the girl seeming to have trouble falling asleep.

"Would you mind it terribly if I read to you?" he asked Bella and saw a small grin twitch her lips. "I'll be right back," he promised and kissed her forehead before disappearing from the room.

He returned a moment later with Wuthering Heights in his hand. It was Bella's favorite book and he knew that no matter how many times she read it herself, or the book was read to her, she would never grow tired of the novel. Toeing out of his shoes, he settled on Bella's side opposite Edward and smiled when she tucked herself under his arm. Kissing her hair and making certain that she was covered by the blankets as she settled against him, Carlisle opened the book and began to read.


	59. Chapter 57

Chapter 57

"Are you sure?" Emmett asked her softly as he studied her dark eyes when she nodded quietly. "You'll call for me if you change your mind?" he asked and saw the small twitch of her lips as she almost smiled. "Ok," leaning closer he kissed her forehead. "Just don't forget, half pint, you're not alone here."

"I know," Angela said softly and looked down. "I'm sorry, I know I've been quiet, I just…"

"Hey," Emmett lifted her face with a curled finger under her chin. "No one's upset with, half pint. Tomorrow's a big day for you, we all understand that. I hate what they do to you," he confessed as he wrapped her in his arms and held her close. "Jasper and I are always close, so is Carlisle," he reminded her as he loosed his arms from around her and nodded to the room behind her. "Try and get at least a little bit of sleep tonight."

"I'll be alright," she told him and watched his lips pull up in a sad lopsided grin.

"Hey, Angela," Emmett called to her as she stepped into her room. "What?" he asked her in surprise at the sight of the worried frown on her face.

"You don't really say my name anymore, it's always 'half pint'. The few times you've said my name…"

Emmett breathed in deeply and released a heavy sigh as he nodded slowly. He had to admit that she was right, he had taken to calling her half pint more often than anything else and the few times that he had spoken her name were always in response to something bad. He had never realized that he had created that pattern and looked up as he followed her into her bedroom. She was watching him, waiting for him to speak and he nodded to himself as he pulled out the rolling chair behind her desk and sat down.

"I'm just worried," he told her, following her with his eyes as she retrieved sleep clothes to change into. "Every time that you've had any interaction with them at all, whether it was in person or a voicemail they left behind, you've been hurt. I don't want to see you hurt again," he told her and stood from his seat, turning around to stand with his back to her while he gave her the privacy to change. "After the last time at the bookstore and with what Edward read from them…"

"Wait, what?" Angela interrupted him, her hand on his arm bidding him to turn around. "What did he read from them?" she asked with wide eyes.

"He didn't?...Ang, I don't know if I should," he began, his voice falling silent when she shook her head.

"Don't do that, don't try to protect me by keeping the truth from me," she said and searched his eyes for the answer. "What did Edward read from them?"

Emmett sighed silently, the breath released through his nose as he pressed his lips together in worry and displeasure. That Edward hadn't told her what he'd read from her parents only made him that much more reluctant to speak the truth of it to her. He didn't want to hurt her, didn't want to be the one to break her heart, but at the same time he knew that she both needed and deserved an explanation. Taking her hands in his, he walked the few steps to her bed and sat down with her slowly. He feared her reaction, the pain it would cause her to know the true depths of her parents' depravity.

"Angela," he heard her intake of breath, knew that his use of her true name worried her. "Before I tell you what he read, I need to tell you this and I need you to remember it," he said as he framed her face with his hands and looked into her eyes. "We love you. Every single one of us loves you. You have a family here and you will want for nothing. We will never leave you, never bring you harm, we will protect you from everything that we can."

"It's that bad?" she asked, her whispered voice trembling and she choked on a frightened sob when he nodded silently.

He moved his hands, brushing the length of her hair over her shoulders, rubbing her arms, doing anything he could to comfort her as he thought of how best to tell her. Looking behind her and spotting Carlisle's bear leaning against the pillows, he grasped the golden-white doctor bear and handed it to her as he opened his mouth to speak. His words were slow, his voice soft as he told her that the actions her parents had both taken over the years were not because they were ashamed of her, but rather because they hadn't wanted her. He moved closer when the first of many tears fell from her eyes and wrapped her in his arms. Kissing her hair, reminding her once again that she was loved by every member of his family and the four Volturi she had collected, he continued slowly.

Giving her up for adoption would have brought unwanted attention upon her parents from their friends and congregation. Returning to the United States without her after word had spread of her birth would have raised too many questions. He held her closer, lifting her to sit in his lap as he rested his chin on her hair and did his best to protect her from the truth he was confessing. Every action they had taken, every word they had spoken to her had been in an effort to drive her to suicide. If she had taken her own life then her parents would have been comforted and not condemned by their community of friends and contacts. If she took her own life, their problem would have been solved and their ties and influence would have only strengthened as those they knew sought to offer them comfort in the face of such tragedy.

He could feel her trembling in his arms, her tears soaking through his shirt to scald against his cold impenetrable skin. He tipped his head, kissed her hair and closed his eyes tightly against the dark emotions coursing through him as he sought to offer her whatever comfort he could. He could feel her pain as though it were his own and looked up as Edward appeared in the open doorway with Carlisle at his side. He saw the tight set of his brother's jaw, knew that Edward had not wanted her to know and cursed himself for the slip of the tongue that had opened this Pandora's Box.

"Bring her downstairs," Edward told him, his voice too low for Angela to hear.

"Why?" Emmett asked, his brow furrowed in confusion as he rubbed his hand over Angela's back.

"Seth won't fit in here, there isn't enough room," he said and Emmett nodded.

Edward's lips pressed into a thin line, his eyes closing as Alice's vision came to him through his talent. It was extraordinarily difficult for her to see Angela in her visions, but his sister had found ways around that, by focusing instead on her family members and the interactions they would have with her human sister. Angela would be quiet tomorrow; despondent might even be a better description. They'd be lucky if she spoke two words all day and he hated that tomorrow would end with her being secluded in a room alone with her parents. It upset every single member of his family and even those of the Volturi, that Angela would be made to face them alone without anyone there to offer her comfort or security.

_I've got her, Edward,_ Emmett spoke to his brother through his thoughts. _Go back to Bella. _

Edward nodded slowly and turned away from the door as Emmett carried Angela into the hall. He watched Carlisle stand close, bending down at a shallow angle to press a kiss to his human daughter's brow and nodded at the thoughts he read. Each person in his house – vampire and werewolf alike – had one singular binding thought, one purpose tying them all together. There was not a single human or vampire who had the level of protection that Angela did in that moment and he wondered once more what he would have done if he had known of the abuse she was suffering before she had become a part of his family. The maltreatment Esme had suffered at the hands of her human husband had driven him to renounce his diet of animal blood if only to kill the man who had tormented his immortal mother. Had he known of Angela's suffering…he feared that his reaction would have been much worse.

Knocking lightly on his bedroom door before walking inside at Bella's request, he breathed in deeply of her scent and closed the door behind him. As silent as her mind was to him, he chuckled almost sadly to realize that she could read his eyes and face easily. She stepped closer to him, her expression concerned and touched her hand to his cheek. Brushing the backs of his fingers over her warm silk cheek, he dipped his head and captured her lips with his. He needed her, the familiarity and comfort of her touch, the burn of her passion. His mouth moved over hers, her lips opening to him upon a sigh as she welcomed him in and he delighted in the feel of her hands fisting in his hair.

"I love you," he whispered against her mouth as he lifted her into his arms and carried her to his bed. "I love you," he repeated as he kissed her again, slowly and sweetly.

He rolled over top her, groaning softly with desire when she spread her legs so that he could lie between them. She returned his ministrations, kissing him as she wrapped her arms around his neck, one leg lifting to hook over his hip. He caught her behind the knee, the move he performed testing the edges of his control as he pressed against her and rubbed against her warmth. He was normally so very careful not to get himself or her too excited, but he needed the feel of her warmth, of her desire, more than he had before. Rubbing the outside of her knee with his thumb, he gently lowered her leg back to the bed and slowed his attentions until their passionate embrace was one of familiar laziness.

"I will always love you," he promised her as he moved the blankets beneath her and rolled to the side. "I will always protect you."

Tucking her beneath the satin sheets and thick comforter, Edward wrapped his arms around Bella and tugged her to lie upon his chest. Stroking her hair and humming her lullaby, he closed his eyes as he listened to her heartbeat and breathing fall into the deep even rhythms of sleep. Tomorrow, he knew, would be difficult – a test for them all. He knew that Angela was strong, but he feared the pain she would be caused by the visit with her parents. Sleeping was an impossibility for his kind, but he closed his eyes and buried his nose in Bella's hair, breathing deeply of her scent as he focused his enhanced senses on only her. Shutting out the voices of his family's thoughts, he closed himself away from everything save the girl sleeping in his arms and allowed her to soothe him into stillness.

**:::::**

He slipped quietly into the room; the only light that of the fire burning in the stone hearth behind them. His nose wrinkled; the gesture an unconscious expression of his distaste for the smell of the creature she was curled against. His steps were silent as he moved to take a seat next to Marcus, his brother having been keeping vigil over the girl curled against the werewolf since she had been brought into this room nearly three hours ago. His brother's attention turned to him slowly, his hand held to the side in offering and Aro accepted the invitation quietly. She wasn't sleeping, Marcus' observations told him and he pressed his lips together as he focused his attention on Angela. She stirred slightly, her eyes opening and he frowned at the exhaustion in the dark chocolate depths.

"You should sleep," Aro told her softly when her eyes found him. "Would it help if we left?"

Angela shook her head quietly, her eyes falling from his face and he felt the gentle warmth pulse around him. His lips pulled up at the side in a soft sad smile before the expression smoothed out into neutrality. He glanced upon Marcus, his brother's distraction making him curious and watched as the taller man stood from his chair and slipped from the room silently. Turning his attention back to Angela when the soothing pulse of her warmth wrapped around him again, he reminded her softly that he couldn't read her thoughts at a distance as her brother could. He saw her blush softly and knew that she understood why he wouldn't move closer to take her hand.

"How did you meet Papa?" she asked him and he smiled softly, the expression relaxed as the blond man in question came to join him in the chair Marcus had vacated.

"Close your eyes," Aro instructed Angela with a shallow nod. "I will tell you if you try to sleep," he offered and she agreed quietly as she curled deeper into Seth's fur.

The wolf made a soft sound, something akin to a sighing groan as he moved his tail to rest upon the blanket covering her legs and turned his head closer to the girl resting against his side. His eyes drifted between Angela and Aro as the ancient man began to speak once again, his voice smooth and hypnotic as he began to describe the first night he had seen Carlisle. He began slowly, describing to her the world of the late eighteenth century, painting in her mind's eye how Italy appeared in that time. Listening to the rhythm of her heartbeat as he told her of the opera he had attended, he let the memories overtake him as he offered them to her.

Carlisle looked over at Aro, grinning with amusement as the man revealed his first impressions when he had glimpsed him in the opera house so long ago. Standing from his chair, he stepped over to Angela and tucked the thick quilt up around her shoulders. She blinked up at him tiredly, Aro's voice soothing her into a state of lethargy and he encouraged her to sleep as he kissed her forehead. He stepped away, nodding to Seth as the wolf moved and folded himself into a protective circle around the human girl. She wasn't asleep yet, but she was far closer than she had been for hours now.

"Close your eyes, little one," Aro requested and watched as she gave into his request. "It was almost a week later that I met him inside a museum…"

His cadence was near that of what one might describe as almost singing, the lyrical tones soothing her further as he spoke of the night he had first spoken with Carlisle. He smiled at Carlisle, a knowing look passed between them as the old memories floated through their minds, and watched as he stepped up to his daughter's side. He continued to speak, inflecting more of the hypnotic charm into his voice as Carlisle injected Angela with her migraine medicine. The pain that she was constantly in was a concern for them all and he found himself pleased that Carlisle felt comfortable enough to test her out on a daily regimen for the next forty-eight hours. The short trail period would allow him to assess whether or not her body could handle the powerful medicine on a regular basis as she still had quite a bit of weight left to gain.

"Don't stop," Carlisle told him softly as he turned to walk out of the room. "She's almost asleep, keep talking to her until you're certain that she's out, otherwise she'll wake up."

Aro nodded, grinning as he continued his tale and watched the girl in question as she lay nestled against the giant wolf's side. He told her of the time he spent with Carlisle, their conversation restricted by the presence of humans until they had retired to the apartment his friend had kept in the city. He spoke to her of his surprise to learn that he practiced medicine and even more so when he had discovered the man to have never tasted human blood. He chuckled at the sleep filled words that came from her and wondered if Angela was aware she had spoken. He was amused by her assessment that Carlisle was an angel and admitted that he, too had thought that of the man at one time.

"She's out," Jasper said as he walked into the room a few moments later. "Tomorrow is not going to be easy."

"She will not be alone," Aro stated as he rose from the chair.

**:::::**

His steps were slow, his mind trapped within the timeless vein of memory and contemplation. He was blind to the grey skies surrounding the glass-walled home, his ears deaf to the steady syncopation of the slow heavy rain drops falling upon the world outside. Thick rivulets of water traversed the windows surrounding the library he stood within, pillowing clouds hiding the full moon from view as a dense heather-colored fog turned the dense forest surrounding the estate into a muted misty dreamscape. His pace slowed once more, his steps coming to a stop as he stood in front of the window. His eyes regained focus, the merlot depths looking upon the Northwest landscape as he let the backdrop of Carlisle's estate once more soothe him into the world of his memories. His brow furrowed as the singular thought that wouldn't leave him took hold once more.

He had been told about Angela before he had ever met her, of that he was absolutely certain. _She_ had told him about Angela, and though her words had been spoken in earnest, he had never given the woman any thought until now. She had known about Angela, more than three hundred years before the girl had even been born, she had known. Closing his eyes as he breathed in the scent of rain and fresh forest air, Marcus let the scent and sound of the Forks weather comfort him as he returned his mind to the memory tugging relentlessly at his brain.

_:::::_

_December 24__th__, 1576, Florence, Italy_

He was drawn closer by the low melancholy strands of the instrument, the haunting reverberations hypnotic and full of a grace born of grief. His steps were soundless on the cold damp stone beneath his feet, the narrow alley between the stone and mortar buildings welcoming him with the anonymity of shadows. He moved closer, following the deep throaty sound, the rich vibrations luring him in and calling him forth with the seductive power of a siren. He followed the smooth stone alley until he reached an entryway hidden against the wall connecting the buildings and slipped unseen inside.

The entryway was dark, the shadows offering him invisibility as he moved further into the old stone building, following the mournful voice of the deep instrument. He was beckoned closer still, the darkness receding in muted shades of oranges and reds, the light from the open fire pit casting harsh shadows upon the floor and walls. His crimson eyes strayed to the side, his gaze drifting to the right side of the room and he felt his being still as the sight of her possessed him mercilessly and drew him forth. In that moment, Marcus knew that even if he had wanted to, he would never have been able to resist her.

He looked upon the instrument standing between her legs, the flowing skirt of her heavy silk dress draped over her legs and under the metal leg of the instrument. It looked like a violin, he thought, but much larger. This instrument was richer, larger and more elegant. The wide, polished frame was made of a dark toned wood, the thick hollowed body holding the voluptuous curves of a woman. The instrument's voice held a range that the most famed vocal performers would be envious of. His eyes fell closed for the briefest of moments, his enhanced senses capturing the earthy scent of the wood easily as his ears absorbed the vibrations and rich song. Opening his eyes once more, he studied the instrument, but could never remember having seen anything like it before.

"That's because you haven't," the woman spoke to him softly, her melodic voice in harmony with the song she was playing. "I knew that she would come, that one day this would belong to her. Andrea made this, he is of course making others that will soon be on stages around the world, but this one he made for me – for her."

"Andrea?" he repeated the name she spoke as he remained in the doorway, half hidden by the shadows from the hall.

"Andrea Amati," she answered, her face hidden from view by her curtain of mahogany-red curls. "He made the others, the violins and violas. I met him when he was still young, barely old enough to talk. I knew who he would be, what he would become. I drew the pictures for him; I made certain he knew how to build this. Nothing in this life is ever by chance."

She grew silent then as questions began to form in his mind. His curiosity knew no match in that moment, but the deep hypnosis of her mournful song soothed him into silence. He could feel her energy, her presence and knew that she was a child of the night like himself. Her head moved, her body following suit as she seemed to slowly dance in time with the music, the song flowing through her as she cradled the instrument to her chest.

"I've been waiting for you," she said without opening her eyes, her entire being focused on the music she played. "Please have a seat, ancient one."

"Marcus," he offered his name to her, his voice barely more than a whisper of sound. "How can you say that you have been waiting for me?" he asked her as he sat down slowly in the chair made of polished wood and brushed velvet. "I did not even know I would be coming here."

"Your arrival has long been foretold," she answered cryptically.

It was then, as Marcus breathed in deeply, that he realized she was like him. She was not simply a vampire, no it was more than that, he realized. She was grieving as deeply as he was. She had lost her mate as well. His eyes roamed over her, studied the perfect way in which her body seemed to flow into the instrument standing between her legs, the polished wood leaning against her chest. Her long slender fingers pressed upon the strings, holding them against the wood as her right hand pulled the bow across the instrument, the notes given birth only to hang low and mournful in the air.

"What is your name?" he asked as she lifted her head, rosewood curls of hair falling over her shoulder when she turned her attention on him.

"I am called 'Oracle'," she told him, her eyes a fathomless black that bespoke both her hunger and her grief. "I don't remember my human name."

He digested her admission in silence and felt his eyes fall closed in lazy submission as he gave himself over to the sound of her music. His lips parted when he felt her move, his crimson orbs opening to stare at her in confusion as she stood and leaned the wooden instrument against the chair she had been sitting in. He watched her glide toward him in helpless wonder unable to speak a word. She came to stand before him and, placing her palms on his knees, gently spread his silk encased legs so that he was sitting with his feet shoulder width apart.

"You need to learn," she told him and placed her instrument between his legs. "Like this," she directed him, her voice a gossamer entreaty as she placed his left hand upon the neck and showed him where to hold his fingers. "With grace, a lover's caress," she said as she placed the bow in his hand and moved it over the strings.

"Why would I need to learn how to play your…"

"Cello," she filled in for him.

"Cello," Marcus finished and met her ebony gaze.

"It is not mine," she said, her voice never raising above the low note that was an almost whisper. "This cello belongs to her."

"Who?" Marcus asked and looked down when he realized that she had released his hands and he was playing the cello on his own.

"I do not know her name, but she will come to you in a time when you need her most. She will appear to you in a way that no one else can. She will call you forth and you will go to her," Oracle told him as she listened to him play. "You must not think about the music you play, it will never be your creation if you do. Let your heart guide you, whether you grieve or love, play from here," she touched her hand to his silent heart, "not from here," she touched his temple. "You must play this cello as much as you can. Keep it in this perfect condition for her. Oil it, polish it, play it and tend to it with all the care you would give a child or a lover," she implored him.

"Oracle," Marcus stopped his movements, the music silencing as he watched her move across the room. "Who is _she_?"

"I do not know," she told him again, denying his request for identity. "All I can tell you is this: when she calls to you, you will go to her without a second thought and she will make you whole again. She will breathe life into you and right all the wrongs that have been suffered at the hands of the one who was never meant to be."

"You speak in riddles," he accused her, shaking his head as he tried to decipher her words.

"It is my curse," she told him. "This box will hold her cello," she told him. "The wood of this box and the wood of the cello were cut from the same tree. She will ask you for this one day. Remember, you must keep this cello perfect for her. It belongs to her."

"You are certain it will stand the test of time?" he asked her and for the first time since they had met he saw her smile.

"I knew of her and of you from a time before I was changed," she told him. "I grew the Spruce tree myself well over two hundred years ago. When I was human, I mixed my blood into the earth it grew from. Once I was turned, I infused the earth with my venom. This wood cannot be broken now that it is in the form it was meant to hold. The strings are made from metal wires that were melted with my venom and that of my immortal mother's. You must keep this for her," she told him again as she took the cello from his hands and lifted it into the box.

"How will I know?" he asked her, feeling her certainty take hold of him.

"You just will. You won't simply see her, or hear her voice," the oracle told him wisely as she placed the bow of the instrument into a long slim silk pouch. "You will _feel_ her. You will feel her spirit reach out to you and you will not even think about resisting her call."

He watched her place the bow next to the cello and close the hinged lid of the box. Silk cords held the box closed, the knots she tied intricate and beautiful while holding the box securely. She smoothed her hand over the carved wood longingly and it was then he noticed the design that had been carefully crafted into the wood. The man standing among a curtain of books held his face, next to him stood a young woman, her eyes bright and face lit with curiosity. It was then as he looked closer at the carving that he noticed the difference in his carved face. In the carved vision of him that stood upon the wooden case, he was happy.

"Now," she spoke drawing his attention. "You must fulfill my destiny."

"And what might that be?" he asked her and looked up to find that she was standing a hair's breadth from the fire pit.

"You must grant me freedom," she told him. "My only purpose in this life has been to bring this to you. To make certain that you held her cello; that you knew she would come to you. There was a time in the beginning when I believed that I could have more. I even found him – my mate. We fell in love quickly, feverishly…but when I went to change him, to make him as we are, I could not control myself. I killed the one who held my heart. Now that I have done my part, you must do yours. Kill me," she begged of him. "Grant me peace."

Marcus looked upon her; the one called Oracle and closed his eyes as he breathed in deeply of her scent. Stepping closer to her, he lifted his hands to cradle her face in his palms and looked deeply into her onyx eyes. He whispered to her, promised her that she would have the peace she desired and assured her that he would wait for the one she had foreseen. He kissed her lips, not knowing why he did so, but feeling compelled to all the same.

"Close your eyes," he begged of her.

He kissed her once more as her sooty lashes lay against the pale snow of her cheeks. He studied her face for one long moment, breathed in of her scent greedily one last time before closing his eyes and twisting her head fiercely in his grasp. The sound of tearing stone, wrenching steel met his ears and he opened his eyes to see her bodiless head in his hands. He felt his grieving heart mourn for her and kissed her silent lips once more before dropping her head into the flames. He crouched low, lifting her headless body into his arms and laying it upon the fire as well.

"I will wait for her, Oracle, of that you have my word. Peace be with you."

Turning to the stone table behind him, he lifted the box into his arms and disappeared into the night.

_:::::_

Marcus breathed in sharply as the memory dissipated and he found himself once more standing within the walls of Carlisle's home. _Angela_, his lips formed her name even as his voice remained silent. She was the girl who was carved into the box next to him. He laughed then as he realized that everything the Oracle told him had come to fruition. Angela had called to him, she had come to him in a way that no one else could. He had left Volterra to go to her without a single thought to the consequences and – Marcus laughed again – she had made him whole.

"Marcus?" Aro's voice sounded behind him and the ancient man turned to greet his friend. "What has you so…amused?" he asked, searching for the right word to describe his friend's state of being.

"Take my hand, Aro and see," Marcus implored his brother as he held out his hand. "A memory I had almost forgotten," he said as Aro took his hand.

"Angela," Aro breathed the girl's name with wonder, his brows furrowed in confused delight. "She knew? So long ago, she knew?"

"She did," Marcus affirmed with a slow nod, a slight grin bending his lips. "Angela was foretold."

"And the one she spoke of?" Aro asked him as he dropped Marcus' hand and looked out through the polished glass protecting the books from the misty, cloud covered world outside. "The one 'who was not meant to be'?"

"I believe that you and I both know to whom she was referring," Marcus intoned with equal amounts of amusement and disdain.

Aro nodded as he turned his attention back to the books lining the walls, his eyes coming to rest upon the silver framed photo standing on a high shelf. He recognized the scene easily from Angela's memories and stepped forward to study the picture closer. She was standing outside in a crowded festival, Carlisle and Esme standing on either side of her as a band played behind them. He could tell that the picture had been a candid shot, Angela's attention riveted on the musician playing an African drum while she leant her head against Carlisle's shoulder. Esme's arm was wrapped around her waist and the peaceful happiness that shined from Angela's face wrapped around him effortlessly. Breathing in deeply as he returned his attention to Marcus, he spoke the name they both knew belonged to the one the Oracle had spoken of – the one who was not meant to be.

"Caius."

**:::::**

He turned closer to her, looked down into her pale face as he heard her heart begin to gain a bit of speed signaling her slow rise to consciousness. She sighed softly, her rose petal lips parting as the breath was released upon a soft hum and his lips curved up in a lopsided smile. She moaned softly as her breathing began to shallow, her dark lashes fluttering like butterfly wings before opening to reveal her dark orbs still clouded by sleep. He curled closer, dipped his head down and captured her full lips with his. Bella gasped, her hands moving immediately to fist in Edward's hair as she pulled him closer, pressing herself against him. He rolled over her, growling softly as he deepened their kiss, delighting in her soft whimper as her hands slid down to clutch in the back of his shirt below his shoulders.

Bella panted as he broke their kiss, turned her head to the side, offering her neck to him as his mouth moved over her skin. He was rarely so expressive in the mornings as he was now and as much as she was enjoying his ministrations, she was curious as to what inspired his attentions. She groaned softly when his hand moved to hold her hip, his palm cupping the curve of her pelvis as he dragged his tongue up over the line of her jugular vein. She whimpered his name, brought her hands up to his face, her palms cupping his cheeks. She stroked her thumbs over his smooth marble skin and lifted his head to see his eyes.

She looked into his eyes, searched his gaze to discover the reason for his passion. She wasn't frightened by the sight of his black eyes, his normally ochre gaze turned dark with desire. He looked at her, leaned into her cradling hands and closed his eyes as he pulled in deep draughts of her scent. He wanted more of her, needed to taste more of her even as he knew that he had to stop. He wouldn't take her before he married her, there were some things – some traditions that he would not bend on, but her scent was drawing him in like a moth to a flame. Taking in a deep, calming breath, he opened his eyes and looked at her once more. Dipping his head, her hands smoothing from their place on his cheeks around his head to brush through his unruly bronze locks, he met her lips once more, his kiss chaste and lazy.

"The things you do to me, Miss Swan," he said softly, his voice rough and trembling.

"Me?" Bella asked, her voice just as unsteady as his. "What did I do?" she asked with wide eyes. "I was the one that was sleeping, remember?"

"Yes," Edward said as his dark eyes lightened once more until they were a heavy burned honey. "You were sleeping," he told her as his lips returned to her neck of their own accord and he felt powerless to stop himself. "And you were dreaming," he continued as she whimpered softly when he nipped at the delicate skin of her neck before soothing it with slow drags of the flat of his tongue.

"Dreaming?" she repeated, confused at his reawakened passions.

"Yes," Edward growled and clenched his jaw at the heavy scent of spice and honey permeating his bed and the air around them. "Dreaming," he repeated. "Do you remember what you were dreaming?" he asked as he tried once more to find the will to pull away from her.

Bella frowned, her brows pulling together as she tried to focus her mind on something other than the delicious shivers he was causing to cascade through her body. She gasped, whimpered and groaned when his hips rocked against hers and she bent her knees, her legs framing his hips as she listened to him growl in a mix of desire and frustration. Her eyes fell closed as her breathing deepened, her hips meeting his as they danced in a steady rhythm, their clothing creating a maddening barrier between them. She could feel him trembling, his arms shaking as his palms pressed hard against the bed on either side of her. He couldn't seem to move away from her and she laughed with nervous amusement when she discovered that he was having as much trouble controlling his desire for her as she usually did for him. His question came back to her, her mind cast back to the blurred images of her dream that were quickly fading away.

"What were you dreaming about, Bella?" he asked her again as he found the will to pull away from her neck. "Do you remember?" he asked as he kissed her lips once more.

"No," she breathed out, her brow furrowing once again as she tried to remember the dream. "I can't remember. Why?"

"Because," he intoned deeply, his voice edged with the lust he was desperately trying to control. "You called my name," he told her through clenched teeth and though she knew that she had called his name before in her sleep, she wondered why this time was different. "And just before three this morning," he told her as he pressed his face into the curve of her neck and levered his body away from hers, "you came…twice."

She shook beneath him as his moist sweet breath fanned against the damp skin of her throat and closed her eyes as she tried to calm her racing heart. He growled once more, the sound full of determination and she gasped, her eyes snapping open when he was suddenly absent from her. She sat up quickly, her hands pressed against the bed behind her to support her weight as she stared at him with wide eyes. She moved, her legs folding up against her chest as she stared at him and bit her lip as she tried to figure out what to say. The words he said, what he'd told her…her eyes flew wide as her chocolate gaze snapped to meet his honey toned eyes. He said that she had…Bella blushed furiously, her cheeks turning a deep red as the ghostly images from her dream came back to her. Edward kissing her, Edward petting her…the feel of his cool steel hardness as he moved inside of her.

"Stop," he begged of her, his voice breathy and harsh. "Whatever it is you're thinking about, stop."

Her heartbeat gained speed, her breathing becoming shallow and broken as she panted with the feelings the memory of her dream inspired. She wanted to stop thinking about the dream, if only because she knew how uncomfortable she would be for the remainder of the day being so close to him. She closed her eyes, tried to make the images of her dream Edward leave her mind only for them to grow stronger. He groaned, the sound calling to her and making her insides burn with her desire for him. She frowned as she stared at him, watching his lips move even as his voice remained too quiet for her to hear.

"Oh my god!" Bella exclaimed, jumping in surprise when cool hands gripped her arms with gentle strength.

"Come on, Bella," Alice said with carefully controlled amusement as she looked at her brother. "Let's get you into the shower. It'll help you wake up," she said as she led her friend from her brother's bed. "Her smell is everywhere, Edward," she said too low for Bella to hear. "You might want to open the window."

His hands were shaking as he was finally able to move from the far corner of his room and gripped the bronze handles of the French doors separating his room from the outside world. He pulled the doors open and took in deep breaths of the wild forest air. The scent of pine, rain, and damp earth helped to calm his frayed nerves and he closed his eyes as the overpowering scent of Bella's lust was slowly replaced by that of the Olympic forest surrounding his home. His breath came from him in a harsh sound of amusement and he rolled his eyes at the sound of Emmett's laughter.

_I would have covered for you, bro,_ Emmett projected his thoughts to him and Edward shook his head. _It would have been a legitimate excuse. You and Bella were bedridden…or riding the bed as the case may be._

"Idiot," Edward whispered as he chuckled and shook his head.

He looked down at himself and sighed. He needed to change his clothes and not simply because they were wrinkled from the time he spent lying next to Bella. No, every stitch of cloth that he was wearing was absolutely drenched in her scent. It was everywhere, surrounding him and when he turned away from the breeze and breathed in; he could still smell her arousal as strong and fresh as it had been the night before. He moved to his closet and stepped inside, changing quickly before Bella could come back into the room. Pulling the air deeply into his lungs, he found that the scent of the outdoors had replaced Bella's heady spice nearly completely. He sighed then, releasing his breath slowly as he shut the glass doors and turned around.

"Oh!" Bella's voice was soft, barely a whisper of breath as she stared at Edward with surprise. "I – I forgot to grab clothes," she said as she stood just inside the room wrapped in nothing but a towel.

"It's safe," Edward told her with soft chuckle as he stepped closer to her and kissed her cheek. "I'll let you get dressed," he told her and moved toward the door.

"You're leaving?" she asked in confusion and he chuckled silently.

"If I stay in here when you remove that towel," he said and nodded at the thick cloth hiding her body from view, "I wouldn't be able to control myself. I'll be downstairs," he told her as he moved past her and stepped out of the room, pulling the door closed behind him.

Releasing a breath she wasn't aware she'd been holding, Bella laughed at herself and turned toward the bag sitting on Edward's chair. She opened the bag and frowned to find it empty, turning toward the door and intending to find the location of her clothes; she heard Esme's voice from outside the room. Biting her lip as she opened the door, she tipped her head to the side and stood back as Esme walked in carrying a basket of freshly laundered and folded clothing.

"What's wrong?" Esme asked Bella as she set the basket on Edward's pristinely made bed. "Bella?" she spoke the girl's name when she remained silent.

"Hmm?" Bella turned her attention from her folded clothing up to meet Esme's eyes.

"Sweetheart, what is it?" Esme asked her again as she studied her curiously. "Bella, you're crying."

"What?" Bella asked and lifted her hand to her face, surprised by the lines of moisture on her face. "I didn't know," she frowned and wiped away her tears only for more to take their place.

"Sweetheart," Esme stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Bella. "Bella, what's wrong?" she asked again as she gently stroked the girl's damp hair.

"I don't know," Bella said with confusion, unable to understand why she was crying. "I don't know why I'm crying. I can't make them stop."

"It's just clothes," Esme said softly as she tried to understand Bella's tears. "When was the last time someone did your laundry for you?" she asked.

"I don't know," Bella said as she pulled back and rubbed her forehead with her fingertips. "I uh…I don't…I can't remember a time when I didn't do it," she said with a confused frown. "Why won't they stop?" she asked as she wiped her tear-dampened cheeks.

Esme released a silent breath through her nose and pressed her lips together sadly. It made her heart ache to realize how afraid Bella was of being taken care of and how deeply it affected her emotionally. Sitting next to Bella on the bed, Esme wrapped her in a one armed hug and remained silent as she found herself at a loss for words. She didn't know what to say, if there even was anything that she could say to bring her human daughter comfort. Kissing Bella's hair before standing from the bed, she encouraged her to get dressed and come down for breakfast.

"We can always talk this afternoon, if you'd like," Esme offered and saw the trembling smile Bella gave her. "Bella?" she waited for the girl to meet her gaze. "I'm always here, so is Carlisle. You have us, Sweetheart and you always will."

Bella didn't speak a word, though she did nod quietly, her gaze falling back to her hands folded in her lap. The wish she had to offer the girl comfort drew Esme's brows into a frown and she watched her for a moment longer before stepping out of the room and pulling the door closed behind her. She was worried about Bella, especially with how she always seemed so careful to hide her darker emotions, refusing to show if something hurt her. Habits formed over a lifetime couldn't be undone, but she did hope that Bella would someday find freedom from her past.

Looking up as she stepped into the hall, Esme met her husband's concerned golden gaze and stepped easily into the circle of his arms. Turning her head to rest her cheek against his chest, she wrapped her arms around his waist and closed her eyes as she took comfort in his embrace. She turned her face up to meet his eyes at the sound of his voice, his smooth tenor promising her that all would be alright. This was their family, he told her, they would heal the hurt of both their human daughters. He promised her that they would bring both girls peace.

"They are part of our family, my love," Carlisle told her as he cupped her cheek in his palm and rested his forehead against hers. "We will never let them be hurt again."

**:::::**

He stood with his arms crossed over his chest as he looked down upon her. No matter how many times he had seen her in a similar position the sight of it still baffled him. Turning his attention back to the woman entering the room behind him, he chuckled as she moved around him. He watched her nose wrinkle, the sight of it amusing him as she moved closer to the girl in question and knelt down beside her. She reached out, her hand smoothing against the girl's warm cheek and called her name softly as she waited for the girl to awaken.

"Rosalie?" Angela questioned softly, her eyes barely open.

"Try again," Suplicia said softly with amusement.

"Suplicia?"

"That's right," she praised and held out her hand for Angela to take. "Come on, Esme's getting breakfast ready for you and Bella. You should shower and change."

"What time is it?" Angela asked as she stood with the ancient woman's help and moved away from Seth.

"Just after seven," Felix answered behind them and grinned when Angela turned her drowsy eyes on him.

"Felix?" she questioned as she blinked the last traces of sleep from her eyes and met his gaze.

"Go on," he nodded toward the door with a grin. "You smell a bit like wet dog," he teased and laughed at the look of amused outrage on her face.

"You and Emmett," Angela laughed as she shook her head. "I swear you're twins."

Felix's laughter followed her out of the room, her momentary amusement dying away slowly as she thought of what the day would bring. School would be fine, a routine that she was used to, but after… She didn't want to think about the eventual meeting with her parents that would happen later that night, but it was all her mind would focus on. Angela looked down at the feeling of the soft tugs pulling at the end of her sleep pants and smiled at the sight of the small grey kitten playing with her clothing. Scooping the animal into her arms, she took comfort in the feel of her feather soft fur and cuddled the kitten beneath her chin as she walked toward the stairs. She didn't want to tell any of them how afraid she was of the meeting with her parents, but knew they would know regardless of whether she admitted it or not. Nothing could be hidden from Jasper or Edward and it was only her migraines that kept her hidden from Alice.

Stepping into her bedroom with the kitten in her arms, she closed the door behind her and set Rain on her bed before searching out clothes to change into. She hoped that the tranquility of the shower would allow her to forget about the scheduled meeting set to take place that evening, though she truly doubted that anything would distract her from that. Turning back to her bed at the sound of the muffled mewl, she laughed to see the lump moving beneath the covers.

"How did you get under there?" Angela asked Rain as she lifted the edge of the blankets to spy on the kitten.

Rain pranced toward Angela from her hiding spot under the covers, purring louder with each movement until she jumped down from the bed only to disappear underneath it. Shaking her head and rolling her eyes, Angela dropped the blankets back into place and gathered her clothes before moving across the hall to the bathroom. Jumping at the sight of the tiny shadow moving over her feet, Angela shut the bathroom door with a surprised gasp and looked down on Rain in amused irritation. Turning on the water in the tub before lifting the metal stick to activate the shower, she glanced back at the kitten only to find her playing with a hair tie.

"Alright you," Angela said as she picked up the kitten and her toy. "I'm going to take a shower, so unless you want to get wet, stay over here," she said and set Rain down by the door.

The hot spray of the shower was a welcoming distraction, the soothing pulse of the water pressure offering her a massage as she closed her eyes and allowed her mind the freedom to wander. The story Aro had told her last night began to cycle through her mind again, the way he described the eighteenth century Italy fascinating her. She wanted to see that world, to know what it was like to watch the world change as time progressed through the ages. Applying shampoo to her wet hair and massaging it into a fine lather; she tried to think of what time period she would have wished to visit the most.

The ancient world that Marcus and his friends had spent their human years in was fascinating, but all too often violent. The medieval ages were interesting in their formations of primitive sciences and the start of what had become the practice of medicine and pharmaceutical chemistry. The years between the sixteenth and early nineteenth centuries fascinated her for the literature that the times had produced, but even still she wasn't certain which one she would choose to visit if allowed to pick only one. Her thoughts turned to Jasper as she rinsed her hair and applied a generous amount of conditioner.

His stories of the world he had grown up in during the Civil War spoke of a time still full of the old world romances, and though the battle was bloody and violent, she couldn't help but imagine what it was like to live during the formation of the United States. How different the English language was back then, the use of words far more poetic than they were now. Her thoughts of the language drew her back to Carlisle and the painting that hung in his office. How she wished to see him dressed in those clothes now, if only so that she could see what the wardrobe looked like first hand.

So distracted was she by her thoughts that she didn't hear the soft tugs and pops as Rain played with the shower curtain, her claws gripping the heavy material as she climbed her way up from the floor only to drop inside the tub. The kitten wasn't deterred by the water at all and instead of running from it, jogged closer instead to play with the loofah sponge hanging from the faucet. Playfully batting at the sponge while the water soaked her fur and turned the feather grey to a darker charcoal color, Rain growled when her claws got stuck in the material.

"Oh my god!" Angela shrieked in surprise when she reached down for the sponge only to be met with the sound of growling. "Rain! Get your claws out of that."

"Is everything alright?" Esme's voice sounded from outside the door and Angela laughed.

"Yes," she answered, not needing to lift her voice above the water. "Rain jumped into the shower and now her claws are stuck in the sponge."

She was met with the sound of Esme's laughter and bid the woman entrance when she was asked if she would appreciate a little help with the precocious kitten. Lifting both Rain and the sponge in her hands, she gave the kitten and her makeshift toy to Esme. Shaking her head and chuckling at the drenched animal, Esme disengaged her tiny claws from the bath sponge before handing the loofah back to Angela.

"Breakfast is ready whenever you are," Esme told Angela as she took a hand towel and began to dry Rain as she walked toward the door.

"Ok, thanks, Mom," Angela said without realizing that she hadn't spoken Esme's name.

Esme stilled, her lips parting as she breathed in and felt her heart tighten with the brilliant warmth the moniker had inspired. Closing her eyes for a short moment before leaving the bathroom, Esme rejoiced at the feeling that seized her heart with undeniable happiness. Angela had called her 'Mom'. The last time her human daughter had called her that was in her sleep back when they had all gone to Seattle with Eleazar and Carmen after Angela had been attacked. It had taken her months to feel truly comfortable when she had begun calling Carlisle 'Papa' and Esme didn't mind waiting one bit.

"She called me 'Mom'," Esme told her husband as she walked into his office with Rain still in her arms.

"I heard," he told her with a brilliant smile as he stepped close to kiss her lips. "You are the perfect mother, Esme. She could find no one better than you, my love," he promised her and kissed her again.

"I love you," she told him, her voice subdued with emotion and laughed when Rain scrambled out from the confines of the towel only to fall onto Carlisle's desk.

"Oh, no you don't," he said as he plucked the animal from the papers she had landed on before she could shake the water from her fur. "Get out of here troublemaker," he said as he set her on the floor.

Offering the couple a purring meow, Rain flicked her tail into the air and pranced from the room, her paws making light thumps upon the carpet that only they could hear. Esme whispered to Carlisle with wide eyes as she watched Rain crouch down into a hunting stance as she began stalking her vampire prey. Laughing silently as she stood in the circle of her husband's arms with her hand pressed flat against his heart, she followed Rain with her eyes as Jasper became the unwitting victim of Suplicia's kitten.

"Do you think he's noticed?" Esme asked him quietly and Carlisle chuckled.

"Not yet, but he will," he answered her, his attention riveted on the tiny animal.

The moment that Jasper stopped moving, Rain pounced, attacking his boot and tugging at the laces. He stilled, his blond head turning down to look at the kitten firmly attached to his foot and they watched as Jasper shook his head. Continuing to walk through the house as though there wasn't a kitten attached to his ankle high boot, Jasper made his way into the library only to be greeted by the bell-toned sound of Suplicia's laughter.

"Eighty years ago I never thought that I would ever have such a large or loving family," Esme said as she looked up at Carlisle and framed his face with her hands. "Thank you for giving me all of this, my love," she said and kissed his lips sweetly.

"It is I who should be thanking you," he corrected her as he spoke against her lips, returning her kiss. "Without you, none of this would have been possible."

**:::::**

Angela retrieved her history book from her backpack and sat down under the aging oak in the center of the quad. Her last class of the day had turned into a free period, their teacher called away unexpectedly when his pregnant wife had gone into labor. Thumbing through the pages until she reached the chapter assigned, she found her focus pulled away from the printed words as her mind was drawn back once more to the scheduled visit that was less than three hours away. As frightened as she was of the meeting with her parents, she was also angered by it. The knowledge she now held of the reasoning behind the actions her parents had taken throughout the years of her life caused a pain so deep that it turned into rage and she hated the feel of both.

She knew that her silence throughout the day had worried Edward, but each time that she had even thought about speaking her words had failed her completely. She hadn't been able to distance herself from the thought of the meeting or the fear it inspired. What could they possibly want from her and why had they demanded that the hour spent with her be done in virtual seclusion? She knew that there would be a surveillance camera watching them, the prison's security system monitoring the visit, but she had also been told by Chief Swan that those cameras were typically video only and recorded no sound.

Rubbing her hand over her face as she fought off the growing migraine the stress inspired, she retrieved her cell phone from her pocket. Disregarding her contact list as she entered the number she had long since memorized, Angela rubbed her forehead above her eyes, never noticing that she transposed the last two numbers. Closing her eyes as she rested her head back against the trunk of the large tree behind her, she bit her lip and waited to hear the familiar voice as the call rang through.

"Hello?"

Angela frowned at the sound of the woman's voice and pulled the phone away from her ear to see the number she had dialed, but she was only met with the call time instead. Bringing the phone back to her ear, she listened to the woman speak again and bit her lip.

"I –I'm sorry, I must have dialed the wrong number," Angela said.

"Wait!" the woman called out to her before she could disconnect the call. "Are you Angela?"

"…Yes," Angela said hesitantly as Alice came to join her beneath the tree with a smile upon her face. "How did you know my name?"

"I'm Tanya," she introduced herself and Angela frowned as she tried to remember where she had heard that name before. "I'm a friend of Eleazar's – your Uncle Merlin," she said with a soft giggle.

"You know about that?" Angela asked as Alice chuckled beside her.

"He's actually quite fond of it," Tanya told her with a smile. "I'm guessing that you were intending to dial his number. Ours are the same except for the last two digits, they're reversed," she told Angela. "I've heard quite a bit about you."

"You have?" Angela tipped her head to the side as she spoke to the woman and stared with unseeing eyes at her history book propped open on her bent legs.

"We live much like you and your family do," Tanya said with a soft laugh. "Eleazar and Carmen live with my sisters and I, as does Michael."

"Oh!" Angela perked up, her confusion replaced by the ease of intrigue. "The three princesses!" Angela said only to blush when she realized she had spoken aloud.

"The what?" Tanya laughed easily.

"Sometimes when I couldn't fall asleep, I would call him and he would tell me stories about all of you. He called you and your sisters 'the three princesses'. I know it probably seems really childish," Angela shook her head and caught sight of Alice's smile of endearment.

"It's not childish at all," Tanya assured her as she listened to the girl's heartbeat. "Eleazar's still at the university, but I could have him call you later if you'd like," she offered and Angela felt her excitement fall away.

"Um, no," she said hesitantly, her voice troubled. "I, um, I have an appointment later."

"An appointment?" Tanya asked, the sound of Angela's upset carrying over the line. "It doesn't sound as though it's a good appointment.

"No, not – not really," Angela confessed quietly. "How much did he tell you about…about me?"

"Enough," Tanya told her, her voice gentle.

"Then you know about…?" Angela left the question unfinished, hesitant to speak the words.

"Yes, sweetheart, I do. Is that what the appointment is about?"

Nodding before remembering that she needed to speak, Angela affirmed Tanya's suspicions and heard the woman sigh softly before clucking her tongue.

"How are you doing with that?" Tanya asked her and Angela looked down on her knees as she brought her folded legs closer to her chest.

"Scared," she confessed softly. "I want what the end result will bring, but I don't…I'm scared," she confessed and felt Alice's gentle petting of her hair.

"I would imagine so," Tanya told her. "If you don't mind my asking, what is the end result?"

"Their rights to me would be severed and Pa-Carlisle and Esme would have them," Angela said, frowning as she tried to explain the outcome without actually saying the words.

"They would adopt you legally," Tanya said, her voice approving. "You would be their human daughter and no one could ever argue that again."

"Yeah," Angela said as she leaned into Alice's side when her vampire sister wrapped her arm around her shoulders.

"What bothers you the most about meeting with them?" Tanya asked her as Angela closed her eyes and held the phone to her ear.

"I have to be alone. They want me to be with them for an hour, but no one else can be there. Any presence of a lawyer or family member would void the agreement," she said and bit her lip against the anxiety the thought of the meeting created.

"I tell you what, I've got an idea. I don't know if it will work or not, but it's worth a thought," Tanya said and Angela hummed her curiosity. "Before you go into the room, why don't you call Carlisle or Esme and put the call on speaker. Have them mute their end so that they can't be heard, but that way you won't be entirely alone. In a sense they'll be with you and they'll know what's taking place."

"I never thought of that," Angela said and looked up when she felt a shadow fall over her. "Do you think it'll work?" she asked as Edward crouched down in front of her and grinned as he tucked her hair back over her shoulder.

"It just might," Tanya offered comfortingly. "And, if there's no cell reception inside the building you're in, most cell phones and especially smart phones have a voice record feature. Turn that on and you will have a recording of whatever they say. If any of it is abusive or upsetting, give the recording to Carlisle when you're done. He'll take care of everything. He's always been very protective of those he calls family."

"Yeah, Papa's pretty great," Angela said and winced at the sharp twinge of pain building behind her right eye.

"Did you bring your Toradol?" Edward asked her and she nodded.

"Tell Edward I said 'hi'," Tanya told her. "And Angela?"

"Hmm?" she hummed as she sat up and searched through her purse for the bottle of medicine.

"Save my number, in fact I'll text you. You can call anytime you like," Tanya assured her. "I'll let you go now. Remember honey, you've got a big family surrounding you. They'll never let anything hurt you."

The call disconnected and Angela smiled as the device vibrated a moment later alerting her to a new text message. The message was short and sweet; Tanya's assurance once more that she could call whenever she felt the desire to and Angela was quick to save the number in her contacts. Taking the bottle of water from Bella's outstretched hand; Angela opened the bottle of prescription medicine and retrieved one of the small pills. She stared at the medicine for a moment before popping it into her mouth and swallowing it down with a drink of the water.

Closing her eyes and leaning once more against Alice's side, she tried to shift her focus. If she could think of the goal rather than the task, perhaps she wouldn't be as frightened. Actively focusing on her thoughts, Angela tried to push all thoughts of the meeting with her parents aside. Instead, she thought of the reason that she had agreed to the meeting, the reason she was willing to face the perils of their abuse. In just a few hours, Esme and Carlisle would be adopting her legally. In just a few hours, she would be a Cullen.


	60. Chapter 58

Chapter 58

Her heart was pounding in her chest, the rhythm so fierce it was almost painful. She knew that they could hear it, they could probably smell her fear as well, but she refused to speak of it out loud. Biting her lip and closing her eyes as the car turned off the highway exit and onto the main street, Angela did what she could to fight back her fear. She hated the reaction she had to her parents, even just the thought of being in the same room with them had the ability to render her immobile with the threat of a panic attack. She kept her eyes closed; hoping that if she couldn't see how close they were getting to the tri-county jail then perhaps her fear wouldn't be as strong.

"Pull over," Esme said quietly to Carlisle as she looked back at Angela through the rearview mirror.

She knew that Angela hadn't heard what she'd said to Carlisle, her human daughter didn't even seem to notice that the car had slowed down. She met Carlisle's gaze as he pulled into a small parking lot around the corner. Pursing his lips with worry as he looked back at Angela before meeting Esme's gaze again, he thought once more about simply turning the car in the direction of Seattle and disregarding the meeting entirely. He hated what this was doing to her, the fear that caused her heart to race madly within her chest. The last thing any of them wanted was to see her upset, but it had been Angela's choice to go through with the meeting.

Angela jumped, gasping in surprise as she only barely kept from crying out when the car door next to her was opened and Esme slid next to her, wrapping her arm around her shoulders. Offering Angela a comforting smile, Esme rubbed her arm and nodded to Carlisle. He returned his wife's smile before meeting Angela's gaze and asking her if she was alright. She didn't speak, didn't utter a word, but nodded as she tried to calm her turbulent emotions. He kept the car parked and turned in his seat, holding his hand back between the seats for Angela to take and lifted their joined hands to brush his finger against her cheek.

"We don't have to do this," Carlisle offered her. "All I have to do is call the D.A. and tell him that you changed your mind. No one will think less of you, sweetheart."

"I don't want to run away," Angela said, her voice barely loud enough for her to hear the words she spoke. "I want this over, I want them gone."

"Ok," Esme soothed her and kissed her temple. "Carlisle?"

"Alice texted me," he said with a hint of amusement. "We're waiting for the others to come off the highway. We got separated about three miles back at the last exit."

"Who are we waiting for?" Angela asked as she rested against Esme and leaned on the woman for strength. "Are they just catching up?"

"Not quite," Carlisle told her as he spotted the cars of his family members approaching behind them. "We're gaining a few passengers."

"Marcus?" Angela watched as the ancient man climbed into the back seat beside her.

"Hello," he greeted her softly before meeting Esme's gentle gaze. "Aro was becoming annoying," he teased her and smiled when she giggled softly. "So I thought I would ride with you."

"Will you tell me more about Italy and Greece?" she requested quietly and he nodded slowly.

"Of course," he agreed pleasantly and smiled at the expression on her face when Felix climbed into the front passenger seat that Esme had vacated earlier.

"How close are we?" Felix asked Carlisle as the blond man shifted the car out of park.

"Another fifteen minutes or so," Carlisle answered as he pulled into the late afternoon traffic.

"It wasn't my imagination then, you are staying within the actual speed limits," the Volturi guard stated as he listened to Marcus regale Angela with tales of ancient Greece.

Carlisle breathed in deeply and released the breath slowly. "I am dreading this encounter almost as much as she is," he admitted softly. "Every single time that she has encountered them, be it indirectly through a voicemail or in person, she has been deeply hurt. Each time she has also suffered physically, she becomes sick."

"Sick?" Felix asked, his eyes narrowed in question.

"Yes, sick," Carlisle confirmed softly. "She becomes physically ill, her migraines flare…She has finally gained enough weight that I can test her now on a daily regimen of her medicine. I do not wish to see her ill again. She has been through enough at their hands."

"This would end it though, correct?" he asked Carlisle. "That's what I understood from your explanation earlier."

"Yes," Carlisle nodded. "Once her meeting with them is over, they will have no choice but to sign the papers releasing their parental rights to her. That is the agreement that they made with the D.A."

"And what do they get in return?" Felix asked him, his lips twitching in amusement as he listened to Angela stumble over a few pronunciations of ancient Greek. "You're improving," he praised her, the ancient language falling from his lips gracefully.

"A reduced sentence," Carlisle said, the muscle in his jaw ticking as he gripped the steering wheel tightly. "They will only be charged with the bribery, the charges of aggravated harassment will be on their records, but not taken into consideration for the sentencing hearing."

"Aggravated harassment?" Felix asked, his eyes turning back to Carlisle.

"They violated the restraining order when they confronted Angela in the bookstore. The assault charge against her father will stand, but the charges for violating the order won't. It's a small price to pay to know that they will never be able to touch her again."

Carlisle grew silent at the sight of the building at the end of the busy street, slowing the car to a stop when the traffic light turned red. He heard Angela grow silent and glanced up into the rearview mirror, seeing that the fear had returned to her eyes. He closed his eyes slowly as he fought back his own displeasure at the knowledge of what this meeting would do to her emotionally, doing what he could to keep his expression passive. The last thing he wanted to do was add onto the stress Angela was experiencing. Pressing his foot down on the gas pedal when the light turned green, he covered the short distance separating them from the minimum security jailhouse and pulled into the visitor's parking lot.

Angela took in a deep breath, her eyes remaining focused on the grey brick building they were parked in front of. She didn't want to go inside, didn't want to step out of the car even, but knew that she must. She was strong, she reminded herself as her hands folded slowly into tight fists, her nails digging into her palms. What was it that the book had said? She tried to remember the words that she had stumbled across and closed her eyes as she fought to bring the memory forth inside her mind. _Words only have the power you give them._ That was it; that was what the book had said. She had never been one to look at self-help books before; the messages in them had always seemed to be trivial and as though they had been written by people who had never once experienced any kind of tragedy or hardship.

She still didn't know why she had flipped through that book almost a week ago inside the high school's library. _Battling Your Inner Demon_, it had been called. Most of the book had sounded as though it had been written by Strawberry Shortcake herself, but that one line had stuck with her. If she could just ignore whatever they said then maybe, just maybe, she could come out of the encounter intact. Meeting Carlisle's gaze in the rear view mirror, she nodded only once and watched as Esme and Marcus exited the car. Closing her eyes as she took a moment to steady herself in the privacy of the car, she took in a deep breath and stretched out her arm to open the car door to her right. The door opened before she could grip the handle and she looked up at a set of familiar crimson eyes, the hand held out to her comforting in what it offered her.

"You won't be alone," he promised her, his soft voice daring anyone to argue.

_I don't want to be afraid_, she spoke to him through his talent and Aro offered her a slow nod.

"We cannot help what we feel. Even I cannot control my heart," he told her gently as she stepped from the car.

Turning to look at Edward as Carlisle and Esme stepped up to flank Angela, Aro spoke to him through his talent and watched as the bronze vampire nodded. He opened his fingers, allowed Angela's hand to slip from his as she took hold of Carlisle's hand, her other hand gripping the curve of his elbow as she fought against her rising anxiety. Her eyes opened wider, her breathing growing quicker as she stared at the glass doors of the tri-county jail. Her grip tightened upon Carlisle even as she forced herself to continue moving at a steady pace and her eyes snapped up to his face when he gently disengaged his arm from her hands in order to tuck her against his side.

"It will be alright, Angela," he promised her quietly and tipped his head to kiss her hair. "Once we are done here, we are going to go to Felix's house in the city," he told her as Esme held open the door for them to step inside the building.

"You have a house?" she asked Felix, turning her head back to look at the tall man behind her.

"I do," he told her, his face a mask of neutrality as he tried to keep her from seeing the concern and displeasure he felt. "It isn't too far from downtown Seattle."

"Seattle?" Angela asked as she walked with Carlisle up to the visitor's desk. "We're outside of Shelton," she stated with confusion. "Seattle's still another two hours away."

She fell silent, her eyes growing wide as she unconsciously stepped closer to Carlisle when a strange man stepped up to them. There was nothing outwardly threatening about the man, his features relaxed and average, his pinstripe suit pressed and cut to fit his trim frame, but still she backed away. Aro's brow furrowed, his attention turning to Edward as he watched Angela's actions borne of nervousness.

"He's human," Edward spoke to him below the range of human hearing and looked at Angela. "That's why she's nervous. In fact, the only human man she trusts is Charlie, Bella's father."

"Is she like this with all humans?" Marcus asked and Edward sighed as he frowned.

"Not all, but most," Edward nodded, rubbing his hand over Bella's arm as he held her tucked against his side. "Bella, Nurse Marks from the hospital, and Charlie," he listed off, "as far as I can tell, they are the only humans she trusts."

"Miss Weber, I presume?" the man said drawing the attention of every vampire to him.

"Yes," Angela said softly as her fear only increased.

"I'm Peter Lassiter," he introduced himself. "I'm not a lawyer, but I am a judicial mediator. It was decided that, as a neutral party, I would be best to escort you back to the meeting area. I'm sorry, but I do have to ask that any cellular devices are left behind, prison policy. Even I have to leave my personal devices behind," he told her at the sight of her nervousness.

Angela felt her fear increase as her last line of safety was taken away. Reaching into her pocket as she heard the low rumbling sound behind her, she removed her cell phone and handed the BlackBerry device to Esme. Meeting Jasper's gaze as he stepped toward her, she breathed in deeply as he wrapped her in the security of his embrace and smiled at the vibrations she could feel rumbling from his chest. He was the one who was growling, she realized, and took comfort in the fierce sound that she could barely hear.

"We'll be right here waiting for you," Jasper promised her, his southern accent more pronounced in the low tone of his voice turned rough by the growling he couldn't completely suppress.

Angela nodded silently, offering up a trembling smile when Jasper kissed her forehead. She turned away from him and, closing her eyes for a short moment – only long enough to take a steadying breath, Angela followed behind the man. The farther she got away from her family, the stronger her fear grew, but she ground her teeth against the desire to run. She was determined to see this through and no matter how scared she was, she refused to allow her fear to stop her.

"Miss Weber - "

"Cullen," Angela corrected. "They may be my parents, but they're not my family. My family's name is Cullen."

"Cullen," he amended with a soft nod and a small grin. "I need you to sign this. You more than welcome to read over it and I'll explain anything you don't understand."

"What is it?" Angela asked as she took the thick paper from him and studied the words written in legalese.

"Basically – it boils down to you agreeing that no one is forcing you to go into that room and that you have chosen to take part in this meeting, and the resulting transferral of parental rights, of your own free will." Reaching into his inner breast pocket, he retrieved a ballpoint pen and handed it to her. "Signing this will mean that they," he nodded to the door near them, "can never argue that you were forced into this."

She nodded quietly, taking the pen from his hand and signed her name at the bottom of the page. He stopped her when she tried to hand the papers back to him and looked at him curiously when he thumbed through to show her the other places that she would need to sign and initial. Once she had completed signing the forms, she handed him back his pen and took in a deep steadying breath as she looked at the thick grey metal door separating her from her human parents.

"Angela," she turned back to the man standing with her. "You can take a moment if you need to," he offered her and she shook her head.

"I just want this over with. I'm ok," she said, her trembling hand betraying her anxiety as she reached for the handle on the door.

_You can do this,_ Angela told herself as she turned the long handle down and pushed against the heavy door. _It's only an hour, you can do this._ Stepping into the room, she found her parents to be sitting at a metal table dressed in regular clothes and felt her fear rise to a fever pitch. Her migraine screamed inside her brain, the Toradol she had taken less than two hours before rendered useless against the power of her pain. Her hands fisted by her sides, her eyes turning wide as she searched for anything that would allow her the ability to remain calm enough to walk toward the couple who had spent their lives trying to destroy her.

"Michael?" Angela gasped in a whisper when she saw the ghostly image of the vampire in the room.

"Angela, what's going on? What is this place?" he asked her and she looked around when she realized that she was the only one who could hear him.

_Can you hear me?_ She asked him, her lips folded over her teeth as she spoke the words in her mind.

"Perfectly," Michael answered with wide eyes. "I was just reading and suddenly I'm here with you. I'm not upset by it," he told her his transparent hand reaching out to touch her cheek. "But I am curious. Are you doing this?"

_I don't know,_ she answered him silently and he followed her eyes when she looked away.

"What are you looking at?" Michael asked as he turned his face back to meet her gaze.

_What do you see?_ Angela asked him with wide eyes.

"Only you," he told her and saw the fear return in her eyes. "What's happening?"

_Please don't leave me,_ she begged of him, her words trembling as she looked away from him. She couldn't hold his hand, couldn't feel his body, but she did feel the brush of energy against cheek and over her hair when he reached out to her again. He promised her that he was there with her, assured her that if it was in his power to stay with her, he would. Closing her eyes as she fought for control over her emotions, she felt her stomach twisting with anxiety as she stepped away from the door.

"Do you know what we've had to do because of your selfish actions?" her mother said, her voice quiet and angry. "The indignities you've forced upon us?"

"The _only_ reason that I am here right now," Angela began, her voice shaking with a mix of emotion, "is because it is the only way to get you out of my life."

"Well then," her father began, his gaze frightening her. "Let us begin."

"Begin what?" Angela asked as she stepped closer, but refused the chair that had been placed at the table for her.

"One hour is barely enough time to truly define what a worthless mistake you were, but it will have to do," her mother said and Angela felt her throat tighten as her voice was robbed from her. "Sit down, girl."

She couldn't speak, she tried to several times, her lips moving without a sound being made. She cast her eyes to the side, searching for Michael and found his ghostly image standing across the room. He was standing in perfect line of sight from her, a spot where she could see him and make it look as though she were staring at her parents instead. She watched his hand lift into the air; his fingers gently curved and felt the soothing brush of energy against her cheek. Closing her eyes as the feel of Michael's presence bolstered her courage; Angela looked at her parents and waited.

It didn't take long for her mother to start in, her voice grating on Angela's nerves as she began listing off how she had disappointed them over the years. Her words were cruel, her tone malicious as she recounted all the times that Angela had shamed them with her actions. She closed her eyes against the pain of the memories they were bringing forth with their words, her stomach turning violently as she felt herself growing closer to being sick and took in a harsh, shuddering breath. She moved to stand, fearing that she would be ill, only to be stopped by her father's harsh words.

"If you leave this room at any time before the hour is up, it voids the agreement," he told her, daring her to keep moving and sneering when she whimpered.

"I am right here with you," she heard Michael whisper in her ear, feeling his energy wrap around her arms and front, spreading across and down her back as though he were hugging her from behind. "I don't know what's happening, Angela. But I promise you that I will not leave you alone."

_Michael_, she whispered his name in her mind with relief and felt his energy along the length of her side. Turning her eyes to her left, she found his ghostly image to be sitting next to her, her eye brows furrowing in curiosity at the sight of dark blue cloth underneath him. He must be sitting on his bed, she reasoned as she took strength from him and turned her eyes back up to her parents. She felt the ghostly touch against her cheek and closed her eyes as she pressed her mind into the feel of Michael's presence.

"Look at me when I'm talking to you!" her mother demanded harshly and Angela jerked as she was pulled from the comfort of the mental embrace she had with Michael.

Her fear transformed, the anxiety turning into anger as she looked at them both. She could feel the rage coursing through her as she looked at them. Who were they to demand this of her? Who were they to believe that _she_ owed _them_ anything at all? She felt her temperature rise, her face becoming flushed as she clenched her jaw. The anger was easier to control then the fear was, but they both had the same unsettling effect and she fisted her hands beneath the table as she struggled for control of her emotions.

They each tore into her, bringing up the most painful of memories as they sought to break her. A strange scratching, creaking noise seemed to be surrounding her, but not loud enough for her to truly distinguish what it was or where it was coming from. She felt her hair move, fought not to smile as she leaned into the soft vibrations of Michael's caress as she felt his energy between the back of her neck and the curtain of her dark hair. She closed her eyes as she let him soothe her only for her chocolate orbs to snap open once more when her parents crossed into forbidden territory.

The scratching sound grew slightly louder as her parents began to belittle the Cullens and Angela looked at them both, never noticing the fine lines traversing the glass windows of the room. A snapping cracking sound drew her attention even as she refused to take her eyes off of them and she heard Michael whispering in her ear, trying to soothe her rage as he spoke to her softly. She heard the popping sound, the odd buzzing reminding her of the time she had come across a downed power line, but paid no attention to it as her mother dared to make a comment that would break the fragile control Angela had on her emotions.

"So, what is it? Hmm, Angela? Why are they so willing to take you in? The rumors must be true then," she told her darkly. "That _respectable_ Dr. Cullen has turned you into his _slut,_ hasn't he?"

The six waist-high windows surrounding the sides of the room shattered at once, the security glass blowing out from the room as Angela stood from her chair and looked at her shocked parents with disdain.

"If you _ever_ speak another word about _my family_ again, I will silence you myself," she growled low, her words barely able to be heard by the human couple as the security camera mounted on the wall behind her fell to the floor in pieces.

Four guards stormed into the room, checking her for injury before removing her from the room and returning her to her family waiting in the main area. She shook her head when Aro held out his hand to her, crossed her arms over her chest and looked down at her feet as she struggled for control. If she were to reach out to any of them, to Edward or Aro, or even simply be held by any of her vampire family, what little control she had over her emotions would be lost. She heard the scraping of the pen on paper and looked up, her control falling further when she found that the ghostly image of Michael was no longer with her. She couldn't hear his voice any longer or feel his energy tickling against her skin and his absence only made her feel that much closer to losing control.

"Angela," she looked up at the sound of the judicial mediator calling her name. "You need to sign this to make it official."

"Sign what?" she asked, her voice trembling as she stepped closer to the counter.

"The papers," another man told her and Angel's attention snapped to the side as a pen flew off the counter.

"Calm down, baby girl," Jasper whispered to her as he moved closer. "You need to calm down. You're safe, I promise."

She nodded, the jerky movement announcing her upset as she stepped forward and looked down at the papers that already held the signatures of Carlisle and Esme. She looked at the words, but was too upset for her mind to process what the words were saying. Releasing a harsh breath and looking up at Carlisle for an explanation, his words gently soothing her as he informed her that the papers would mark her officially and legally as their daughter. Her hand was trembling as she reached out for the pen that was handed to her.

Biting her lip as she gripped the pen tighter in an effort to control her shaking, she signed where she was prompted to before dropping the pen and asking where the bathrooms were. Esme spoke softly to Carlisle before leading Angela away. She frowned with worry as she walked with Angela down the hall. Each time she reached out to offer her human daughter comfort the girl shook her head before pulling away. For whatever reason, Angela didn't want to be touched and Esme respected her need for distance even as it worried her.

She followed Angela into the bathroom, watched as the girl shut herself away inside one of the stalls and closed her eyes as she grieved at the sound of retching. Her sickness lasted for almost three minutes and Esme pressed her lips into a thin worried line as the toilet was flushed, Angela appearing a moment later. Handing the girl's purse to her when she reached out for it, she watched as Angela searched through its contents for the travel size bottle of mouthwash. Scrubbing her hands and face before rinsing her mouth first with water and then again with the bottle of mint Scope, Angela closed her eyes and nodded.

"Oh, sweetheart," Esme held her hand out and frowned when Angela shook her head. "Are you mad?"

"Yes," Angela spoke softly, "but not at any of you. They…I just can't, not here," she said, turning her eyes to the ground and Esme nodded softly.

"It's alright, Angela," Esme soothed her and held open the bathroom door. "Come on, let's get out of here, ok?"

She walked out into the hall with Esme, her arms crossed tightly over her chest as she fought against the forceful tide of her emotions. She felt as though she were teetering on the edge of a steep cliff with nothing to hold onto. She couldn't speak of what happened, couldn't repeat what had happened in that room and couldn't get her voice to work as she felt the desire for the sanctuary Aro's talent offered her. She jumped slightly, gasping when his voice sounded near her and glanced up before turning her eyes once more to the floor. She folded in on herself even more as the ancient man and his wife flanked her when they all left the building.

She kept her head bowed, her arms held so tightly that she was shaking and nodded silently in gratitude when Aro held open the car door for her. Climbing inside slowly, she moved to the center of the back seat as Aro and Suplicia slid in on either side of her. Carlisle and Esme climbed into the front seats and as soon as the car doors closed, the fragile control she had on her emotions fell to ruin. The first wrenching, aching sob broke from her painfully as she turned and buried her face in Aro's chest. His arms wrapped around her instantly, offering her comfort as his hand slipped beneath the curtain of her hair to rest upon her skin on the back of her neck.

He growled low, speaking below what her human ears could hear as he revealed what had taken place inside the room with her parents. He told of their words, their cruelty and finally of the disgraceful remarks they had made in reference to Carlisle and Esme. He kissed her bowed head, held her close as she sobbed in his arms and petted her hair as his expression turned to one of amazement. His voice was full of disbelief and fascination as he spoke of Angela's talents, her communication with Michael and the destruction she had wielded when her temper had been too much for her to control.

"Can you feel if her migraine was worse than it was before she went into that room?" Carlisle asked as he turned onto the highway. "Does your talent allow you to see that?"

"No, I cannot feel her pain," Aro said softly and looked down upon the girl in his arms. "But she is asleep now," he said as he smoothed his hand over the length of her hair. "She finds comfort in my talent," he said with wonder, his voice still tinged with the displeasure inspired by her memories of the encounter with her parents. "I've never known anyone who does."

"Edward's said much the same thing before," Esme said with a soft motherly smile. "She is unlike anyone else I've ever known."

"She is a gift," Suplicia whispered with reverence and lifted her hand to brush over Angela's hair.

"We'll be nearing the port for the ferry soon," Carlisle said as he turned off the highway exit leading to it. "She'll be upset if you don't wake her for it," he chuckled. "She finds it fascinating to watch the water when we travel over it at night. She'll just stand against the rail of the ferry and watch it."

"She was denied so much by her human parents," Aro said as he felt the warmth of her spirit infuse him and chuckled quietly at the ribbons of her dreams that flowed to him through his hand upon her skin. "It is as though she is seeing the world for the first time. Yes, little one?" he chuckled as he bent his head to look down at her when she spoke to him through his talent, her mental voice filled with sleep.

_Where are we?_

Tipping his head down to kiss her brow, Aro petted her hair and held her to head to his chest. He spoke to her softly, told her that they were miles away from the institution holding her human parents and that they were nearing the ferry that would take them to Seattle. He chuckled at the feel of her excitement, her thoughts dancing around the starlit water and he loosed his arms when she sat up. It surprised her that the travel had taken so long, but when she caught sight of the reflection of Carlisle's eyes in the rearview mirror, she understood. He had kept to the slower, law abiding speed limits for her, hadn't he? He had been giving her time to recover from the encounter and she loved him for it.

"Thank you, Papa," she whispered and met his gold eyes in the mirror.

Carlisle heard her soft words and met her gaze in the mirror, a smile bending his lips into a gentle bow. He had known that she would be alright, his daughter was stronger than she knew, but he had worried until the moment he saw her smile. Turning his eyes back to the road in front of him, he followed the small turn off up to the waiting area for the ferry. According to the computerized sign, they had at least half an hour to wait for the next ferry, and he parked the car, turning the engine off before stepping out of the vehicle. Suplicia stepped out behind him, Angela following her out of the car as Esme and Aro stepped out as well. Carlisle didn't have to wait more than a few seconds and his gentle smile brightened as he wrapped his arms around Angela, holding her close and turning his head to rest his cheek on her hair.

The feel of her arms wrapped around his waist soothed him and Carlisle breathed in deeply as he rubbed his hand over her back. The worst of it was over now, she was his daughter and no one – no human or vampire – could ever argue that again. He pulled back slightly, just enough to meet her gaze when she turned her head up to look at him and he smiled as he cupped his hands around her face and kissed her forehead. Glancing up and meeting Esme's gaze as his family circled around them, he looked back down at Angela.

"You are a Cullen," Carlisle told her with pride. "There's not a single person who will ever be able to argue that."

As though her spirit before had held the subtle warmth of a flame reduced to embers, her love shined forth as bright and powerful as an erupting volcano reaching toward the heavens. After all of the hardships she had been through, all of the pain she had suffered in her life, she was finally free. She had a family, a true family and there was nothing that could separate them. Tears filled her eyes, crystalline droplets tipping her lashes as she remained in the comforting hold of her adoptive father's arm and looked around her at the family she had found.

Aro stood immobile as he stared at Angela with wonder and amazement. Reading the memories of others who had experienced the brilliance of her elation before was nothing in comparison to the real thing. He was burning from the inside out, but the feeling wasn't painful or frightening, instead he felt soothed, peaceful and undeniably happy. He had to focus on his movements as he stepped toward her and held his hand out to her in offering. Whether she stepped toward him or simply placed her hand in his while she remained in Carlisle's arms, it didn't matter. What he wanted was simple and selfish. He wanted to see inside her mind as he felt this burning warmth, the elation that made him feel as though he were weightless and floating.

Angela bit her lip, smiling as she kept one arm around Carlisle and lifted the other toward Aro. She invited him in easily, studying the look of wonder on his face and curious to know what had left him so amazed. He laughed then as he held her hand and nodded his approval before looking back at Marcus. His ancient friend, his immortal brother was smiling at him; his lips pulled up to the side in an amused grin and held out his hand. Aro gasped, his breath pulled in deeply and sharply as he found himself connected between Marcus and Angela.

It felt as though he had been removed from himself, as though his spirit and his body were no longer one entity. He could feel the ground beneath his feet, the hands held in his – one burning with human warmth and pulsing with the blood flowing in her veins and the other still and cool, but he felt them at a distance. The minds of every person standing around him were connected to him, he could hear their thoughts in that moment, though his talent was unable to see to the depths it did with touch. The sensation only lasted for a few seconds, a moment at most, but he knew that any longer and the power would have overwhelmed him into insanity.

"When she's happy," Edward said with a soft chuckle. "I've felt the connection you just felt before when Jasper came home. It only happens when she's incredibly happy."

"Was it as…overwhelming for you?" Aro asked hesitantly as he struggled to find the best way to describe his experience.

"My talent doesn't have near the strength that yours does. My experience was…for lack of a better description, it was like making a conference call. I could feel the other minds present, hear them no matter the distance, but I wasn't overwhelmed by it. Besides that," Edward grinned, "you were attached to Marcus. I'm willing to be that his talent only intensified the experience for you."

Marcus chuckled as a knowing grin twisted his lips and smiled at Angela when she stepped up to him. Her eyes searched his, her hands lifting to frame his face and he met her dark chocolate gaze with his crimson eyes. There was so much emotion in her eyes, her thoughts written upon her face and in her eyes. He brushed his hand over her hair as he had that first day when he had met her upon the cliff in his mental hideaway and he frowned in question when he saw the tears gathered in her eyes spill upon her cheeks.

"You're so happy," she whispered to him. "When I first met you…I could feel you. It felt like you were dying or were already dead, but now…You're whole again, you're happy."

"Because of you," he nodded slowly and kissed her brow.

"Me?" Angela shook her head and frowned in confusion. "What did I do? I didn't do anything."

"You are the sun," he told her with a gentle smile.

Marcus knew that she didn't understand his answer, but the light shining in her eyes spoke of her delight and he knew that she wouldn't ask for clarification. Taking her hand in his, he wrapped his fingers gently over her smooth skin and rubbed the back of her hand in a whispered caress. He nodded to the side, his motion drawing her attention to the arriving ferry and he waited with her and the others while Carlisle, Emmett and Edward drove their cars onto the ferry's waiting platform.

"Are you tired?" Marcus asked her as he walked with her onto the water craft.

"Not terribly," she answered and he smirked when she yawned. "Shut up," she chuckled and he laughed.

"Alice," Edward said hesitantly and shook his head.

"I'm going to do it and she'll love it," Alice beamed before twirling toward Angela. "Now you, miss, need to take this," she said and held out a single Toradol pill to Angela. "What is it?" Alice asked her.

"I just want you to see me," Angela said and looked down at the water surrounding the ferry. "Is that weird?" she asked and looked back at Alice.

"Not at all," Alice said with a smile. "You've already figured out a way to talk to me while you're human. And one day soon, I'll be able to see you clearly."

"You will?" Angela bit her lip and tipped her head to the side.

Alice reached up and took hold of Angela's crest. "I will."

**:::::**

Carlisle turned the key in the ignition, the engine dying into silence and tucked the keychain into his pocket. Looking up into the rearview mirror before turning to look at Esme, he smiled and turned in his seat to look back at Angela. She was asleep, her cheek pillowed against Marcus' chest as she sat tucked against his side, wrapped in his arm. He knew that even with the Toradol she was still in pain, but at least she was sleeping. His ancient friend was sitting with his eyes closed, looking for all the world as though he were asleep as well and Carlisle's smile turned humorous when Marcus opened his crimson orbs.

"We never furnished the house beyond the couch and kitchen," Felix said as he looked down on Angela's sleeping form.

"Alice beat you to it about a week ago," Esme said with a teasing smile. "Actually a little longer than that," she laughed quietly.

"She did?" Felix asked as he watched Marcus carefully step out of the car before bending over to gather Angela from inside.

"I've got her," Marcus said quietly, unconsciously holding Angela closer as he cradled her to his chest when Carlisle moved to take her from him.

"M'cus," Angela mumbled in her sleep as she turned closer to him.

"I am here, little one," he promised her and kissed her hair before turning toward Felix's brownstone.

"They're leaving Sunday night," Esme said softly to Carlisle, her arms wrapped around his right arm as she stood against his side. "Let him have this time with her."

Carlisle sighed and rolled his eyes with amusement as he looked down on Esme. His wife did find his paternal attachment to Angela endlessly amusing. Leading her inside the house and following the scents of his daughters down the hall, he shook his head and chuckled at the sight of the over-sized king bed filling the master bedroom. Angela and Bella were tucked beneath the covers, Edward and Marcus curled around them and Carlisle met his son's teasing gaze.

"She needs more," Marcus said quietly, drawing Carlisle's attention away from Edward. "She is not entirely relaxed in her sleep, she is still in pain."

Carlisle pursed his lips, releasing a slow breath from his nose as he stepped away from Esme and moved to Marcus' side of the bed. He reached out his hand, brushed his fingers against Angela's face and watched the corners of her eyes as she slept tucked against his ancient friend. There it was, Carlisle thought as he saw the twitch of muscle, the miniscule wince that spoke of Angela's pain. She whimpered softly, her eyes fluttering open just enough to peer at him through the fringe of her lashes. Her breathing quickened as she pressed closer to Marcus and bit back another whimper as her eyes squeezed closed tightly in pain as her migraine flared.

"Oh, sweetheart," Carlisle shushed her gently, smoothing his hand over her hair. "How bad is it?" he asked her when she turned her eyes back up to him.

"Bad," Edward whispered to him when Angela's thoughts revealed to him that she wouldn't answer. "She doesn't want Jasper here."

"She is very close with him," Marcus said, his eyes narrowed in confusion.

"She is, yes," Edward affirmed and shushed Bella when she stirred against him. "But Jasper can feel her migraines. There have been several times when the strength of her pain has overwhelmed him. If she doesn't want him here then it means that her migraine is more than she can handle."

"I didn't bring the morphine with me," Carlisle said with regret.

"I'm ok," Angela mumbled quietly at the sight of their concerned faces.

"No, you're not," Carlisle rebutted and touched his hand to her cheek. "Will you be able to sleep?" he asked her, staring into her dark eyes.

"I'll try," she said and Carlisle frowned when her expression grew distressed. "No, go away," she whispered as Jasper came closer to the bed.

"No," Jasper told her gently, his tone making it clear that he wouldn't be swayed. "I won't let you suffer like this. Not when I have the power to do something about it," he told her as he stepped closer to the bed and slipped out of his shoes.

"It hurts you," she argued as he knelt on the end of the bed and climbed up to lie in the vacant space between Bella and Angela.

"And you're not being hurt?" he asked her pointedly as he curled against her. "I don't care that it isn't my pain," he told her when she opened her mouth to argue. "Go on, little one, close your eyes," he instructed softly as he rubbed his hand over her back and began constructing the barriers around her migraine.

"Her migraines are always worse after she uses her talents," Carlisle said quietly as he stepped back to stand beside Esme.

Suplicia stepped into the room and looked at the occupied bed with a gentle smile gracing her face. Her eyes slipped to the side, focusing on Angela and then Marcus. Her friend was so different now, so much happier and at peace. She had felt Angela's power, who among them hadn't? But the difference was, the most delicate and beautiful difference was that Angela would never ask any of them to swear loyalty to her. What she wanted was for those around her to be happy and to be with the ones they loved. She had more power than any of them could truly comprehend and yet she asked for nothing.

"You know it's a strange thing," Suplicia said with a soft laugh as Aro walked into the room and wrapped his arm around her waist. "Have any of you noticed how very little you use her name?" she asked the Cullens. "It's always 'baby girl' or 'little one' or," she looked at Emmett with a teasing glance, "'half pint'. But you say her actual name very rarely."

"Do we?" Esme asked as she leaned against Carlisle's side. "I hadn't noticed."

"You do," Felix affirmed with a quiet chuckle as he stepped in and looked down at the girl in question. "Even you," he nodded to Esme. "You call her 'sweetheart' more than you do Angela, but I've watched her around you all. I think it brings her greater comfort."

Esme smiled upon Angela as she studied her sleeping daughter and turned her attention up to her husband. Carlisle met her gaze, his expression displaying the love he felt for Esme clearly and his eyes flicked down to her lips. He dipped his head down, claiming her full lips in a gentle slow kiss as his hand smoothed against her cheek. She had given him so much; brought together this family that he had been blessed with and he didn't know that he could ever truly express how grateful he was. Breaking their intimate embrace, he rested his brow against hers and cupped her cheek in his hand as he kept his arm wrapped around her waist.

_You've given me everything_, his eyes spoke to her. Esme smiled as she lifted her hand, her fingers wrapping loosely around his wrist, smiling as she nuzzled into his palm. _I love you_, her eyes told him as she looked up at him, her amber orbs framed by sooty lashes. _You will always have my heart, I will love you forever,_ their eyes spoke simultaneously to each other. They kissed again, their embrace reinforcing their love as they fell into one another. To everyone else their embrace appeared gentle and chaste, but there was one person who knew differently.

Marcus couldn't take his eyes from the couple standing at the foot of the bed. The strength of the bond between them was unlike anything he had seen before and he was awed by the love they held for one another. He felt Angela move against him and looked down to find her eyes slightly open, her gaze focused on Carlisle and Esme and his lips twitched as he turned his gaze back to the couple. Jasper smiled, able to feel Angela's attention on her adoptive parents and felt his own heart warmed at the strength of the love between them. Carlisle and Esme were the leaders of their coven, but more than that they took to him and all of his adopted siblings as their children. They were each given freedom, support and unconditional love, something he had never known before Alice brought him into their family.

_They really love each other_, Angela thought as she watched her vampire parents. Her eyes blinked closed slowly, her dark lashes resting against the curve of her cheek as she sighed softly. Sleep came to her then, Jasper's talent blocking the worst of her migraine from her and she took comfort in the feeling of the vampires holding her. As she began to fall deeper in the delicate embrace of sleep, she heard Jasper's soft chuckle when she wrapped her arm around his and hugged him to her. Edward smiled softly, kissing Bella's cheek as he curled himself closer around her. The thoughts of everyone of his family members, the Volturi included were filled with peace and love. He looked at Jasper, moving only his eyes and knew through the southern vampire's thoughts that Jasper had turned his focus to him as well. Edward could honestly say that it was the first time he had read such beautiful harmony in all of their thoughts.

He looked down on Bella, her cheeks warmed by sleep and smiled when she snuggled against him, mumbling his name in her sleep. He touched her face, smoothed her hair back from her face as he whispered his love to her uncaring of who was in the room to hear his words. There were moments when he still felt as though what he had found, what they had all found, couldn't possibly be real. They had already been in Forks for two years when he had met Bella. She stole his heart, with one look of her doe-brown eyes, she had claimed him mercilessly.

She was so shy, so uncertain of herself and he hadn't understood why, her silent mind denying him access to her innermost thoughts. It had been Esme though who had discovered the sources of her doubts, the truth of the traumas she had suffered that she would never admit to on her own. She had always insisted that Renee was good mother and that her childhood was happy, for the most part Edward had to admit that it was true. But it had been those few moments, the times of her greatest stress when she had been left alone. She would never be alone again and Edward promised himself that the girl sleeping in his arms would never again have any reason to doubt herself.

_Oh no, of course four bags of decorations aren't too much. What was I thinking?_

Edward chuckled as Rosalie's thought infiltrated his mind when she and Alice pulled into the drive. His eyes widened at the image that filled his mind, the sight of the three-tiered pink and white frosted cake Alice had ordered. He chuckled at the knowledge that the decorator had written the wrong message on top of the cake. Where it was supposed to read '_Welcome to the family'_ had instead been inscribed '_It's a Girl!'_ Angela, he knew, would see the humor in the words, but Alice was upset that every detail of the party she had planned wasn't exactly perfect.

He glanced up at Emmett, saw the look in his brother's eyes as the dark haired man breathed in his wife's scent. Rosalie stepped into the room a short moment later, the expression on her face one of comical annoyance. Edward knew that she was regretting the impromptu shopping trip Alice had taken her on, but his blonde sister would never admit to such out loud. Elegantly decorated eyes closed, mascara coated lashes brushing against powdered cheeks as Rosalie tipped her head up to meet Emmett's kiss. She smiled at him as she breathed in and he wrapped his arm around her, tucking her against his side.

"Alice is turning the living room into a festival of lights. I think she bought close to a hundred candles," Rosalie said and rolled her eyes.

"Half pint likes 'em," Emmett said with a soft chuckle. "Hell, Carlisle even got her that oil lamp a few months ago because she prefers that light over the electric."

"She still uses the electric lights," Esme said with humor, "she just likes to read and respond to Michael's letters by the light of the oil lamp. A mother knows these things," she said in response to Emmett's curious expression.

Aro couldn't hide the easy grin on his face as he listened to Carlisle's family talk. He returned his attention to Angela, watching as she slept in between Marcus and Jasper. Italy wouldn't be the same anymore, not now that he had experienced all of this, met someone who welcomed him in and delighted in his talent. There was not a single other person that he had known in his three thousand years who had accepted him as openly and unconditionally as Carlisle's daughter had. She held a level of power that he could not even begin to understand and she was still human. He couldn't help but see the befitting irony in the situation.

More than five hundred years ago, a man who was insanely cruel when he was human had been made even more so when he had been changed into a vampire. He had talents similar to Angela's, the ability to destroy with only a thought, but it had been his own power that had brought about his death. But here, now, this gentle human girl who was as innocent as a sunrise held far greater power than that man ever had and her talents were born of love. It still managed to amaze him that she had nearly fallen through the cracks. If not for Carlisle and Emmett, Angela would have died as a result of her migraines without ever knowing the true love of a family. In all his years he had never met anyone like her.

"Two weeks," Aro said aloud, his voice but a whisper. "For two weeks I have kept vigil while she has slept. I have stepped into her mind and she has welcomed me in with open arms. Volterra will not be the same for me anymore."

"I feel much the same," Marcus admitted as he looked down upon the girl in question. "I have never known anything as beautiful or as strong as the bonds between this family," he said and met Carlisle's gaze. "What you have created is unlike anything I have ever known. What you have, my friend, is what those of us who have seen the worst of this life have believed to only ever be a dream. You are the fantasy, the fairytale, how is it possible?"

"Love makes all things possible," Esme answered softly. "There is no stronger power."

"Rosalie," Edward chuckled his sister's name softly, drawing her attention to him. "What exactly was it that you sang to Angela that first night you watched over her, before she came to stay with us?"

"Just a collection of old lullabies, why?" Rosalie asked with a confused bend to her brow.

"Because Angela's thinking about them now," he said with amusement. "She's asleep for the most part, but the memory of you singing is cycling through her dreams. I believe she wants to hear you sing again."

Emmett lifted his arm and smoothed his hand over his wife's silken blonde hair as she smiled. Kissing her temple, he provided the undertone to her voice, adding his baritone voice in a low hum as she sang. Her smooth alto filled the room in soft tones, her voice kept low so as not to disturb the sleep of her human sisters. She smiled at Emmett when she ended one song and began an old lullaby she had always favored. He stopped humming then, his hypnotic baritone twining around her higher soprano-alto as they sang the words together. The lyrics of the song lifted into the air, dancing with the grace of ribbons as they sang to each other and to their human sisters. Their melodic and romantic reproduction of 'All the Pretty Little Ponies' ended slowly as the last of their family members came to join them.

"Everything is set," Alice said as she stepped into the room and looked around at her family and their visiting friends. "Well, I'm definitely glad I picked up the water-proof mascara when we went shopping," she said as she stared at Esme. "Angela's going to need it."

"And the cake?" Esme asked and laughed when Alice rolled her eyes and sighed heavily.

"You would think that one little phrase wouldn't be so hard to remember or mess up," Alice said with impatience. "The decorator did both, but Rose assured me Angela would find it funny."

"With her sense of humor?" Rosalie chuckled. "She'll definitely find it funny."

"Why?" Esme looked between her immortal daughters. "What does the cake say?"

"It's a girl," they said in unison.


	61. Chapter 59

AN: There is no clean version of this chapter. You have been warned.

Chapter 59

Periwinkle grey skies heavy with predawn mist turned the world outside into a hazy dreamscape. Her eyes closed slowly, hiding the world from view as she breathed in deeply and took pleasure in the scents of earth and wind that surrounding her and welcomed her in. Her eyes opened as she slipped out of the heels adorning her feet and walked down the smooth brick steps that opened down to the yard surrounding Felix's brownstone. She turned back just enough to look behind her, one foot on the last stone step while the other was hidden within the tickling mass of the ankle high grasses. Her lips turned up at the corner as she silently thanked Alice for her procurement of the thick curtains blanketing the windows.

Turning back to the yard in front of her, she moved forward, the soles of her feet pillowed by plush feather soft grasses. It wasn't hard to find him, the one she was looking for, and she smiled softly when she spotted him. His tall form was folded down into a relaxed position, cradled by an aged wooden lawn chair that sat facing the east. His head was tipped back, his face cast in delicate shadows. His expression was peaceful, his closed eyes making him appear asleep, but she knew better. Whether he sat in a chair or was seated on the damp ground itself, this was a position she had seen him in countless times over their years together when he had the mornings free to do so and she smiled at the familiar sight.

The whispering breeze ruffled the edges of the light dress she was wearing, the ends of her knee length skirt dancing in the wind and she smiled as she watched him. These precious moments were his time to give thanks for all that he had and she looked toward the sky as the first delicate ribbons of color began to paint across the canvas of clouds. She closed her eyes as she offered up her thanks as well, her gratitude for the family she had been given burning her with the love she held for them all and she turned her attention back to the man that had given her everything she could have ever wanted and more.

She breathed in deeply, the scents of forest and early morning mixing with the scent of the one she loved and bringing with it a need for his touch. She doubted that there would ever come a moment when she would not love him, his beautiful soul and kind heart offering up something new to her each day that made her love for him grow stronger. She breathed in again, her eyes darkening as she found his scent to be stronger than it had been previously and knew that he had sensed her presence. He always did know when she was watching him, but he had never once seemed upset by it, not even back in the very beginning of their time together. His lips twitched even as his eyes remained closed and his expression relaxed.

"How long are you going to stand there watching me?" he asked her and she smiled as she stepped closer.

"Until you invite me to join you or turn me away," she answered his question the same as she did every time he asked.

His eyes fluttered open, dark lashes framing golden eyes and she smiled when their gazes met. He watched her as she stood watching him, the gentle breeze lifting her hair as though by invisible hands of a lover. The delicate fabric was a most alluring combination of silk and satin, the white background decorated with large black rose blossoms that made her appear timelessly elegant and insanely sexual at the same time. His eyes fell closed slowly for the briefest of moments as he pulled the scent of her upon the wind deep into his lungs. He opened his eyes and met her gaze again as his arm moved gracefully, his hand held out in invitation to her, his palm turned up.

"Never will I turn you away, my love," he said. "I will want you by my side forever. Come join me, my love."

She stepped closer, her gentle smile shone everywhere upon her face and reflected in her amber eyes. She loved him, beyond description, beyond question; she loved this man and always would. They were as much a part of each other as the river was a part of the ocean. They flowed into one another, their hearts, minds and spirits twining around each other in such harmony that it was often difficult to tell where he ended and she began, but she would want it no other way. His love had given her freedom, opened her to the endless possibilities that the world had to offer and she was the better for it.

"The sunrise looks beautiful on you," Carlisle told her as her hand slipped into his and he grinned at the sight of her bare feet. "Not even Michelangelo could have made any work of art more beautiful than you."

His hands gripped her waist as he lifted her to sit in his lap and he smiled at the happy sigh that sounded from her as she leaned back against his arm. Her eyes never left his face, her gaze taking him in, every nuance and curve. She lifted her hand to his face, her fingertips smoothing across his jaw as she traced the masculine curve of his chin. The pads of her index and middle fingers touched upon the swell of his bottom lip and she sat up, leaning closer to him as her hand moved, her fingers smoothing across his face to cup his cheek in her palm.

"I love you, Carlisle Carwyn Cullen," she said as she met his lips in a slow sweet kiss. "Have I ever told you," she said against his lips as she kissed him between her words, "how fitting and beautiful it is," she continued to kiss him as she spoke, occasionally brushing his lips and cheeks with the tip of her tongue, "that your middle name means 'blessed love'?"

Carlisle's hands moved from her waist, combing into her hair as he returned her kisses and dragged his tongue across the seam of her lips as he begged to be let inside. She sighed against his mouth as her lips parted and granted him the entrance he desired. He pulled her closer, held her tighter and delighted in the sound of her whimper as she moved to straddle his waist, her knees framing his thighs. Her fingernails scraped against the skin at the nape of his neck, her fingers twisting and pulling at the hair there and he groaned as she felt him harden beneath her.

Esme moaned softly as she rocked her hips against him and gasped when his hands that were fisted in her hair pulled back, the motion breaking their kiss as he tipped her head back to kiss along her jaw line. She called his name, whispered soft entreaties to him as she scraped her nails through his scalp, delighting in the soft nips and licks that he placed upon her neck. He moved beneath her, grinding his hardness against her center and growled at the feeling of their clothing separating them. She chuckled, the sound husky and low, as his hand slipped from her hair and slid down the length of her back taking the zipper of her dress down with it.

"God, _Carlisle_," she gasped his name as his hands slipped inside her dress, his fingers burning upon her skin as he slid the two inch shoulder straps down her arms to reveal the white lace strapless bra beneath.

He captured her lips, kissing her once, twice, three times, before sliding his hands up from her knees to her thighs only to move beneath her dress. He pushed the delicate material up her body, the weightless garment gathering upon his arms before he broke their kiss to lift the dress off over her head. His hands returned to her hair, fisting in the caramel waves as he brought her mouth back to his in a heated kiss, his tongue sliding across hers as they both groaned at the intimate contact. He growled into the kiss as her hands moved between them and caused their bodies to separate as she undid the buttons of his robin's egg blue shirt.

He refused to stay idle while she undressed him, his fingertips trailing in a whispered caress up her back only to stop at the clasp of her bra. He delighted in the shivers that ran through her body, the tremors that bespoke the effect his touch had on her as he divested her of the intimate undergarment. She gasped, rocking her hips harder against his when his hands moved around her front to cup her breasts. The pillowing mounds fit perfectly in his hands as they always had, the feel of his wife every time they made love only reinforcing the idea that she had been made to perfectly fit him. He heard the soft rip and chuckled as he dipped his head to take one dusky rose nipple into his mouth.

His lips closed around her sensitive flesh as another rip sounded and the vibrations of his chuckles against her skin had her fairly sobbing with pleasure as she held onto him desperately. His shirt fluttered to the grass below in tatters, the cuffs remaining around his wrists and he felt both pride and amusement to know that it was his attentions that had made her so impatient to remove his clothing. His tongue flicked against her puckered flesh and her jaw moved, no sound coming from her lips as she held his head to her breast and let her head fall back, her eyes closing against the pleasure he was giving her.

She whimpered sharply with pleasure, her eyes snapping open at the sudden intrusion and wondered when his hand had moved as he began to slowly thrust his finger inside her wet channel. She cried out when he switched his mouth to her other breast and added another finger inside her, increasing his rhythm only slightly as he worked her with his hands and mouth. She whimpered his name brokenly, sobbing with pleasure as he pressed his thumb against her engorged clit and began to massage her slowly. His other hand slid up her back, cupped around the back of her neck, supporting her weight as he caught her when she fell back.

Her breathing was ragged, the air drawn into her lungs unnecessary, but needed all the same. She reached between their bodies, searched for the buckle of his leather belt as he added yet another finger inside her and she cried out as she rocked against his hand. Her fingers tugged and fumbled with his belt until she finally got it open and she fairly ripped the length of black leather from the loops of his pants. She jerked at the feel of his thumb pressing insistently against her clitoris, the speed of his hand inside her increasing as he bit down gently on her breast suckled upon her nipple. He pulled away from her breast with a soggy pop, his mouth returning to hers as he claimed her lips with a fierce growl.

"Come for me," he spoke against her lips, feeling her cool sweet breath fanning against his face. "Come for me," he demanded again as he increased the rhythm of his fingers inside of her and felt her silken walls begin to flutter against his fingers. "That's it, my love," he told her as he captured her lips in another heated kiss. "That's it, Esme," he purred to her as she panted harshly. "Come for me," he begged one last time and took pride in the sound of her erotic cry.

She trembled in his arms as she continued to rock against his hand, her sweet nectar flowing from between her legs to coat his hand. She wanted more, she _needed_ more and as she tugged at the closure of his pants once more, he leaned toward her and they tumbled from the chair into the pillowing grasses at his feet. His hand moved from between her legs to the front of his pants and he undid the clasp easily, sliding down the zipper and being careful not to tear the material as he removed the rest of his clothing.

She was waiting for him to enter her, to feel him sliding inside of her, but Carlisle had other plans and Esme cried out in ecstasy when his mouth closed upon her core. She was trembling, her hips bucking at the feel of his lips, teeth and tongue teasing her womanhood relentlessly. He couldn't get enough of her taste and dipped down further, delighting in the sounds she made as he plunged his tongue into her dark depths. He thrust the muscle back and forth, curling it at the tip as he drank from her and rubbed his nose against her clit as he sought to drive her to the heights of madness once more.

The broken whimpers and half sobs fell from her lips as she bucked beneath him, rocking her hips against his face as he continued to torment her. Esme was glad that she didn't need to breathe because at that moment she was fairly certain that she wouldn't be able to. The sensations that he was causing within her were breaking her and empowering her all at once, his hands and mouth playing her sensual nerve endings like a finely tuned instrument. She could feel her insides clenching once again as her feet slid against the damp grass for purchase, the blades of grass twisting between her toes as she ripped them from the earth when she curled her toes tightly.

Carlisle chuckled against her, the feel of it drawing a stuttering cry from her parted lips only to end in guttural moan when his lips closed over her clitoris. His teeth held her gently, steady as his tongue moved back and forth over the delicate and sensitized flesh of her engorged button. He pumped his fingers inside her, pushing her to greater heights as he pulled another orgasm from her mercilessly. He lapped at her center as she came down, soothed her as he kissed his way up her snowy abdomen and rubbed his painfully hard member against her center as he claimed her lips with his in a searing kiss.

"I love you, Esme Anne Cullen," he whispered to her as he slid inside her tight channel slowly.

"Carlisle," Esme groaned his name, her eyes falling closed at the feel of their bodies being joined as one. "_Please_," she begged of him when he remained still inside of her.

"Tell me what you want," he requested of her and her onyx eyes, darkened by her sexual passion, met his.

"I want you," she groaned, her hands squeezing his buttocks as her legs wrapped around his hips. "I need you."

"What do you want me to do?" he asked her, bracing his arms against the earth as he fought to remain still inside her. "Tell me what you want me to do."

"I want you to stop being such a damned tease!" she growled and tried to buck her hips against his when he laughed.

"Say it," he purred as he denied her the friction she was so desperately seeking.

"Car_lisle_," she snarled and tried to flip him over so that she could take control of their lovemaking.

"Say it," he demanded of her again, his words filled with amusement and passion.

"Fuck me," she growled and groaned with undeniable pleasure when he pulled out halfway and thrust back inside of her. "_Gods, yes!"_ she moaned as he thrust into her again, setting a slow rhythm that steadily grew faster.

"I love it when you curse," he told her as he nipped at her neck, drawing his teasing, biting kisses down over her carotid artery only to nip at the curve of her collar bone. "You have no idea how sexy it sounds to hear you say it."

"Fuck me," she demanded of him once more when he stilled inside her again. "Don't stop," she begged of him, meeting him thrust for thrust as they moved together in a timeless dance of passion and love.

His mouth moved back to hers, claiming her lips as her hands fisted tightly in his golden hair. The sun crested the horizon as they made love in the cool grass that was damp with the morning dew. The fiery light of day shone upon their skin, casting them in an endless prismatic array of dancing light. The edges of the Discovery Park forest hid them from view, the brownstone Felix had acquired nearly one hundred years old and built upon the land before the park had been given official boundaries. Their rhythm increased, the sound of their bodies colliding filling their ears as they kissed with passionate abandon.

Esme cried out, tearing her mouth from his and throwing her head back against the soft ground beneath her as the first stirrings of her orgasm began to take hold. She pulled the air into her lungs, breathing in their mixed scents, the musk of their arousals, and feeling overwhelmed by the knots of pleasure tightening her muscles. She tilted her head to the side, granting Carlisle more access as he nipped and sucked at her flesh.

"_Please_," she begged of him when her pleasure became too much and she could no longer meet his powerful thrusts. _"I can't, please._"

He held her, his arms wrapped around her back and holding her up from the earth as he took her nipple in his mouth. She cried out again, her voice a continuous song of her pleasure as he increased his rhythm inside her and listened with pure masculine pride as she begged him for more. Sliding one hand down along her right side, he captured her hip in his hand before sliding his palm down to grip the back of her knee. He lifted her leg, hooking it over his shoulder to change the angle of his thrust as he pushed deeper inside of her, the feel of it offering her the friction she desired. She groaned beneath him, crying out and whimpering as her walls began to flutter around him and grip him tightly.

Carlisle growled his pleasure as he captured her lips again and felt his balls tighten to a nearly painful degree seconds before they came together. They rode the waves of their passion, dancing together from the very heights of their lovemaking down to the easy gentle rhythm as their passions calmed. They panted deeply, their breath fanning over each other's faces and bodies as they calmed from their excursions. Kissing her sweetly, Carlisle pulled out of her slowly as he rolled to the side and gathered her to lie upon his chest.

"Good morning, husband," she teased and bounced against his chest when he laughed in response.

"Good morning, wife," he chuckled the words as he turned toward her.

"Already?" she laughed teasingly at him, delighting in the feel of his hardness brushing against her thigh.

"Normally, I wouldn't intrude," Alice said as she approached the couple, shocking them apart. "But the girls are waking up and you two need to get dressed. Cuffs," she demanded of Carlisle as she motioned with her fingers for him to give her the pieces of cloth still wrapped around his wrists.

"Alice," Carlisle said roughly as he tried to determine which was stronger, his irritation at being interrupted, or his slight embarrassment at having his daughter see him naked.

"Oh please, you don't have anything I haven't seen before," she said with a roll of her eyes. "You're both lucky that Jasper left to hunt before you two began your play otherwise we'd have a house full of mating vampires and I don't think even Edward would be able to resist the pull of it. Now, cuffs," she demanded again and took the remnants of his shirt from his hand. "There is fresh clothing for you both on the chair."

"Alice," Esme chuckled, unable to hide her humor at being caught by the girl. "Go."

"As long as you promise to get dressed," she said and looked pointedly at Carlisle.

"What?" he asked her with wide eyes.

"Oh right, like my visions aren't showing me you ravaging her as soon as I go back inside. Get. Dressed." Alice turned around with a huff and gathered the discarded clothes from the grass before walking away. "Get dressed!" she reminded them as she neared the house.

Esme watched Alice disappear around the corner and listened as the back door opened and closed before she fell back to lie in the grass. Her body trembled, her smile wide before the sound of her laughter filled the morning air. She laughed harder when Carlisle gripped her sides and rolled over her, growling playfully as he bestowed teasing bites upon her neck. Esme's laughter began to die down and turn into moans of pleasure only to for her laughter to reemerge when she caught sight of Emmett standing in the lawn.

"Emmett," she greeted through her laughter as Carlisle sighed at being interrupted once again.

"Alice insisted that I come out here to make certain you two actually got dressed. She was rather annoyed when she came back inside," he said with a chuckle. "Apparently we're on a schedule."

"A schedule?" Esme asked and turned her attention on Carlisle when he tried to shield her from view. "You know, dear, this isn't the first time our children have caught us making love and it won't be the last. Besides that, we're all adults here," she told him and giggled when he rolled his eyes. "You're adorable when you get all gentlemanly," she said and kissed his lips.

"Hey!" Carlisle pulled back from Esme, laughing at the feel of a soaking wet cloth colliding with his back.

"Get dressed or I won't be able to protect you from Alice," Emmett laughed and turned to go inside as Carlisle took the washcloth from his back. "There's a bowl of water on the table by the chair, apparently she thought of everything."

"You're going inside?" Esme asked as she glanced at Emmett.

"Yeah, like I want to stay out here for the clean and dress show. No thanks," he laughed and shook his head. "Get dressed."

"I suppose we should get dressed," Esme said only to be silenced by Carlisle's kiss.

He pressed her back into the grass, his mouth moving over hers as he brought the wet washcloth between her legs. She moaned into his mouth, whimpering as he teased her with the cloth, cleaning the traces of their lovemaking from her skin. She trembled beneath him as he brought the cloth up over her abdomen, swiping the washcloth over her stomach and massaging her breast with it. She whimpered when he tweaked her nipple through the cloth in his hand, pressing against him and tugging at his bottom lip with her teeth as he twisted her nipple and rubbed his hardness against her thigh.

"Son of a!" Carlisle cursed as he pulled away from Esme and looked back at the sprinkler pointed directly at them. "Alice," he growled and turned his attention back to his laughing wife. "Of course you would find this funny," he teased her and rolled away laughing when she shrieked at the water falling on her. "Well, at least she covered our clothes so they wouldn't get wet," he said and stepped toward the wooden table and chair. "She left us towels, too."

"Just think of it this way," she laughed as she stepped toward him and took the towel he offered her. "We got to take a shower together."

"Oh, very funny," he chuckled with a bright smile and cupped her face in his hands as he leaned close for a kiss.

**:::::**

He looked down at her, his hand smoothing over her hair as his eyes softened with the adoration he felt. He felt her move, her ribs expanding as she drew the air deeply into her lungs, her warm breath fanning against him. She sighed softly as she rose from the land of dreams and he watched as her eyes fluttered open. He pursed his lips when he caught sight of the soft wince as she woke slowly in his arms and felt helpless at the knowledge that she was still in pain and that there was nothing he could do to take it away. He brushed the backs of his fingers down her cheek, smoothing her hair back from her sleep warmed face and met her dark chocolate gaze when she looked up at him.

"Marcus," Angela spoke his name, her voice muffled and drowsy.

"Good morning," he greeted her and chuckled when she stretched lazily against him. "How do you feel?" he asked in reference to her migraine from the day before.

"Better," she sighed and listen to him chuckle once more when her eyes fell closed and she snuggled against his chest.

"I have been informed that I am not allowed to let you sleep in," he told her with amusement as he smoothed his hand over her hair.

"Says who?" Angela asked without opening her eyes.

"Your sister, Alice," he told her and looked up as Aro entered the room. "She has the whole day planned for you."

"She does?" Angela asked as she turned her eyes up to him curiously.

"She does," Aro affirmed with a soft chuckle. "Come," he said and held out his hand to her, watching her smile as she placed her palm in his.

He held her hand as he helped her rise from the bed and smiled at the warm infusion of her thoughts in his mind. The incident from yesterday was still with her, but the memory didn't bring her as much pain as it had last night. She greeted him through his talent, her mental voice still filled with sleep. He returned her greeting, kissed her forehead and encouraged her to take a shower before dressing for the day. He turned his attention back to Marcus as Angela left the room and watched as the ancient man stood from the bed.

"I've grown used to having her near," Marcus said as he smoothed the blankets on the bed. "We leave tomorrow night. We have things to attend to, traitors we must flush out," he said with discontent, his anger rising from his thoughts of all that had happened, "but I do not wish to leave her."

"Neither do I," Aro said softly. "I have a feeling that Angela will find a way to communicate with us. After all, she found a way to communicate with you long before you left Italy."

"So she did," Marcus said softly with a smile. "So she did."

**:::::**

"Rosalie?" Angela looked up from the mirror she was standing in front of, her hands working her hair into a braid.

"Hmm?" Rosalie turned back to the open bathroom and stepped toward her human sister. "Need help?" she asked and watched Angela smile as she took up the girl's hair, continuing the braid down the length of her back.

"It's all over now, right?" Angela asked her. "I mean they can't…I don't ever have to see or hear from them again?"

"No," Rosalie met her dark eyes in the mirror as she wrapped the elastic hair band around the end of her braid. "You no longer have any ties to them at all. As of last night, you officially and legally became a Cullen. They can never touch you again."

Angela nodded quietly and bit her lip as she frowned. "They're leaving aren't they?" she asked as she turned around to face her blonde sister.

"Marcus and Aro, you mean?" Rosalie asked and motioned for Angela to take a seat on the closed toilet as she opened the small make up case that Alice had brought for her. "They are," she confirmed as she began applying the concealer to the girl's face. "They leave tomorrow night, they fly out around midnight. You knew they couldn't stay," she told Angela at the sight of her crestfallen look.

"No, I knew, I just hoped they would stay. Whenever they talk about their home there they seem…unsettled," Angela told her and closed her eyes at Rosalie's bidding.

"They have their own demons to exorcise," Rosalie told her as she applied the colored powders to her eyelids. "Everything will be alright, it's not as though you'll never see them again. I don't think they could really stay away from you if they tried," she said and took in a slow breath as she took the slim tube of mascara in her hands. "But something tells me that's not all that's bothering you. What else is there? Look up," she instructed as she brushed the inked comb against Angela's lashes.

"I don't know how to explain it," Angela said as she looked down when Rosalie tucked the items back into the makeup case. "It feels like…like I'm running out of time. I mean I know that…that I'm dying," she said hesitantly and met the blonde's concerned gaze, "but it feels like it's more than that. I don't know how to make it make sense," she said and shook her head.

"Then don't try. No matter what happens, we will always be here for you. You are part of this family," Rosalie told her and nodded to the open door. "Come on, Alice is getting impatient."

"Impatient for what?" Angela asked as she stood and followed behind her sister.

"She planned you a party," Rosalie told her with a roll of her eyes. "I tried to rein her in. Tried…and failed," she said as they stepped into the living room.

There were candles everywhere though none of them were lit and Angela bit her painted lip as she studied the colors of the wax. There were warm golds, earthy greens and muted reds, shades of color that reminded her of fall. She couldn't count them all, but the way the candles were placed held her enchanted as she stared at them. She heard Alice giggle and looked at her vampire sister with a curious smile only to glance up at the banner above her head. Angela laughed then as she read the words and shook her head at the exuberance that had Alice bouncing on the balls of her feet.

"Welcome to the family," Esme said as she stepped forward, repeating the words written on the banner as she drew Angela into her arms. "You have always been part of this family," she promised, "but now it's official."

"No one will ever be able to argue that you are not a Cullen or that you don't belong with us," Carlisle told her with a smile and touched his hand to her cheek. "You're our daughter," he told her and glanced at Esme, "and their sister, that includes Bella," he told her with a lopsided grin. "You have a very large family my dear."

"I remember warning you that first morning," Jasper told her with a chuckle.

Angela turned her eyes to Jasper as the memory took hold and she laughed as his words flowed through her mind. _"Just watch out Angela, she might adopt you if you're not careful."_ She laughed as she heard his words cycle through her mind one more time and shook her head. She had never once believed Jasper's statement to be a portent, only a light-hearted comment meant to comfort her, but his words had come true. It was Emmett who had started it all, she thought as she searched the room until her eyes came to rest on his muscled frame. He had taken to spending more time with her after their history assignment had ended and she couldn't help thinking that if not for his influence Alice wouldn't have invited her over for that girl's weekend.

It seemed to be a lifetime ago that she was alone and afraid of her own shadow, but now…Angela looked around the room, her eyes scanning over each of their many faces. Now she would never be alone again. Her eyes found Alice again and she looked at her vampire sister with curiosity when she stepped closer, carrying a cake in her hands. The annoyed roll of Alice's eyes drew a frown from Angela and she stepped over to her before looking down at the top of the three-tiered cake.

"Does that say…_It's a girl_?" Angela read the words written in icing and bit her lips as laughter shook her body. "Oh my god that's perfect!" she laughed and looked at Alice.

"It was supposed to say _welcome to the family_, but the decorator got it all wrong. Even the colors, though I figured you wouldn't mind the pink and white," Alice told her and gave an amused chuckle at Angela's continued laughter.

"No, it's…" Angela shook her head and laughed hard. "It's really funny actually. Just so long as you didn't get me any…what's that?" she asked spying something hanging behind Alice. "Alice, what is that?"

Alice turned her head to look behind her and nearly growled with annoyance. The item in question had been a shirt, at one time, until she had taken it out of the dryer. Unfortunately, her visions didn't tell her what would happen all the time and some of those blind spot had to do with appliances. She had meant for the shirt to be a surprise for Angela, a cute little garment that read "I'm a Cullen Girl" across the front. The problem was, the fitted tee had shrunk somewhat in the wash and then turned into a nearly toddler size tee in the dryer.

"It was meant to be a gift for you," Alice said and shook her head. "That was until I put it through the wash to make sure the fabric wouldn't bleed since it's been misty and rainy outside. Now, it'll be lucky to fit a five year old."

"It's the thought that counts," she said with a chuckle. "Alice," she laughed when the pixie-haired vampire handed her a slice of the cake. "I can't eat cake for breakfast."

"We say you can," Carlisle told her with a chuckle as Alice handed a piece to Bella. "A little treat never hurt anyone. Besides, it's a special day."

"It is?" Angela asked as she looked at him.

"It is," he affirmed. "Eat your cake," he told her with a smile. "I don't think Alice's patience can hold out much longer."

Angela giggled as a stray thought ran through her head and Edward barked with laughter behind her. She blushed when she glanced back at him and watched him shake his head as he laughed at her. He doubted that any kind of hyper active medicines would have any affect at all on Alice, but it had been Angela's mental image of his visionary sister downing a bag of pixie sticks that truly amused him.

"What is so funny?" Alice demanded with a grin.

"Oh nothing…Tigger," Edward said with a teasing grin.

**:::::**

Angela looked up at Carlisle, her eyebrow arched in curiosity at his request. He truly wanted her to sit in the back seat with her eyes closed? What was the big surprise? Her father smiled at her chuckling and Angela's curious smile fell, her expression growing slack as she reviewed her thoughts. It wasn't just a feeling or a hopeful thought anymore, it was real and it was true. The realization hadn't truly hit her until that moment and as she let the thought take hold she felt tears sting behind her eyes as her heart burned with all the love she felt. Carlisle truly _was_ her father now. She was his daughter.

"Angela?" Carlisle spoke her name in concern as he stepped forward and took her into his arms. "Sweetheart what's wrong?"

"She's not upset," Edward said with a small grin. "It just hit her what those papers meant. 'Papa' isn't just a term of endearment anymore, it's a reality,"

Carlisle's concern slipped away as a gentle smile took its place. He tightened his arms around the girl he held, petting her hair as he wrapped himself around her. He kissed her hair as he whispered to her, heard her sobbing laugh when he called her daughter and rubbed her back when she leaned away to see his eyes. He framed her face with his hands, kissed her brow and encouraged her to get in the car, once again requesting that she keep her eyes closed for their journey.

"You're really not going to tell me?" she asked him and he chuckled as he shook his head.

"Not even a hint," Esme teased her and Angela shook her head. "You'll have to live with the curiosity," she teased and nodded toward the backseat. "Go on, get in," she encouraged with a soft chuckle.

Esme and Carlisle stood within the circle of each other's arms as they watched Angela climb into the backseat only to be joined by Marcus and Aro on either side. Carlisle chuckled as the sound of their soft conversation met his ears and he turned his attention to his wife. Her hand slipped up, her fingertips sliding over his jaw as her palm moved to cup his cheek. He tipped his head down and met her kiss, his lips capturing hers as the familiar burn flowed through him, the desire to make love to her turning their chaste kiss heated.

Alice cleared her throat sharply as she stepped up next to them. "Car," she told them pointedly, even as a teasing smile twisted her lips into a bow. "Don't make me turn the sprinkler on you again."

"Our children have turned against us," Carlisle sighed and shook his head as Alice moved to climb into the back of Edward's car.

Esme chuckled and kissed his cheek before moving toward the car. She still felt the need for him, the want to slip away somewhere private to be with him, but she could wait. Pulling down the visor and revealing the vanity mirror it held, she checked her makeup before pushing the visor back up again. She had learned long ago the benefits of smudge proof lipstick, especially when it came to Carlisle. She smiled at the memories of him colored with her lipstick in years past. Turning her head to look at her husband, she touched her finger to the edge of her lips as though she were fixing her lipstick and laughed when his chuckle filled the car. He knew exactly what she was thinking and smiled at the memories.

"Alright, sweetheart," Carlisle said as he glanced at Angela in the rearview mirror. "Time to close your eyes."

"Not even a hint," she grumbled teasingly as she did as he requested. "You know I'm pretty good at solving riddles," she reminded him and Carlisle laughed.

"Perhaps so, but you've never solved one in a moving car before," he said and smiled when he saw her hands clasped in those of Marcus and Aro.

Aro chuckled as Angela's thoughts flowed to him. She may be denied the use of her sight for this journey, but that did not hamper her inquisitive mind. She was determined to solve this mystery and not because she didn't like surprises. No, Angela loved being surprised by her family, but she also loved sorting out riddles and digging for the truth in a mystery. She tried to calculate the speed of the car from the sound of the road and the feel of the movement, but was at a loss. Carlisle's Mercedes had the most flawless smooth ride and quiet interior, even when she pushed her senses she could barely hear the noise of the road.

"She's trying to sort it out," Aro told them quietly with amusement. "She can't tell our speed, but she is trying to guess in which direction we're going."

"I thought she might," Esme laughed. "She is nothing if not inquisitive," she said before raising her voice for her daughter to hear. "Angela, I don't know if Monica told you or not while she was here, but she has opened a standing invitation for you to come study under her in England once you graduate."

"In England?" she asked, being careful to keep her eyes closed and Aro smiled at the reason for the uncertainty in her voice.

"She's uncertain if she's ready to be that far away from all of you on her own," he told them too low for her to hear.

Carlisle glanced at Esme and smiled. "I do believe I still have a house there," he told Angela. "Although, I'll have to make certain it was kept in order, I haven't been in England since eighteen-fifty."

"How big was it?" she asked him.

"A bit roomy, as I recall," he answered her with a chuckle. "I actually won it. In of the few times that I ever played a game of poker with humans, I won that house. I pretty much used it for storage," he confessed as he turned down the road leading toward downtown Seattle. "I have collected quite a bit of art and medical tools over the years. Marisol, the woman I had looking after the house when I first acquired it, delighted in decorating it like a museum. I'm certain there will be much for you to explore."

"So you're telling me that you have a house you've never lived in?" Angela said with bemusement and smiled when she heard the sound of his chuckle.

"I had already planned to come to the States at the time that I acquired the house, before that I had a simple flat outside of Surrey. I never needed much," he said only to smile before looking and Esme. "Well, before I had a family. It was just me until nineteen-eighteen," he said.

"Did you ever see the house?" she asked him and Marcus chuckled at the feeling of her pulsing warmth, the sound of her curiosity.

"Yes, I was there once," Carlisle glanced up at her in the rearview mirror. "I suppose you're wanting to know what it looks like, how big it is," he said and laughed when she fairly bounced in her seat. "The house itself originally belonged to a Duke in the fifteenth century and it's not in Surrey it's in Windsor."

"Which Windsor?" Angela inquired further. "Technically there are three boroughs in England called "Windsor"."

"You really thought she wouldn't catch that?" Esme asked with a chuckle.

"Windsor Berkshire," Carlisle answered as he pulled into the museum's parking lot and saw the collection of cars already filling most of the spaces. "Well, it appears we won't have quite the freedom we had the previous times," he said with a soft grin. "Open your eyes, Angela."

Her eyes fluttered open slowly, shining chocolate depths revealed and she looked around at the occupants of the car before looking out the windows. They were back at the museum, a place she had come to think of as hers if only because it was the one place she always came with new family members. In fact the only people who hadn't been here with her yet were Michael, Monica and Frederick. She glanced at the banners hung neatly along the side of the brick building, her lips parting in wonder as she stared at the giant font held inside the picture.

"Ancient Rome and Greece exhibit," she read aloud, her lips moving though her voice was softer than a whisper. "Artifacts on loan from the British Museum."

"Oh, I felt that."

Carlisle turned his attention out of the car window when he heard the sound of Jasper's voice and chuckled at the sight of the southern vampire. His adopted son was walking toward the car with Alice tucked under his arm and smiling as he stared at backdoor of the car. Lips pulling up in a lopsided smile, Carlisle stepped out of the car at the same time as Marcus, watching as Angela joined him outside of the vehicle. Her delighted warmth was flowing through them all, the burning elation tugging them closer to her as it left every single one of his family members unable to be anything happy.

"Well?" Alice bounced over to stand beside Angela. "Was it worth the surprise?"

"Yes!" Angela exclaimed with a brilliant smile. "There are so many cars," she observed as Felix and Suplicia stepped toward them with Emmett and Rosalie leading the way.

"Well, Half Pint?" Emmett chuckled as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and walked with her ahead of their large group toward the museum. "I'm thinking we need to invest in a season pass."

"Ancient Rome, Emmett," Angela told him before looking back behind them for Aro and Marcus.

Angela's eyebrows drew together as she thought over the crowded museum. They weren't inside yet, but she knew that with the number of humans around she wouldn't be able to openly speak the thoughts and questions that fascinated her. She didn't want to be forced into silence, especially not with the exhibit they were viewing and those she would be seeing it with. Her face relaxed, her expression turning to one of delight when she saw Aro walking beside Carlisle with Suplicia at his side. There was more than one way to talk to someone and with Aro's talent, she wouldn't simply be speaking of her thoughts to him, she would be sharing her experiences with him.

Emmett chuckled when Angela slipped away from his side and glanced at Rosalie. Though her expression appeared guarded, he could see the light in her eyes and the twitch of her lips. She stepped closer to him, leaned against his side tucked under his arm and turned her head up to smile at him. Emmett grinned as he tipped his head down and kissed her chastely, his bent fingers brushing over her cheek before he turned back to watch as Angela walked toward them with Aro's hand held in hers. Alice had predicted that she would remain attached to the ancient vampire throughout their visit to the museum and he chuckled as he watched Aro's face.

It was clear to anyone who knew of his talent that Angela was actively talking with him through his talent, her inquisitive mind already holding questions for him about what they would see inside. Emmett looked beyond them and smiled at the sight of Bella walking with Edward, the girl tucked under his brother's arm. She had put on a few pounds, enough that she didn't look quite as sickly anymore, though Carlisle had told her that she still needed to gain at least twenty more pounds before he would deem her healthy. He was glad to see her smiling, the light in her eyes that had been missing for so long finally returned and he delighted in the knowledge that both of his human sisters were well on the road to recovery.

"She's so happy," Rosalie told him softly as she studied Angela's face. "There isn't a trace of worry or fear in her eyes."

"There never will be again," Emmett promised, his voice carrying the promise of a big brother's eternal protection, while his expression delighted in his sister's joy. "Ready to go in, half pint?" he asked her when the rest of his family caught up to him and Rose.

Emmett grinned when Carlisle stepped up next to him and together they held open the double doors of the museum entrance. Angela stepped inside, Aro by her side and she smiled brightly, the edge of her lip caught between her teeth as she looked around the wide front entrance. There was already quite a crowd inside the front lobby of the museum, people waiting to pay for their tickets to the exhibit and Angela watched curiously as Carlisle moved ahead to the gentleman standing beside the velvet ropes. He spoke to the man quietly for a moment before handing something over and Angela watched as the rope was lifted and they all were directed inside the museum.

"Dr, Cullen, this is Professor Viannatto," the man introduced. "He will be guiding your group through the private exhibit first this morning and then you will be led back into the common areas of the museum."

"Private exhibit?" Angela asked as she studied the museum official and the well dressed Italian man beside him.

"Yes, ma'am," the man nodded to her. "Part of the many pieces that came over from the British Museum were pieces that are still being dated and studied by historians. Our museum was offered to host these private sections as well due to the fact that there are major universities in the area. This is not something a normal ticket holder would have access to."

"Please, follow me," Professor Viannatto said with a graceful sweep of his arm. "The private exhibit he is referring to are fragile pieces that come to us care of Pompeii. Some of the artifacts may seem disturbing, but I assure you that nothing is dangerous."

"Do you see how excited she is?" Esme asked Carlisle as she walked next to him, their attention focused on Angela.

Carlisle breathed in deeply as his mouth curved up in a wide smile. There was no trace of fear, no hesitation in her motions. He pulled his wife close to his side and turned his head to kiss her quickly as they followed along behind their family into the larger restricted area that held the artifacts from Pompeii. There were remnants of vases and urns, pieces of furniture and recovered jewelry, even humans remains that had been cast in the superheated ash of the volcanic eruption. Carlisle turned his eyes on first Aro and then Edward, chuckling when he noticed the matching expressions on both their faces.

Angela's curious mind was working over every artifact and information card next to it. Thoughts and questions were forming faster than she could speak them and Aro was held silent with fascination as he witnessed her experience the history before them. He had always known that she was intelligent, but until that moment he hadn't seen the way that she could quickly and easily put subtle nuances together, solving an ancient puzzle in a matter of moments rather than the years it would take a tenured historian to. He looked away from her, his attention diverted to Edward when the bronze-haired teen spoke the most prominent question burning in Angela's mind.

"Professor," Edward's voice called the human's attention to him. "Were you part of the team to collect these artifacts or are you a curator of this exhibit?"

"You are the first to ask," the man said, noting the amusement in Edward's face with a curious bend to his brow. "I am both. I began my career in archaeology by assisting with the excavation that is even still taking place, however five years ago I was offered a position as curator and cultural director of this exhibit as these pieces were meant to travel internationally. I have since been to over fifty different museums and twice as many universities."

"I don't think that would be wise at this moment," Edward spoke to Jasper below the range of human hearing.

"It's very difficult to not project her right now," the southern vampire said with a soft laugh. "She's quite possibly more excited than I've ever felt from her before," he said with a wide-eyed smile. "It's as though someone just gave her the keys to the kingdom."

"In a way we have," Edward said with a smile as he turned his eyes down to meet Bella's gaze, her expression full of warmth and love. "She's part of our family now – legally. She never has to worry about her stalker or her birth parents ever again. And," he looked back at Carlisle and Esme, "somebody got her access to a private collection of artifacts earmarked to help train archaeology and anthropology students."

"Is this right?" Rosalie asked and looked at the sign on the table next to her. "The museum's open until ten tonight?"

"Oh that's correct," the professor chuckled. "The museum sold out of tickets to this event the first week it was announced on the website. We even had to extend the showing to next weekend."

"Professor," Angela bit her lip as she called his attention. "This card here, it says that this vase reads: 'With all my wishes', but that's incorrect. This phrase in Greek means 'For all our futures, one'."

"You read Ancient Greek?" the man said with wide eyes.

"I'm being taught, my tutor's here with us," she offered for verification. "Felix," she called him forth. "I'm not wrong am I?"

"You're spot on," Felix told her with a smile. "She's right," he turned to the human professor, "the translation on that card is incorrect."

The scholarly man picked up the card before studying the ancient vase. His eyes went back and forth between the two items several times before he finally shook his head and nodded. Speaking of his surprise at the discovery, he turned to Felix and asked as to his credentials.

"I'm not a professor if that's what you're asking," Felix said with a chuckle. "I grew up speaking the language. You could say that my mother was very into the classics," he said and heard the silent chuckles of the other vampires with him.

"And you're teaching her," he nodded at Angela before turning his attention on her. "What year are you?"

"What?" Angela asked, shaking her head slightly in confusion.

"What year of college are you in?" he clarified.

"I'm not, I'm still in high school," Angela said and then shrugged. "I'm a senior, but still in high school."

"What are your plans for college?" he probed. "What do you intend to major in?"

"I don't know exactly. I love history and language," Angela said and looked at Aro when she felt his thumb brush across the back of her hand. "I've considered archaeology, anthropology, classical languages and literature, world history, the problem is, I want to study them all."

"The best of us do," the man chuckled. "Do you have a college in mind yet?" he asked as he continued to lead them around the collection of artifacts.

"I've been offered the chance to study under a professor that I've done some work for, but I haven't truly considered any singular university," Angela said as she studied a white cast through narrowed eyes. "This is a reproduction."

"What makes you say that?" the professor asked her curiously.

"He's fascinated by her," Edward said to Carlisle softly. "She sees the things that even the students who viewed this collection before haven't."

"I wasn't sure at first glance, but I am now," Angela nodded as her expression relaxed. "This tiny line here," she said and motioned to an extremely thin line running laterally down what was supposed to be human remains cast in ash. "This line here is about half a shade lighter which means that it was allowed to air dry. This is plaster, it has particles of stone in it, sure, but it's plaster."

"You've got a sharp eye," the man said, his words spoken in Italian and shook his head with wonder. "Who was the professor you said you were offered to study under?"

Angela lifted the laminated paper in her hand before glancing up at the Italian professor. Her eyes turned back down to the paper as she studied the language written on the preserved papyrus and she hummed her curiosity. Setting the paper back down and nodding her thanks to the woman behind the table holding the copies of the bits of scrolls, she asked for the man's question to be repeated. Professor Viannatto restated his question, his voice amused as he watched her walk around the long table holding the preserved bits of ancient literature.

"Oh, um, Professor Monica Jamison," Angela answered him. "From Oxford University."

"_Doctor_ Monica Jamison?" he asked and watched her nod before turning her eyes back to the ancient book held within the airtight glass case.

"He knows her?" Carlisle asked Edward.

"Oh, he knows her alright, by reputation mostly," he told Carlisle with a chuckle. "Apparently Monica's classes are rather popular. There's a waiting list to even sign up for her classes. For Angela to have received a direct invitation from Monica herself, an invitation that didn't come as part of a scholarship is unheard of. Angela just went to the top of his list."

"List of what?" Esme asked as Marcus listened in curiously.

"Students to check in on when they graduate high school."

**:::::**

"I can't believe it's already four-thirty," Angela said as she followed Bella down the hall to the women's restroom.

"I know," Bella laughed. "Every now and then I think about getting something to eat and then I see something new that makes me forget I'm hungry," she said as she walked into the bathroom and looked around with wide eyes. "This is nice."

"Yeah," Angela laughed. "Comfy couches, a nice stuffed chair for nursing mothers, individual hand towels that are cloth, I guess they can afford the expense."

"I am getting hungry though," Bella said with a sheepish grin before she and Angela laughed and rolled their eyes together.

"Cheesecake," they said in unison before disappearing into separate stalls.

Exiting the stall a few moments later, Angela made her way to the sinks before spotting her friend's reflection in the mirror. Bella really hadn't gotten any true time alone with Edward lately and hidden away in his bedroom with all of their family filling the house didn't count as alone; at least not in her mind. She was looking at something and she smiled at the wistful romantic expression decorating what she could see of her friend's face before the girl dropped the item in her hand and moved into the waiting area of the bathroom.

"I'll meet you outside, ok?" Bella asked and Angela nodded at her in the mirror.

Angela's lips pulled up at the side in a secretive smile as she lifted the tri-fold laminate flyer in her hand. She looked back over her shoulder, making certain that the one who had dropped it didn't see her take it and removed a pen from her pocket. She was careful to make certain that no one was near her when she scribbled the message on the inside flap and folded the pamphlet closed once more before tucking the pen back into her pocket. Folding the pamphlet loosely in half and then in half once more, she held it nearly hidden in her hand as she stepped through the door of the women's bathroom and back into the museum.

"Hey, Alice," Angela greeted her sister and slipped the folded pamphlet into her hand, the transfer unseen. "The fashion shows start around this time of year, right?" she asked innocently as they walked past a glass case holding a toga.

Alice grinned and nodded, the secret code between them read load and clear. Keeping the Paris fashion show strong in her mind, she retreated into a nearby section of the large room they were in and unfolded the pamphlet in her hand. The SkyCity Restaurant inside the Space Needle, Alice nodded her approval at the venue. She chuckled quietly as she read the message written in Angela's elegant script and smiled before tucking the pamphlet into her purse and hiding it from view.

_I saw Bella looking at this. She and Edward need some time alone don't you think? And maybe she needs a night to feel like a princess. Think you can get Mama in on it? Maybe Rose, too? We have to hide it from Edward though, I have a feeling he'd give the surprise away._

She was right, Alice laughed to herself as she stepped up to Esme and Carlisle, asking for a moment alone with her adoptive mother. Esme would be the one to get Bella alone, to take her shopping for the needed accessories without the girl knowing what they were doing. The maternal leader of their coven was surprisingly good at covert operations and Alice walked with her over to a case holding an array of ancient jeweled headpieces.

"You know," Alice said conversationally as she reached inside her purse and snuck the pamphlet into Esme's hand, "a lot of the architecture from Ancient Rome can be found in several modern buildings."

"Hmm," Esme hummed with a delighted smile. "Architecture it is," she mused with a teasing tone and looked down at the pamphlet.

"You know what my favorite part about fashion week is?" Alice said as she turned away from the display. "The jewelry, earrings and necklaces especially. I think the darker jewels, garnets and emeralds are in fashion this season."

"Silver is classic, but I think that perhaps a rose gold would better for this time of year, don't you think?" she asked Alice and watched as the girl nodded.

"Rose gold would be perfect," Alice purred. "Rosalie," she called out with a smile as she stepped through the room.

Edward narrowed his eyes as he studied Alice and Esme's thoughts. If he didn't know better, he would have to say that both of them were blocking him, but he couldn't quite figure out why. Studying their faces offered him no insight either, their expressions at once both happy and entirely too pleased with themselves. Kissing Bella's cheek and promising that he would return momentarily, he stepped away from her and walked toward his visionary sister.

"Alice."

"Edward," she returned with a wide innocent smile.

"You're blocking me," he told her with a curious grin.

"Am I?" she asked innocently. "Now, Edward really, would I do a thing like that?"

His eyes narrowed further as he studied her, trying to burrow through her mind with his talent only pull away sharply when she projected an image of Emmett in women's lingerie to him. He raised his hands in a defensive motion and turned away from her with a horrified expression on his face. He shook his head as though trying to rid himself of the mental image, but the picture in his mind only grew stronger when Emmett's laugh drew his attention.

"What's with the face?" Bella laughed as he stepped up to her.

"Alice," he groaned and she laughed harder. "What?"

"If you could see your face," she giggled at him. "It's kind of adorable."

Edward raised an eyebrow as he stepped closer to her and glanced behind her at the darkened corner. Her brows quirked curiously and Bella turned her head to look behind her before glancing quickly at Edward. She shook her head, her face a mask of amusement as she tried to warn him away. Quick kisses at the high school or outside were one thing, but this was a museum! She was certain that such open displays of affection would be frowned upon or worse. She giggled when he pressed her back against the wall, the shadows swallowing their forms as he dipped his head and captured her lips with his.

His mouth moved against hers as his hand slid up from the curve of her shoulder to cup the back of her head, his fingers hidden deep in her dark tresses. She sighed against his lips, her mouth parting when he teased her with his tongue. She whimpered, her hands fisting in the front of his shirt as she pulled him closer. He pulled back from her slowly, delighting in the breathless whisper of his name upon her lips and the flush upon her cheeks. He brushed his fingers against her cheek, his lips pulling up into a lopsided grin as he teased her with his eyes. Nodding toward the room behind them, he took her hand and pulled her along behind him.

"You're beautiful, you know," he told her softly before they rejoined the gathering of vampires waiting for them.

Bella looked at Edward, almost laughing when she both felt and saw him affect a full body shiver. Her confused laugh drew his attention and he met her gaze, shaking his head and rolling his eyes. Bella laughed silently and shook her head as she stared at him. She couldn't help thinking that Edward seemed to be friskier than normal and she wasn't sure what had brought about the change. He was far more playful, had been all day and it just made her laugh. He seemed so excited and she wanted to know what the secret was. She laughed again when he glanced at Emmett, his shaken expression amusing her to no end.

"Ok, you have to tell me what's going on with Emmett," Bella said as she tugged on Edward's hand.

"Alice," Edward sighed and rolled his eyes. "Trust me when I say you don't want to know."

Bella laughed softly at the mix of amusement and horror in his expression before turning her attention away from Edward to scan the room. Her eyes caught sight of Jasper, the tension in his face and stance worrying her as she couldn't remember having seen him so unsettled since her first day at Forks High. She studied him curiously as he skirted the edges of the room before watching him disappear through the doors behind them. Alice walked past them, following after Jasper and winked at Bella before moving out of sight.

"Edward, is he alright?" Bella asked and heard his throaty chuckle as he moved to stand behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"He's fine," Edward assured her as they stood in front of the display.

Edward couldn't hide his amusement as he studied Bella's reflection in the glass. He was waiting for her to realize exactly what it was that she was looking at and the longer it took the more it amused him. The statue was of course made of a white stone, rougher than marble but easier to carve and he watched her brows furrow in the glass as she tipped her head to study the long curving arc of stone that came from the bottom of the statue up in the front to bend back over the shoulder. Bella's eyes suddenly flew wide and Edward laughed when she jumped in his arms.

"Is that?" she couldn't finish her question as she looked at the object with wide eyes.

"A fertility statue."

**:::::**

She offered a secretive smile full of wicked promise as she stepped outside of the museum and followed the man who seemed to be trying to avoid being alone with her. The advantage she held was twofold, first because of her visions allowing her to see what outcome her decisions or the decisions of others would bring and the other…Alice chuckled quietly to herself. Her small stature and thin frame made it quite a bit easier for her to hide in the smallest of shadows, sneaking behind someone and surprising them, even when they were of her own kind. Slipping around the side of the large building, she kept herself hidden in the darkest part of the shadows as she followed the scent trail he had left behind.

Her eyes narrowed, her gaze both lazy and sensual as she approached him quietly, being certain to keep down wind and out of sight. She had been able to smell him all day, his scent fairly drenching her each time that she had grown close to him and she offered a silent laugh when she realized that he had been trying his best to stay away from her. He had been in a state of nearly painful arousal from the moment that he had arrived home and she couldn't say that she was bothered by it one bit. Closing her eyes as she breathed in deeply, Alice slipped soundlessly from the shadows and stepped up behind him.

He jumped, cursing under his breath when her arms wrapped around his waist from behind and she knew that if he had been human he would have been flushing furiously. Rubbing her body against his back, she purred to him softly, telling him of how beautiful he was to her as her hands cupped his chest. Her hands slid down his front, her movements undeterred by the resistance of his words and she stood on her toes to kiss his neck from behind. He jerked again, his arousal and embarrassment made clear as her palms slipped over his to wrap around his stiff cock.

"Alice," he groaned, at once both wanting her to leave and wishing she wouldn't stop.

"Hush," she silenced his objections as she cupped her hand around the head of his erect penis and rubbed the slick precum around his flesh. "There's nothing to be upset about, my love."

"Our family's inside," he said, the sound of his humiliation at having been caught in his voice.

"And we are not," she told him as she circled around to stand in front of him. "You are my mate, my husband," she told him, her eyes searching his as she continued to pump him slowly in her hands. "You've been hiding this from me," she said softly and listened to him groan when she squeezed him lightly in her hand. "You've been avoiding me."

"Alice, don't," he whispered, his eyes barely open as she slipped to her knees in front of him. "Not in a back alley like this," he said only to make a sound of forbidden delight when her mouth closed around him. "Alice, you deserve better than this."

"You let me decide that," she told him as she dragged her tongue down the length of him and chuckled at his whimper when she very lightly nipped at the foreskin surrounding him. "Besides, you've been this…excited all day," she told him with a sly grin. "Whatever got you this hot?"

"Like you don't know," he told her only groan deeply, whimpering in pleasure and pain when she wrapped her lips around his head and sucked hard. "_Gods, Alice_."

His hands moved into her hair, his eyes closed and head thrown back as she took more of him into her mouth. He trembled nearly violently when he felt the head of his penis hit the back of her throat only for her to take him deeper inside. There was no wall to hold him up, no tree or bench to lean against and he didn't know if he would be able to remain standing. Her tongue stroked him, lapping at the thick vein running the length of him. He felt his knees begin to shake, the pleasure she was bestowing upon him too much to bear.

"Alice," he groaned as she pulled away from him with a wet pop. "I can't, not out here."

She didn't say anything as she stared at him with a wicked grin, but took his hand in hers. She grabbed his other hand quickly when he moved to tuck himself back inside his pants, shaking her head as she led him toward the tree line. Holding his hands in hers as she walked backwards, she led him to a large tree and gave him a firm push, giggling when he fell back to sit on the ground, a surprised expression on his face. She stepped away from him, moving back just enough that when she fell to her knees there was enough distance between them for her to crawl toward him, devouring him with her eyes.

"Alice," he spoke her name as though offering a prayer of mercy to the gods. "What are you…_God!"_

He met her satisfied grin with wide eyes and groaned as she continued to lower herself slowly down on him. He hissed, his head falling back as she squeezed him with her walls as she lowered herself further. She was so tight around him that it was almost painful, but when she released the tension of her muscles and slid down quickly to take him completely, he nearly sobbed with pleasure at the sensation.

"So, Major Whitlock," she grinned at him, laughing softly at the disoriented expression on his face. "Would you mind telling a girl what has you so excited?" she asked and dipped her head to nibble at his neck.

"Where the hell are your panties?" he asked instead as she lifted up only to fall on him once more as she began a rhythm that was both enticing and frustrating.

"After the vision I had this morning, I left them at the brownstone," she giggled and squeezed her muscles around him. "Tell me, Jasper. Tell me what has you so aroused."

"_Fuck, Alice_," he groaned as she lifted until only his head was inside of her and squeezed her walls around him in a sensual tease. "I swear you'll be the death of me. And you know damn well what has me so aroused," he told her, his hands slipping under her skirt to hold her naked buttocks in his hands.

"Tell me," she demanded, lifting off of him entirely only to give an amused squeak when he slapped her ass.

"Damnit, woman, stop teasing me," he growled, even as he gave her a lopsided smile and thrust up into her tight wet channel. "Carlisle and Esme," he said as he wrapped his hands around her hips and pulled her back down to meet his thrust. "You and I – hell _everyone_ – knows that when they start to play like that they can go for two or three days at time. They haven't really had time alone together since Angela came to stay with us, everything that's happened with her – _fuck!_" he hissed, pulling the breath in through his teeth as she squeezed him tight and rose slowly, the pressure only increasing as more of his turgid penis was released from her muscled walls.

"Hmm," she hummed against his throat, dragging her teeth over his skin before soothing his flesh with her tongue. "They were rather playful this morning, weren't they?"

"And you," he gripped her head in his hands and pulled her back to meet her gaze, "turned the sprinklers on them. They've been in state of nearly hypnotic arousal all day and you know that passion is too strong of an emotion for me to block. I've had to deal with them all day. Edward has been blocking them from the moment they came back inside the house."

"Has he now?" she asked with a grin and leaned back just enough to change the angle of his thrust inside of her.

"Damnit, woman, just let me come," he groaned and met her teasing gaze.

"Make me," she teased him and laughed when his eyes widened as he accepted the challenge.

Jasper growled through his wicked smile and pulled her against him fiercely. She loved to make him uncontrolled, especially out here in the open like this. He listened to her giggle turn into a groan as he thrust up into her as fast as he could and dragged his blunt nails across the sensitive skin of her ass. She quivered around him, her walls fluttering as he kept the nearly brutal pace of his thrusts. Alice whimpered against his mouth, his lips devouring hers as he rolled until she was beneath him on the ground. His pace slowed, his hands moving beneath her blouse as he lifted it up to reveal her dark red lace bra. It was the one set of lingerie that could undo him completely, the color that of freshly spilt blood, and against her pale skin the sight of the cloth had him trembling.

"It is your favorite," she told him with a teasing grin. "Jasper," she took his face in her hands, her expression softening and he felt surrounded by the love she felt for him. "You never have to hide from me. Even with this. Did you truly believe I would turn you away?" she asked as she used the leverage of her legs wrapped around his waist to meet his every thrust.

"I have no control," he said unable to meet her eyes as she stared at his face.

"You have more control then you give yourself credit for," she promised him and kissed him slowly as their maddening pace turned into one of lazy loving.

Jasper knew that he couldn't possibly last much longer, not with how near to breaking he had been when he had stepped outside and slipped his hand between their bodies. Alice jerked, groaning and crying out when he pressed his thumb against her clit and rubbed her swiftly to climax as he gave way to his own. He knew they weren't nearly done, not by any estimation, but they were done for now. They had a family to return to and more sightseeing to be done before he could make love to her as she deserved, as he wanted to. The times with her when they were swift and passionate were always a welcomed surprise, but he truly preferred to take his time, to worship her and watch her face as he built her slowly towards one orgasm after another. When they had more time, more privacy, he promised himself that he would make her cry with pleasure and scream his name.

"We do need to go back inside," Alice said as they both calmed from their pleasure, her hands framing his face as she leaned up to kiss him.

"Is it really only five?" he asked her and she laughed.

"Five-thirty," she corrected with a wink. "It's winter in Washington. You act as though you've forgotten how quickly night comes once daylight savings time is enacted."

"The days don't seem nearly long enough to watch you shine beneath the sun's rays," he told her poetically before dipping down for a deep slow kiss.

"We'll have playtime later," Alice laughed as she pushed Jasper up and stood to straighten her clothes.

"Promise?" he asked her in a low growl from behind, his arms wrapped around her waist.

"Most definitely," she promised in a low breathy voice and took his hand, leading him back toward the museum. "I should turn the sprinklers on them more often."


	62. Chapter 60

AN: There is no clean version of this chapter. You have been warned.

Chapter 60

Angela looked down; her eyes cast to the floor or side as she walked next to Marcus. The ancient vampire sighed softly, the exhalation of breath unheard as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. He watched her look up at him from the corner of his eye, saw the wince she tried to hide and rubbed her arm when she dropped her gaze again. He led her over to a stone bench that sat in a darkened corner of the museum and his suspicions were confirmed when she grew relaxed at being surrounded by shadows.

"When?" he asked her as he sat down with her tucked against his side.

"What?" Angela asked, looking up at him.

"When did your migraine begin?" he clarified and watched her eyes widen in surprise.

"How did you…?"

"I've come to recognize the same subtle hints that your family does," he told her wisely and touched her cheek with his opposite hand. "The way you avert your gaze from any light or look at the floor when it's too bright to look anywhere else, the winces you try to hide, the way it takes longer to get your attention or for you to answer a question. You're in pain, quite a bit of it, I'd say. You haven't spoken much for about an hour now."

"Vampires are really far too perceptive," she said in low whisper and Marcus chuckled.

"Yes, I suppose we are," he told her with amusement and tipped her chin up to see her eyes. "How long have you been in pain?"

"Since the vases," she said quietly and he sighed softly, his expression grim.

"In the first room, when you corrected the Greek translations?" he asked and she nodded. "Your medicine?" he inquired.

"I've already taken it, but it's not helping," she said softly and clenched her jaw. "I'll be fine. I knew they would grow worse, they always have, they've just never been this constant before."

"How constant?" Carlisle asked and Angela turned her wide eyes up to him. "How often have you been in pain?" he asked as he sat down beside her, sandwiching her between himself and Marcus.

"Varying degrees almost every day since…" she looked down at her hands not wanting to think about that day.

"Since Bella's party," Carlisle finished softly and she nodded. "How severe have they been?"

"Do you remember that migraine I had, the one when you told me about all of you?" she asked him and Carlisle nodded slowly.

No matter the perfect memory of his kind, Carlisle doubted that he could ever forget that day. She had only been with his family for a few days at that time, the sight of the blood on her face coming from her nose and eyes burned into his mind. It had taken nearly four hours before he had been able to get any response from her at all and the effort it took for Jasper to block her pain, the way his eyes had turned from gold to black in a only a matter of moments had worried him beyond the telling of it. He brushed his hand over her cheek, felt the warmth of her skin and frowned at the feeling of the slight fever she had.

"Your migraines have been near that severe?" he asked and watched her shake her head.

"That bad or worse. I just…I get used to it after awhile. I mean they've always grown worse, sometimes gradually, sometimes fast, but it usually only takes me about one to three months to adjust to them. I don't remember a lot of the time between Bella's birthday party and all of you returning, except for you," she turned her attention back on Marcus. "I had you."

"And you always will," he promised her and kissed her brow.

"Angela," Carlisle called her attention back to him. "How is bad is your migraine right now? Can you see?" he asked her, his lips pursed in worry.

She nodded. "Just not clearly," she admitted softly. "Things are a bit…out of focus."

"For how long?" Carlisle asked her softly as he framed her face in his hands and stared into her eyes.

"A couple of hours," she admitted softly and he nodded slowly.

"Ok," Carlisle said, his voice heavy with worry. "You and Bella missed lunch, let's get you both something to eat and see if that helps. The tickets are good for the entire weekend, not just today," he told her when she looked ready to protest. "When we get home on Monday, I need to set you up for another MRI series. I need to see what's happening," he told her and watched her nod in silence. "Come on," he stood from the bench and held his hand out to Angela.

"I'll take her back to the others," Marcus told Carlisle softly when he saw Alice and Jasper sneak back inside. "I have a feeling that you have questions for him."

"Yes, thank you," Carlisle nodded and stepped away. "Jasper," he stepped toward the southern vampire and frowned at the almost uncomfortable expression on his face. "I wanted to talk to you about Angela."

"Oh, uh sure," he said and grinned when Alice giggled before bouncing away.

"Wife logic?" Carlisle asked with a grin and Jasper chuckled as he nodded. "Tell me, have you noticed any difference in Angela's migraines since you've returned?"

"You mean the severity of them?" Jasper asked as he walked next to Carlisle, his hands clasped behind his back. "Yeah, they've been a hell of a lot worse and lasting longer as well. For the most part, her pain will dull or grow stronger, but it never entirely goes away. The few times that she's claimed to be fine in the past few days she's still been in pain, but I would describe it as more like…" his brow furrowed as he struggled for an accurate comparison. "I guess it would be more like a human shutting their finger in a door. At times it will feel as though the pain has dulled to a barely noticeable throb, but if the injury is aggravated even the slightest amount, then the pain becomes fresh and new again."

"The thing that scares her the most right now is the same thing that worries me," Carlisle said as they trailed behind their family. "The pain of her migraines is constantly growing stronger and the Toradol is beginning to lose its effectiveness. We all know that she's dying, _she_ knows that she's dying, but what none of us know is how much worse her pain will grow before her migraines claim her life. I know that she's no longer afraid of any reaction we may have were she to admit to her pain, but..."

"But the fact that her pain continues to increase is scaring the hell out of her," Jasper finished his thought. "Yeah, I know. We're leaving, I take it," he said as they passed through the lobby.

"For tonight, anyway," Carlisle chuckled. "The girls need to be fed."

"You men go do whatever you want," Esme said with a smile and caught the keys to the Mercedes when Carlisle tossed them to her. "It's a girl's night."

"Yes, ma'am," Jasper chuckled and kissed Alice before she twirled away.

"If you don't mind," Suplicia turned to Esme, "I thought I might steal Aro away for awhile."

"Take as much time as you like," Esme said with a grin before looking at Carlisle. "Don't get into too much trouble," she winked at him as he stepped toward her for a kiss.

"I won't," he told her and brushed his fingers over her cheeks. "Watch Angela closely. She's been suffering a migraine for awhile now. She's taken the Toradol, but from what she's said, I don't believe it's working."

"I will," she assured him and met him for one last chaste kiss. "I have a few things to take care of, but I'll send Angela back to the brownstone with Rosalie if need be. I love you," she said smiling up into his ochre gaze.

"And I love you, my beautiful wife," he promised in return.

"Alright," Esme turned to her daughters behind her, "all of you in the car. Angela, honey, why don't you sit up front with me."

"Ok," Angela said with a soft nod as she stayed within the circle of Marcus' arms for a moment longer.

"Don't worry," Marcus said with a grin, "we'll be with you tomorrow."

Angela smiled softly, the shadows of night unable to hide the pain in her eyes from the vampires around her. Marcus smoothed his hand against her cheek, holding her close for a quick hug before releasing her and nodding toward the car behind her. He watched her walk away, the smile he wore for her benefit falling away into a worried frown when she closed herself inside the car. The migraines she suffered were far worse and more powerful than the pain Jane could induce with her talent, but what made them worse was knowing that there was nothing he could do. He couldn't destroy Jane or anything else to end her suffering, no amount of medication seemed to offer her enough relief to be beneficial, and knowing that she couldn't be changed yet only fueled the helpless anger he felt.

"She'll be alright," Edward said to Marcus as they all stood watching as the Mercedes pull away. "We'll protect her, monitor her pain and help her as much as we can until she can be turned."

"Felix and I will protect her as well," Suplicia promised as she stood within the circle of her husband's arms. "Both of Carlisle's daughters will be protected," she assured Marcus before glancing at the blond man in question.

"You have plans for us," Aro whispered to his wife as he brushed his knuckles over her cheek. "We shall take our leave of you," he told Carlisle with a chuckle before disappearing into the night with Suplicia by his side.

"Well, it looks like it's just us men," Emmett said with a smirk. "What?" he asked Edward when he noticed his brother's stare.

"All you can think about are grizzlies or sparring," Edward told him with a chuckle. "We're not doing that," he protested his brother's next thought.

"Oh that was just for your benefit," Emmett laughed.

"What?" Carlisle asked his sons as Felix watched on with interest.

"Strip club," Emmett and Edward said in unison.

**:::::**

Esme blocked her mind from the conversation taking place in the backseat, Alice and Rosalie planning while Bella interjected with questions of confusion. She let their words flow into a chorus of sounds as she instead focused her attention on the girl seated in the front next to her. Angela had fallen asleep almost the moment she had sat down in the car, the lines of pain etched into her face worrying her. Keeping her left hand on the wheel, she reached out with her right and brushed her fingers against Angela's sleep warmed cheek. Letting her hand fall gracefully, Esme took hold of Angela's wrist and performed a task she had seen her husband do countless times over the years.

"Esme."

Looking up into the rearview mirror, she met Rosalie's eyes. She watched as her blonde daughter reached around the seat in front of her, her elegant pale fingers touching Angela's temple before pressing gently against the vein in her neck.

"I'll take her home once we get to the restaurant," Rosalie said as she sat back. "She's not going to wake anytime soon."

"Don't worry about bringing the car back," Esme told her as she turned into the parking lot of the seafood restaurant Bella had named. "We'll take a cab back to the brownstone. Make certain she eats something if she wakes."

"I will," Rosalie promised and stepped out of the car, Alice and Bella stepping out as well. "She likes snow crab," she told Esme as she moved to take her place inside of the open driver's door. "Bring some back for her?"

"I will and Rosalie," Esme glanced through the windshield at Angela's sleeping face. "Carlisle said that the Toradol isn't working anymore, or at least not for this migraine. In his medical bag in the trunk is a vial of morphine. He assured me that you would know the dose."

"I do," she nodded. "Don't worry; I'll do what I can to ease her pain."

"This was her idea," Esme said with an affectionate grin.

"She'll get to hear the whole story from Bella, I'm sure," Rosalie chuckled. "Those two talk about everything."

"As sisters should," Esme nodded. "Take care of her."

Rosalie nodded, "I will. Hey Bella," she called out to the human girl and chuckled at the look of suspicion she kept aiming at Alice. "Just go with it. Let Alice have her way at least this once."

"Ok, now I'm really worried," Bella said and Rosalie laughed as she slipped behind the wheel and closed the car door.

She watched the three women slip inside the restaurant before taking the car out of park and returning to the road. She drove slowly, glancing over at Angela every now and then as she returned them to the privacy of Felix's brownstone. Every time she took in a breath she could smell Angela's blood stronger as though it was closer to the surface and Rosalie couldn't help the worry she felt. She remembered all of the times that the girl's migraines had caused her to bleed. The few times that she had been alone with Angela when it had happened had strengthened their bond in an odd way and Rosalie pursed her lips as she turned down the private drive that led to the brick house.

"Shh," Rosalie whispered to Angela when the girl mumbled in her sleep. "It's alright, honey, you'll be in bed soon. Just rest."

"Ros'li," Angela mumbled her name, her voice struggling to make the sounds as her eyes remained almost closed.

"I'm right here, Angela," Rosalie promised her softly as she pulled into the driveway outside of the brownstone.

"Where?" Angela asked, the word only half formed but clearly understood by her vampire sister.

"The brownstone," Rosalie said and hushed Angela gently when the girl reached for the door handle. "Don't worry about getting up, ok? It's just you and me," she told her and Angela nodded with difficulty. "Can I ask you something?" she asked as they sat inside the car. "I seem to be the only one you don't hide your pain around, why is that?"

"You don't remember?" Angela asked, her whispered voice scratchy.

"Remember what?" Rosalie asked softly as she brushed the girl's bangs out of her face.

"Two years ago, just before Christmas break," Angela said as she leaned back against the leather seat and let her eyes fall closed. "Mr. Simmon's history class, you and I were paired together for that project that was more poli-sci than it was actual history." Angela's voice trailed off as she winced.

Rosalie thought back to the day Angela was talking about, it had been their family's return to Forks, the year they had entered the high school. She truly hadn't paid much attention to the project itself, not caring much about the schoolwork and content to let Angela write the report and craft the presentation on her own. She kept her palm curved around Angela's forehead, the chill of her vampire flesh offering the human girl comfort from her pain.

"You held my hand," Angela reminded her as she forced her eyes to open and turned her head to meet Rosalie's gaze though her vision was blurred. "When we were giving the presentation, I thought I was going to pass out and I remember you taking my hand."

"I remember that," Rosalie nodded slowly. "I thought you were just nervous, I half thought you were going to try and leave the room. You were suffering a migraine?" she asked.

"Yeah, I uh…" Angela gave a shaky smile that was full of uncertainty. "The reason I asked you to read the report was because I couldn't see it. That migraine had been really bad and when we stood up there…I couldn't see. My vision wasn't just blurred then, it was gone. You took my hand and told me to…"

"Take deep breaths and hold them to the count of eight before releasing them as slowly as you could," Rosalie finished. "You remember that?"

"That breathing technique you gave me has helped me manage the pain enough to function when the medicine won't. I thought you knew, I thought that maybe you had them, too," Angela said as her eyes fell closed. "I guess not though, huh?"

"Not so much," Rosalie said and leaned close to kiss the girl's temple. "Wait for me here, ok?" she requested of Angela. "I don't want you walking right now."

"'Mkay," Angela mumbled quietly and smiled softly when she felt Rosalie brush her fingers against her cheek.

"Just rest," Rosalie soothed gently before stepping out of the car.

She took in a heavy breath and released it slowly as she stepped around to the back of the car. Opening the trunk and removing Carlisle's black leather medical bag, she took her cell phone from her pocket and pressed the number for Carlisle's speed dial. She knew that the information she had just gained from Angela in regards to her migraines was something that the girl hadn't previously shared with her father, something that not even Aro's talent had seen. Closing the trunk and leaning back against the car, she held the phone to her ear and waited for him to answer her call.

"Rosalie?" Carlisle's voice came across the line and she frowned at the sound of the heavy club music in the background. "Give me just a moment," he requested before moving to a quieter area.

"Where are you?" Rosalie asked him curiously and heard him chuckle.

"Emmett decided we needed a bit of fun and there are no grizzly bears in Discovery Park," he said and Rosalie could almost hear him rolling his eyes.

"Strip club?" she asked with a tone that was both amused and annoyed.

"Not quite, but he did try," Carlisle laughed. "Edward refused on principle and Jasper thought it might be tempting fate too much to have nearly naked human women dancing near Felix and Marcus. They settled on a club instead, though I can't say that this is much better."

"For them or you?" Rosalie chuckled. "I remember Esme telling me what she did for your anniversary two years ago."

"Oh dear god, she told you about that?" he asked with embarrassment and Rosalie laughed. "I still say she was trying to kill me."

"Buying you a lap dance is not attempted murder," Rosalie told him and looked back over her shoulder. "I called about Angela," she said, her voice much more subdued.

"How is she?" Carlisle asked as his tone lost its frivolity as well.

"In a lot of pain, barely awake, but that's not why I called. She told me something that I doubted she told you…" Rosalie paused and looked down at the bag held in her hand.

"Rosalie?" he prompted her to continue and heard her sigh.

"Angela's lost her sight completely before because of her migraines. Two years ago actually," Rosalie told him, worry heavy in her voice. "So the blurred vision she's been experiencing…"

"It's not a new symptom," he finished for her and sighed. "Alright, thank you for that information. Watch her; you can give her a dose of morphine every two hours if you need to. I'll be stopping by the medical supply store on our way back to pick up the needed items to set up a drip."

"Ok," Rosalie nodded. "I need to get Angela inside to bed. I'll take care of her."

"I know you will," he told her with pride. "You're much closer to her then you let on. Go on," he told her with a smile in his voice. "I'll call you in a few hours."

"Ok," she chuckled at the sound of Marcus' voice in the background. "Have fun. If Esme should ask?"

"We're at a…a dance club," he said hesitantly and Rosalie's brow rose in suspicion.

"Would you mind clarifying that?" she asked and he sighed.

"Club Seven," he told her and Rosalie's eyes flew open wide before she began laughing. "I take it you know if it?"

"Know of it?" she repeated through her laughter. "Are you kidding? Alice has dragged me there a few times for dancing and fun. It's a Saturday night," she reminded him and began laughing harder as she remembered exactly what went on in that club on Saturday nights. "A strip club might have been better."

"So you know about…?"

"Topless weekends and free drinks for girls in bikinis?" Rosalie laughed. "All too well. We can't exactly go to the beach for obvious reasons, where do you think Alice models the bikinis she gets each season?"

"I didn't need to know that," Carlisle groaned and she giggled when the call disconnected.

"Oh…Alice I hope you saw that call. You so need to tell Esme," Rosalie said and looked down at her phone when it buzzed in her hand.

_Already done_, read the text from Alice. Rosalie smiled and shook her head as she tucked her phone into her pocket before moving to the passenger side of the car. Opening the front passenger door, she knelt down beside Angela and looked into her sleeping face with worry. The girl moaned softly, her eyes fluttering, but not opening as she turned her head toward Rosalie. Setting the medical bag in Angela's lap and reaching over her to release the seatbelt, Rosalie folded the girl's arms over the bag before lifting her out of the car.

"Shh," Rosalie whispered to Angela as she closed the car door with her foot. "Go back to sleep, honey, I've got you."

Angela curled closer to her in her sleep and Rosalie smiled softly as she carried her to the front door. Whispering to her softly, soothing her gently as she balanced her in the cradle of one arm, Rosalie took the key from her pocket and unlocked the door. Angela murmured softly, groaning as she turned her face into Rosalie's shoulder, her tears dampening the blonde's silk blouse.

"Just a few moments more," Rosalie soothed Angela. "Just hang on for me, sweetheart, and then I'll get you the medicine you need."

"Will you tell me a story?" Angela asked softly, her voice pained as Rosalie lowered her gently to the bed.

"What kind of story were you looking for?" she asked as she opened the medical bag and took out the morphine and a pencil-thin syringe.

"Emmett said you grew up in New York," she prompted and winced as Rosalie injected the drug into her arm.

"I did," Rosalie smiled down on Angela as she stood from the bed. "Give me a moment and I'll be right back," she said before leaving the room.

Stepping into the bathroom, Rosalie opened the cabinet beneath the sink and dropped the used syringe into the orange sharps disposal container that Carlisle had brought with them. Taking a soft washcloth from the cupboard, she closed the wooden door and stood, dampening the cloth with hot water. Squeezing the excess water from the cloth, she folded it and carried it with her back to Angela's side. She wasn't surprised to find the girl still awake and laid the cloth on her forehead as she moved to the travel bag and took out Angela's sleeping clothes.

"You don't have to dress me," Angela protested softly when Rosalie sat her up to change her clothes.

"You can't even keep your eyes open," Rosalie told her gently. "It's not a bad thing to let someone else take care of you. That's what family's for, remember?"

"Tell me about New York?" Angela requested as Rosalie removed her top and bra before dressing her in the pajama tank top.

"I was born in nineteen-fifteen," Rosalie began slowly as she finished changing Angela into the sleep pants and set her clothes aside on top of the travel bag. "I lived in Rochester, New York. My family was wealthy, my father was a banker and my mother was a socialite who stayed at home with my brothers and I during the day while taking my father to parties at night. I was the first born," she told Angela as she sat next to her on the bed and brushed the backs of her curled fingers over the girl's cheek. "My brothers Benjamin and Jason were three and five years younger than me respectively."

"Your mom stayed home with you?" Angela asked, her voice whisper soft and the words slurred together.

"She did," Rosalie nodded and toed out of her heels before moving to lie next to Angela, smiling when the girl turned and curled against her side. "My mother liked how my father's job gave her the freedom of never needing to work and she spent the time instead grooming me and my brothers on how to act in proper society. She and my father were both obsessed with my beauty, I was too, but I never quite understood how much of a double-edged sword it could be."

She spoke further, pulling the blankets up around Angela's shoulders as she described to her the life she led as a young girl and later as a teenager. It had been different in those days, Rosalie told her, explaining that at sixteen she was already looking for a husband and being introduced to possible suitors by her father. She had been told from an early age that she had been born with the beauty of an angel and it had only made her more selfish and conceited as she grew older.

"I knew that I was the most beautiful girl among my peers," Rosalie told Angela and smiled when she heard the sleep filled murmur. "At that age, when everyone else makes your beauty out to be the most important thing, you never realize that it isn't. I exploited my looks, used them to get what I wanted. A quick smile here, a soft pout there and men of all ages were putty in my hands. I, of course, wanted to be matched with someone as beautiful as I was. I didn't realize until it was too late that what he was offering me wasn't what I wanted."

"What did you want?" Angela slurred the words together softly, the sleep-filled sound of her voice drawing a breathy chuckle from her vampire sister.

"I wanted what my friend, Vera had," she told her and smoothed her hand over Angela's hair, the dark locks freed from the braid they had been held in. "Vera had married for love, not station. It had been her luck to find someone who could provide her with a comfortable lifestyle in the times we lived in – The Great Depression – but Royce…Royce owned the bank that my father worked at. He was the most eligible bachelor in town, the man that all the other women wanted and he had sought me after only meeting me once. He offered me money, fame – or as close as I could get to it at that time, and an endless supply of pretty dresses and expensive jewelry. But he never offered me love."

"What happened?" Angela mumbled, pouting in her sleep as she snuggled against her sister's side.

"You don't need to know that," Rosalie whispered to her softly and kissed her forehead. "Go to sleep, honey. The others will be home soon."

"Ros'li," she mumbled her name.

"Yes, sweetheart?"

"I don't wanna die," she slurred softly and Rosalie felt her heart constrict.

"None of us ever do," she soothed and petted Angela's soft hair. "Go to sleep. You'll feel better soon."

"…'ve you."

"I love you, too little sister," she promised and closed her eyes. "I love you too."

Rosalie looked down on the girl lying tucked against her side and wrapped in her arm. Smoothing her hand down over Angela's hair, she brought the blanket up higher and tucked it under the girl's chin, smiling softly when Angela curled closer to her in her sleep. She would never admit as much out loud, but the growing severity of Angela's migraines scared her as much if not more than it scared the girl herself. She hushed her gently, spoke to Angela softly when she stirred in her sleep and looked at the bedside table standing just out of reach. The vial of morphine was sitting there with a fresh unwrapped syringe lying next to it. She had wanted both items in close reach and felt her heart clench at the sight of them.

All of her interactions with Angela cycled through her mind as she watched her human sister sleep. Every word spoken, every time that one teacher or another had paired them for in-class work or extended projects and Rosalie found herself feeling angry that she had never noticed something was wrong. How could she have missed the signs of pain or the hints of sadness in the girl's eyes? She knew the answer to her own question though and hated herself more for it. She hadn't wanted to see it, hadn't wanted to be involved or care about any of the humans. The moment Emmett had asked her to be nicer to her, the day that she had taken Angela back to her childhood home when the girl had collapsed in school she had begun to see it.

"R'sli."

"Shh," she whispered and smoothed her fingers over Angela's sleep warmed cheek. "I'm right here, honey, you're not alone." Reaching into her pocket when her phone began to ring, Rosalie answered the call and brought the device to her ear. "Hey Alice," she greeted her sister.

"How is she?" Alice asked, her voice subdued with worry.

"Sleeping, just barely," Rosalie released a trembling sigh, the sound carrying over the line and she smiled at Alice's question. "The morphine's allowing her to sleep, but I think that's all it's doing. I know why we have to wait, but I don't want her in pain like this."

"None of us do," Alice told her gently. "You know, I never saw it through my visions, but I see it everytime I watch you."

"See what?" Rosalie asked softly, her head lying on the pillow as her cheek rested against Angela's brow.

"How attached you are to Angela," she said with affection. "I know that we are all attached to her in our own way, but whenever you think you're alone with her you become very protective of her. You watch her and comfort her almost the same way that Esme does, but there's something different, what is it?"

Rosalie remained silent for a moment as she held Angela close and listened to her heartbeat.

"She lets me see her pain," she said slowly after a moment. "She doesn't hide her pain around me and until a few minutes ago I never understood why. Alice, why didn't I ever see it before?" Rosalie asked her, begging for an answer in a rare show of vulnerability.

"None of us did, Rose," she told her sister gently. "None of us saw her pain and until we brought her home, Jasper never realized that the intense pain he felt in school was hers. He thought it was the strain it took him to feel all of the students' emotions and resist the pull of their blood."

"Emmett saw it," Rosalie denied her explanation as she hushed Angela when she stirred in her sleep.

"Not at first, that history assignment wasn't the first time that he'd been paired with Angela," Alice reminded her. "Do you know why he started watching her more closely?"

"Because she was one of Bella's friends," Rosalie said and Alice laughed softly.

"No," Alice corrected her assessment, "because she nearly collapsed in his arms. I started watching him through my visions when I noticed him becoming as protective of Angela as he was of Bella after James. I even tried watching her directly, but I couldn't see her. Do you know how frustrating it is that I can't see Angela through my visions?" she asked and Rosalie heard Esme talking with Bella in the background. "I have to watch those around her just to see her. That day when she passed out in the high school, when you took her home, I was watching your interaction with her because I couldn't see her on her own. Even after all of this time spent with her, I still can't see her clearly on my own and it scares me how blind I am to her."

"She's talked once before about getting used to the pain," Rosalie said, the expression on her face mournful. "No one should ever have to get used to pain like this. I never asked for this life for myself, I'd never advocate it for anyone else, but for Angela I would turn her myself and you know me, Alice."

"I know," her sister agreed. "I know how big that is for you. When did you first realize that you felt that way?"

"You mean my wanting to change her?" Rosalie asked and set the phone down on the bed beside Angela as she slipped her hand under the girl's hair to apply gentle pressure at the base of her skull. "There we go, shh," she soothed when the girl in her arms calmed and returned to a deeper more peaceful sleep. "When Emmett brought her home," she told Alice after bringing the phone back to her ear. "The day she collapsed in the woods with Bella, the day she cried blood. That was the day that I first felt the thought take hold. I know that Esme and Carlisle plan to change her themselves together, but…I think that might be the only thing stopping me."

"That makes her more than just a sister to you, doesn't it?" Alice asked her wisely. "That you've actually thought about changing her when you would deny it to anyone else…"

"I'd give anything to keep her safe," Rosalie said as she looked down on Angela. "You're right; she is more than just a sister to me. Sometimes when I look at her…sometimes I see…"

"A daughter," Alice finished for her and heard Rosalie's intake of breath as she drew in air to speak.

"Yeah, sometimes I do," she admitted her whispered voice filled with emotion. "Not all the time, but sometimes. It's so hard to see her in pain; I just want it to end. I want her to be free."

"She will be," Alice promised her sincerely. "Just a few more months, Rose. Nine more months, just long enough for her to graduate and for any suspicion over her absence to vanish. That's all we're waiting for right now."

"It feels like it's too long," Rose said, her voice heavy with worry. "It feels like we're playing with fire the longer we wait."

"My vision hasn't changed, Rose," Alice promised her, hoping to offer her sister some comfort. "Angela will still be one of us; she will make it until they can change her. She'll be ok."

"Tell me," Rose insisted, her voice almost a growl as she demanded the information from Alice. "Tell me the second your vision changes."

"I will," Alice promised. "One way or another Angela will be one of us."

"Go on," Rosalie said as she closed her eyes. "I can hear Esme calling for you. Go make certain that this night is as perfect for Bella and Edward as Angela wanted it to be."

"I will," Alice assured softly before the call disconnected.

Slipping the silent phone back into her pocket, Rosalie wrapped both of her arms once more around Angela. She kissed Angela's temple as she held her closer and closed her eyes. She couldn't remember ever having felt as shaken before as she did now, and fought against the need she felt to cry. She didn't want to wake or upset Angela, but more than that, she couldn't allow herself to give into the emotions storming through her. If she did, Rosalie breathed in Angela's scent as she looked down on the girl sleeping next to her, if she gave into the heartbreak and worry storming through her than she would change Angela without ever stopping to consider the consequences.

"I'll protect you," Rosalie promised the girl sleeping in her arms as she held Angela close. "I will always protect you."

**:::::**

She closed her eyes and breathed in deeply. Turning her face up to the sky above, her eyes remained closed as she basked in the moonlight. She sighed softly, the sound relaxed and full of pleasure when his arms slipped under hers to wrap around her waist from behind. She felt him rest his chin on her shoulder and opened her eyes, turning her head to meet his gaze as she smiled. She lifted her left hand, cupped his cheek in her palm and drew him close for a kiss.

"It's a beautiful night," she told him softly and smiled when he breathed in deeply.

He turned his eyes up to the sky above, looking at the clouds painted in the silvers and blues of the full moon. His lips pressed against the curve of her neck as he continued to look out in front of them, casting his gaze over the sands beneath their feet and the waters lapping lazily against the shore. There were large boulders around them, jutting rocks that had been made smooth by time and the ocean air. He turned his eyes away from the scenery, focusing instead on the woman in his arms and rubbed the tip of his nose against her skin.

"The night is the night," he said simply. "_You_ are what is beautiful. I find myself worried to leave you here, to be without you."

"I'll be safe," she told him, turning in his arms to face him and lifted her hands to his cheeks, the pads of her thumbs brushing against his cheekbones. "It'll be safer for us to be apart until everything is sorted. Chelsea's power only works to drive a wedge if both parties are present. As long as I'm gone, she can't mess with our bond."

Aro tipped his head, kissed her lips chastely as he brushed his fingers against her cheeks. He pulled back to look into her eyes, lifted his hands to her hair and gently pulled the jeweled clips from her hair. She smiled gently, her expression full of affection and grace as she took the one clip he held out to her and watched as he tucked the other into his pocket. It was their secret, their silent promise of remembrance. The hair clips were a matching set and as long as she held one and he held the other, they would always know that wherever the other was, they would be thinking about each other. She laughed softly, almost silently as she let him take the clip from her hand and pin it into the cloth belt that was sewn into the waist of her dress.

"There will not be a moment in which I will not think about you, my love," Aro told her sincerely, his crimson eyes staring into hers with all the love he felt. "I will never let anything come between our bond again." Suplicia laughed and he could detect the soft sob in her voice. "What is it?"

"I just keep thinking of how strange this all is," she told him as she touched his face and kissed him slowly. "Don't block me tonight," she requested. "I want you to feel everything I feel, know everything that I know. Be inside of me completely tonight, Aro."

Cupping her face in his hands, he pressed his lips against hers in a slow chaste kiss as he opened his talent to her. He felt for a moment as though he were floating, the love she felt for him flowing through her thoughts and infusing his being with a delicious tingle. He groaned softly as the timbre of her desire twined around his own and he chuckled when she pressed her hands against his chest and pushed away from him. He snagged one more chaste kiss before she pulled away too far for him to reach and he smiled, laughing when she took his hand to lead him away from their hiding place.

"Truly?" he chuckled as she looked back at him over her shoulder, her gaze searing and passionate.

"Yes," she answered him and he let her lead him to the shoulder high rocks a few feet away.

He smiled as her thoughts came to him as easy and calm as a summer night's breeze. She had found a beauty in the ocean waves, a soothing escape that she found nowhere else and she wanted to share that with him. He chuckled when she kicked her heels off, content to feel the sand between her toes and grinned when she bid him to do the same. Releasing her hand to take off his shoes, he tucked his smooth socks inside the pristine black leather and felt his mind still as he looked upon her. The moonlight cast her in a silver glow, her pale blond hair shimmering as though it had been made by angels.

Tonight, he knew, was about more than simply affirming their bond. Tonight was about showing her what she meant to him, proving to her exactly how beautiful she was. He watched her as she stepped closer to him, felt entranced by her movements, immobilized under her emotional gaze. Tonight was about her. Lifting his hands to her face, brushing his fingers against her cheeks, he leaned close for a sweet slow kiss. Tonight was about letting her know that she could trust him completely with her heart, with her mind and with her body. She had doubted him during the worst of times, but tonight he would give her anything she wanted, nothing would be held back. Tonight he would make her believe in them, in love, in herself.

"For you, I would give the world," he whispered to her as he held her close. "Were it in my power, I would bring a star down from the heavens and place it in your hands."

Aro smiled as her hand slipped from his and he stepped back as she moved away from him slowly. He watched her remove the elegant dress she was wearing, the dark wine silk pooling around her feet as it came to rest in the white sand. He closed his eyes for a brief moment as he breathed in deeply of her sent upon the sea salt air and held his hand out to her as he stepped closer. The grey clouds parted, the full moon allowed to shine with all its glory as her hand slid into his open palm and he brought her closer to him, kissing her knuckles as he felt a peace born of love infuse his spirit. He wrapped her in his arms, held her close to him as he began to move slowly with her in a circle. Their gentle dance was little more than a collection of swaying steps, the ocean waves and gentle breeze providing for them an orchestra with which to dance.

"I love you," Aro promised her as he stared into her eyes, the crimson depths beginning to hold a golden hue. "I need you to know, Suplicia, I never meant for any of what happened…"

"I know," she shushed him gently, touched her lips to his in a fleeting kiss. "The memories of you and I before Chelsea, before Caius, that is what I held onto throughout the years. Those memories are what kept me believing throughout all of the pain all of the darkness. These many years, that man sitting in the throne, that wasn't you. On some level I always knew that," she promised him and brought her hands to the smooth buttons on his shirt, undoing them slowly. "When you brought Carlisle home to us in Italy all those years ago, when you refused Chelsea, even refused Caius, I saw that man again. You were mine again and it gave me hope. When he left, things were bad once again, but in the last fifty years those torments I had suffered seemed to grow worse."

She tugged his shirt tails from his pants, smoothed her hands over his bare chest as she pushed the garment open and smoothed her hands down his arms. She watched in silence as the silk shirt fluttered to the sands below their feet. Suplicia felt as though her world had finally been righted, the smile upon her face peaceful and happy as Aro drew her into the circle of his arms once more. Closing her eyes as she rested her cheek against his chest, she delighted in the feel of his fingers combing slowly through her hair. Her arms were wrapped around his waist, her hands smoothing up the contours of his muscled back to rest over his shoulder blades as she held him to her. Through all of the years, all of the pain, the heartache and torments she had suffered, it had all been worth it just to get to this moment with him.

Leaning back, her hands pressed against his back, she looked up into his eyes. They had come so far, each been through so much, just to get to this moment. Tipping his head down, kissing her lips slowly, passionately, Aro pulled back to look into her eyes. He brushed his bent fingers against her cheek, cupped her face in his hand and stared into her eyes as the words from Marcus' shared memory flowed through his mind once more. He smiled in wonder and love as the words looped through his mind, never realizing that he was speaking them aloud.

"She will breathe life into you and right all the wrongs that have been suffered at the hands of the one who was never meant to be," Aro spoke softly and smiled when Suplicia met his gaze curiously. "Angela," he told her as he spoke the girl's name in wonder. "I realize now that I never told you…Marcus met an Oracle centuries ago," he said with a touch of amusement. "Angela was foretold."

"The missing piece," she laughed softly and saw the quirk of his brows that bespoke his confusion. "Didyme, she told me once that when it seems as though all hope is lost, the sun will rise and you will see what it is that you have been missing. It was just something she said, but I wonder if she somehow knew."

"The beauty of the sunrise is never noticed until you find that you have gone without it," Aro nodded. "She told me that once, just after her transformation was complete."

"She isn't gone," Suplicia told him as she felt her heart grow warm with emotion. "In a way, she has been brought back to us through Angela. Do you remember how Didyme's presence could strengthen our love?"

"I do," he told her and grinned when he felt her hands tugging at his belt. "The days and weeks that we would spend with only each other, holding each other, loving each other as much as possible until the world forced us out of our seclusion. Caius would get so jealous," he remembered with a chuckle only for his elation to fall. "I will never let him near Angela," he growled low, his promise of protection absolute. "I will never them hurt anyone again," he assured Suplicia as he held her close, smoothing his hand over the length of her hair.

"I won't allow any harm to come to her, either," she promised him and kissed his neck as she opened his pants, pushing them down over his hips. "She will always be guarded."

"Yes," he agreed with her only to hiss in pleasure when her hand wrapped around him. "I love you," he promised her, trembling with desire as he took her face in his hands and kissed her passionately. "Never doubt my love for you. I will never again give you reason to have doubt, my love."

"Do you remember what you said to me?" Suplicia asked him as he stepped out of his pants.

"When?" he asked her as he reached out, his fingertips sliding over her pale skin as he moved to remove her undergarments. "Our first night," he said when her thoughts filled his mind.

"The first night we made love," she affirmed with a slow nod. "The promise you made to me, before you changed me."

"Others may be in my mind, others may come into our lives, but only you will ever hold a place in my heart," he said as he hooked his fingers inside the elastic band of her satin panties and slid them down over her hips. "Through all of the time that we were apart, through all of the manipulation and indiscretions, that promise has been kept. Only you, Suplicia, amor meus sempiternus. Only _you_ have I ever held in my heart. Only you hold that honor. There could never be another to know my love, my joy, my peace, my heartache, none could ever know me as you do and none ever have. There has only ever been you."

She lifted her hands, framing his face in her palms and kissed his lips. Her mouth moved against his slowly in a loving caress that spoke to him of all the emotion she felt. He pulled her closer, his arms wrapped around her waist and back as he held her to him, kissing her as passionately as she did him. He smiled against her lips when her desire for the ocean behind them filled his mind and he gripped her waist to hoist her up. Her legs wrapped around his trim muscled hips easily, her lips curving into a smile as he walked into the water with her in his arms.

The water welcomed them in, the waves dancing around them and lapping at their backs. She released her legs from around him, kissing him chastely once more before swimming away. She took in air she didn't need, filling her lungs completely and holding the breath as she floated upon the water, staring up at the moon hanging in the sky. The stars were brilliant, perfectly formed into their constellations and unhindered by any of the city dwellings that would try to hide them away. She gasped, her attention breaking away from the moon when she felt Aro's hand slip in between her thighs.

"Let the air go," he whispered to her as he leaned down to kiss her, the water lapping at his chest.

She did as he requested, her breath releasing as they both sank beneath the waves of the clear water darkened by night. There was no burning need to breathe, no feeling of tightness or pressure as they laid upon the ocean floor, the water granting them privacy and intimacy. She rose up from her bed of sand, her arms reaching out to him as she pulled him closer, her arms wrapped around his neck. The water lifted his hair, carrying it upon the waves in a graceful dance as he joined her on the bottom of the sea, wrapping her in his arms.

His lips returned to hers, his heart filled with the love he felt for her as his mind overflowed with all of the love she felt for him. He held her to him, simply wishing only to kiss her for as long as she would allow him, the feel of her in his arms as familiar as it was new. After centuries of their bond being manipulated apart by Chelsea, after all of the pain and suffering his wife had been through at the hands of those she was supposed to be able to trust, she was once again his. Her head tilted back, rolling to one side as she offered him the graceful arc of her neck, his mouth traveling over skin as he memorized her every curve and contour.

He pulled back from her slightly, his bent knees resting deeply in the sands on either side of her as he looked over her, memorizing her body. She was drawn in elegant arcs, graceful curves and smooth sloping lines that drew him in and begged to be touched. Tonight he would go more slowly than he ever had before. He would take his time loving her, memorizing the feel of her skin, the brush of her mind against his, the taste of her flesh. The memories made this night would be what would carrying him forth in the coming months, perhaps even years, as he and Marcus retook control of the Volturi. But more important than all of that, tonight would be his gift to her.

_Aro?_

Her voice carried to him through his talent, her eyes meeting his as she lifted her hand and touched her fingers to his cheek. His lips pulled up to the side, his expression at once both sentimental and melancholy. He loved her, truly loved her more than he thought was possible to love another person and grieved for everything that she had suffered because of the life they led. When he called for her to return to Volterra she would live as a queen – as his queen – with all of the freedom and power she deserved. He would not confine her anymore, nor would he seek to hide the world from her. In his efforts to protect himself from being harmed were she to be attacked, he had instead hurt her.

'I love you' he mouthed to her, the water surrounding them robbing them of the air they would need in order to speak aloud. Her eyes lightened, the worry falling away as love and affection took its place. She sat up in the bed of sand, reached for him and turned her face to the full moon in the sky above. Standing slowly in the water, Aro by her side, she tucked herself against his chest and breathed in deeply of the night air, the water covering her to the swell of her breasts. She felt his need to communicate with her, but knew that he often found himself wordless and silent when it came to matters of the heart. He had already said so much to her that when she tipped her head to look up at him, she decided that this was her time to speak to him.

_Are you listening to me_? she asked him, speaking to him through his talent, her hands folded above his heart. He nodded slowly, his hands moving to stroke her hair as he smoothed the lines of water from her face. _I don't know how much of what I want to say will transfer through, but I want you to listen as much as you can_, she told him and he nodded. Suplicia closed her eyes as she let the memories of her most treasured moments with him take hold. She remembered the things that his mind had almost forgotten, moments he had never realized she treasured until now.

When she was still human and he had felt himself drawn to her, she had know he was there watching her even when he had felt certain of his cover of shadow. She had felt as drawn to him as Bella did to Edward, her heart able to tell her every moment that he was near and he felt his lips part with surprise when he saw through her eyes, the moment he had tried to warn her away. Some part of him had feared that in turning her into what he was he would destroy the very thing about her that had drawn him to her. Two nights after he had confessed to her what he was, he had taken her with him on a hunt, made her watch as he took the life of a human if only to give her the freedom to leave him if she chose to.

He touched his hand to her cheek, cradled her face in his palm and looked down into her immortal eyes as he felt her love burn through him. She hadn't backed away that night; she hadn't run from him or even called him a monster. No, instead Suplicia had stepped up to him after he dropped the dead human to the ground and gently wiped the smear of blood from the corner of his mouth. She had told him then that he couldn't make her leave him. She loved him and that would never change. All she had wanted was to be with him. She didn't care if they had power, money, influence or anything at all, his love was the only thing she had ever desired.

"I was never mad at you," she promised him as she looked deeply into his crimson eyes. "That night when I discovered that I wanted a baby only to realize that it was something I could never have, I wasn't mad at you. The reason that I built up those walls and learned to hide my thoughts from you was because I could see how much it hurt you whenever I would think about it. Aro, I had never once desired a child of my own when I was human and wanting one then, it confused me. I didn't understand that desire and kept trying to sort it out in my head, but every time you touched me I could see how hurt you were. The last thing I ever wanted to do was hurt you."

"I never understood why you weren't mad at me for taking that from you," he told her honestly and watched her smile gently.

"Because," she leaned up to kiss his lips. "When I did finally come to the realization of why I wanted a child, you had already found Chelsea and her claws were too deeply imbedded for me to pull you away from her."

"Why?" he asked and she smiled.

"For the same reason that Carlisle and Esme have formed such a large coven," she answered with humor. "The love I felt for you only continued to grow until I felt the need to share it with someone else, to add to our family and for humans that would mean having a child. For our kind," she smiled, "well I suppose it would be a bit like having a child as well, but not in the same manner. We never got that chance though, not until recently."

"Recently?" he frowned in confusion. "We have not added to our coven."

"Haven't we?" she asked him and stared up at him with affection. "There has been a new addition, perhaps not a child of our own, but someone who I know loves us as much as we love them. We have bonded once more, our love for each other growing stronger, made pure once again and we have both sworn to protect them. Tell me, isn't that the same thing?"

Aro shook his head for a moment and seconds from asking her who she was referring to, his face relaxed and he smiled. Angela, Suplicia was speaking of Angela. He nodded his understanding, smiled to her as he cupped her face in his hands and kissed her deeply. They had both been healed, their love allowed to shine through once more and he felt himself breaking even as the love his wife held for him made him invincible. He held her close, smiling when her thoughts flowed through his mind and groaned at the images she played for him through his talent. She wasn't afraid, she wasn't worried or hesitant. No, his beautiful, strong and incredible wife wanted him to make love to her, without reservation or hesitation.

"I love you," he promised her reverently as his mouth met hers. "I will always love you."

He dipped her back down into the water, falling gracefully with her in his arms as they returned to the ocean floor below. The water welcomed them in, the sands of the sea floor cushioning her as they remained locked in a deep kiss. His hands moved, his fingers stroking over her cheeks and moving down to glide down her neck. He touched her shoulders, moved slower as he descended down her body and felt both her love and her amusement at the careful treatment he was giving her. He never moved faster, choosing instead to take his time with her, memorizing the feel of her, the timbre of her mind and the taste of her skin.

Her hands slipped into his hair, her fingers disappearing into the midnight locks floating like so many ribbons in the underwater current. She whimpered beneath him, jerked slightly at the feel of his hand moving in between her legs to rub against her most intimate places. She wanted him closer, needed to feel him inside of her and cried out when he sheathed himself inside of her. She cried out, her mouth still covered by his, and wrapped her legs around his waist. He held her close, his arms wrapped around her, one hand buried in her hair and the other splayed across her back as he held her close to him. He chuckled silently at the impatience in her thoughts, the will that she had for him to move inside of her, but he remained still simply enjoying the feeling of being joined with her.

He moved away from her mouth, dragging his lips and tongue down across her neck as he moved lower. She moved beneath him, her mouth opening in a silent cry when he closed his lips over one pert nipple as his hand closed over its twin. His crimson eyes flicked up, his mouth still attached to her breast as he watched the pleasure on her face and felt it through his talent. He followed her thoughts, responded to her mind inside of his and offered her the deepest pleasure, the most complete connection they had ever experienced. She released the last of the breath in her lungs as she closed her mouth, the bubbles forming around her as she tipped her head up to watch him suckle at her breast.

_I love you_ she spoke to him through his talent. _There were times that I doubted you, but I never stopped loving you._

He knew and he wanted to tell her that, but being underwater as they were there was no air for him to take in to make his voice work. He smiled as he lowered his eyes and continued to use his mouth to pleasure her. He felt her tremble beneath him as he moved slowly within her, pulling out of her with maddening patience only to thrust back in just as slowly. She had to remind herself not to breathe, biting her lip against the desire to gasp and call out his name. She didn't need to breathe, she was a vampire she had no need for air, but the need to breathe in his scent was a difficult instinct to ignore.

Aro growled as he increased his pace inside of her, moving one hand along her leg to be certain of her grip around his hips before he gathered her close and stood in the water with her. Suplicia threw her head back as she drew in the night air and cried out her husband's name as she used her legs around him for leverage. His lips returned to hers hungrily as she increased their pace and he matched her thrust for thrust. Their movement created turbulent waves around them, the water leaping up to crash high against her back a fine misting spray dampening both their faces.

"Aro!" Suplicia cried out, tearing her mouth from his as their pace increased yet again. "Damnit stop holding back," she growled as she slammed down on him faster.

"I only have tonight with you," he told her, his voice rolling into a growl of passion. "I want to take my time."

"We're vampires," she laughed at him, capturing his lips once more as she tried to fight against the restraining hold he had around her waist. "We can go again!" she insisted impatiently only to growl when he laughed at her as he kissed her neck.

"For the first time that I can recall, I want to take things slowly," he told her as he moved back to her lips. "Let me have this. Let me cherish you."

"I love you," she told him as she gave in to his slower pace and framed his face in her hands as she smiled down into his eyes.

"And I love you," he promised her, his arms wrapped around her as they made love in the water. "I will never not love you."

"She brought you back to me," Suplicia said, her voice fraught with emotion. "I lost you so long ago because of Caius and Chelsea, but Angela brought you back to me."

"She gave us back to each other," he told her and felt her slick walls begin to flutter around him. "Come for me, Suplicia," he encouraged her.

She needed more friction than their position allowed and smiled when he answered her thoughts by falling back in the water. The ocean welcomed them in once again, the pillowing sands creating a bed beneath Aro as Suplicia rode him swiftly. She leaned back in the water, the water around them dancing as waves crashed together above them. She came with a silent cry, her clenching muscles drawing him to follow closely behind her and he rolled them until she was lying beneath him in the sands as he continued to thrust into her.

The water around them calmed as their movements slowed until they were simply lying within the circle of each other's arms. He smiled down on her, tipping his head to look at her as he listened to her thoughts. The love she felt for him was ever present, her mind dancing with the memories of her most favored moments with him and he held her closer. Kissing her brow when she turned her head to look up at him, he rubbed his hand over her arm as they lay on the ocean floor and looked around at the sea life surrounding them. He smiled, laughing silently when he read her amusement at the curious fish that swam close enough to her toes for her to feel the water moving around it.

_Do you see?_ she asked him through his talent and turned her face back to meet his eyes. _Do you see why I love this so much?_

He nodded to her, smiling and trailing his fingertips up and down her back as they watched the creatures move around them. He would need to get a fish tank, he mused as he listened to the wonder and peacefulness of her thoughts while she watched the underwater world around them. She lifted her hand, held her fingers apart as another fish drew closer and swam between them. Her eyes widened, her curiosity getting the better of her as she sat up and crawled away from Aro, her husband following after her as she moved deeper into the ocean. She had seen these creatures in the waters around Kauai and could not hide her wonder as she sat in the sand and watched them move.

Jellyfish, Aro observed with amusement. She was watching jellyfish. He shook his head, smiling as he came to sit behind her and wrapped his arms around her. It was a strange thing, he thought, to be sitting with her on the ocean floor and watching the creatures move around them, listening to their heartbeats. It was a welcomed feeling, the seclusion of the water, the intimacy of their naked embrace. He crossed his arms over her chest, resting his chin on her shoulder as her hands wrapped around his arms in a loving embrace. He smiled as he watched her face, the light in her eyes and excitement in her thoughts as she reached out to touch the translucent creature dancing in the water around them.

The jellyfish wrapped its tentacles around her arms, trying to escape or harm, but the ribbons of elastic flesh wrapped around her stone skin harmlessly. She moved her fingers, the tentacles dancing against her as the creature moved away and she smiled back at Aro when it moved too far away to touch. There were no dolphins to swim with and Aro kissed her temple as her memories of swimming with them flowed through her mind with bittersweet longing. He rolled his eyes as he held her for a moment longer before encouraging her to turn around. Once everything was settled and he was able to take her back to Volterra, a regular trip to Kauai would need to be scheduled. She loved the ocean too much for him to deny it to her.

"I can't believe we were so far out," Suplicia said when they broke the surface, the ocean floor far beneath her feet.

"Almost a mile from the shore," he told her with a chuckle. "You love the ocean," he said with wonder.

"I truly do," she agreed with a wide smile. "Tonight won't be our only chance to be together," she told him as they reached the shore and she moved toward their clothing.

"Perhaps not," he told her and smiled as he watched her slip back into her dress. "What?" he asked her when he saw her frown.

"Angela," Suplicia said as she zipped up the side of her dress. "She was so quiet today."

Aro laughed at her observation and shook his head. "She was only quiet to the rest of you," he said as he finished dressing. "Her mind was never silent at all. Every artifact fascinated her; every object drew more questions from her. The way that she looked around the museum and studied everything that she could see…when she could see," he said slightly more subdued.

"When she could see?" Suplicia asked him as they moved further up the beach and returned to the forests of Discovery Park.

"My talent doesn't allow me to feel her pain, but it did allow me to know when she began to have difficulty seeing. There were times when I had to read the cards to her, describe the artifacts when she couldn't see them clearly enough on her own. I don't know quite how severe her migraine was, but I do know that she would turn her eyes toward me or to the floor whenever we walked from piece to piece. There was too much light for her," he said with a frown. "Suplicia?"

"Something Jasper said," she told him as they neared Felix's brownstone. "There isn't a moment that she is without pain."

"Perhaps not," Aro told her as they stepped inside the turn of the century home. "But she is strong and she will be one of us," he said with certainty.

"You two need a shower," Rosalie chuckled quietly as she stepped into the hall with a syringe in her hand. "She's sleeping," she told them both when they looked to the room behind her. "Let her rest."

"Rose," Suplicia met the girl's eyes with worry and she watched as Carlisle's daughter purse her lips.

"She's in a lot of pain. This is the third dose I've given her and it only seems to be dulling the migraine enough for her to sleep. The hardest part of all of this is knowing that her pain is only going to increase," she said sadly. "There isn't much more that we can do except keep her comfortable and I fear that soon even that will prove difficult. She asked for you," Rosalie told Aro. "She talks in her sleep sometimes."

Aro nodded. "As you've stated, we both need showers, although I didn't bring any extra clothes."

"Closet in the hall," Rosalie nodded to the large coat closet that none of them had looked in. "Alice planned for everything. Even extra clothes." Stepping into the open bathroom, she disposed of the syringe and its wrappings. "Everything you need should be in the bathroom or the closet; I'll be with Angela if you need me."

Rosalie disappeared back into the bedroom and shut the door behind her, frowning when she found Angela to be awake. The girl wasn't moving, but her eyes were open and she was watching Rosalie's movements as she lay buried beneath the blankets. Rosalie came to her side quickly, sitting down beside her on the bed and touched her hand to Angela's cheek. She felt the familiar tug, the warmth that surrounded her and smiled down on Angela as she looked into her eyes.

"You're supposed to be sleeping, sweetie," she told Angela softly and bent low to kiss her brow.

"You left," Angela said slowly, her voice whisper quiet and pained.

Rosalie smiled softly and nodded, moving once again to lie beside Angela and enfolded the girl in her arms. Emmett had told her more than once that Angela didn't sleep well when left alone, but she had never understood just how much comfort she gained from being held until that moment. She watched as the girl blinked heavily, settling against her easily as she draped her arm over Rosalie's stomach. Kissing her brow as she tugged the blankets higher around her shoulders, she smoothed her hand over Angela's hair and smiled down upon her.

"What Emmett said wasn't an exaggeration, was it?" she asked Angela softly as the girl's breathing began to slow. "You really don't sleep well unless you're held by one of us, do you?"

"Safe," Angela mumbled as she returned to sleep and Rosalie smiled.

"A human who finds safety with vampires," Rosalie mused and brushed her bent fingers over Angela's cheek. "You'll always be safe with us," she promised her. "Always."

**:::::**

She moved effortlessly, felt as though she were weightless and floating as she ghosted across the carpeting that looked almost too expensive to touch. She felt lost for a moment, uncertain of where she was until she saw the familiar curtain of spiced caramel hair. She was beside Esme faster than she could comprehend, unable to remember if she had even thought of moving when she was suddenly standing next to the woman. Smiling tiredly as she turned her head to follow the woman's amber gaze, she smiled at the sight that greeted her.

The gown was perfect, she thought as she stared at the girl wearing it. It could have easily been a wedding dress or a ball gown instead of the simple evening dress it would be tonight. The simplicity of its elegance was breathtaking, its beauty far beyond anything she could have imagined and she found herself captured by the lines of whispering silks colored in swan white and midnight black. The gown itself looked to be made in a Grecian style, the fitted strapless bodice accentuated by the delicate lines of silver and glittering rhinestone that highlighted the empire waist. The shape of the bodice and lines of the waist drew attention to the curves of the girl's chest in such a way that was barely more than a whisper, but still just enough to make the eyes linger.

The white silk appeared to be slightly scrunched around the bodice only to fall beneath the silver and rhinestone line in a graceful curtain that appeared fluid. In the very center of the empire waist, where the glittering silver line beneath her breasts came together in a pointed steeple as though they were hands folded in prayer, the white silk parted to reveal the midnight satin beneath. It was that stark contrast, the hint of something more that made the gown so perfect for her, she thought. Bella wasn't the kind of girl to call attention to herself and the gown she wore held the same quiet grace and unassuming beauty as the girl wearing it.

She shook her head, amusement twisting her lips up at the corners when she saw the heels in Alice's hands. Bella would never feel comfortable in them, she doubted her friend would be able to take even one step without faltering and so she moved forward to intervene. She saw the pair of ankle high boots out of the corner of her eye, the heel only half as high as the pair Alice was still holding. The black satin boots would be perfect no matter what other dress or outfit the girl chose to wear them with and as she reached for them, she smiled when Alice's hand appeared in her line of sight. She watched as the vampire's hand reached out to take the boots and glanced at her face, confused to notice that Alice didn't seem to be able to see her.

Turning to watch as the boots were taken to Bella, she smiled with silent humor at the sight of her friend's confused face. Grinning as she watched Alice reveal the nearly invisible zipper along the side of the rounded-toe boots, she felt herself growing tired once more and looked back behind her to find the other woman she was looking for. It didn't take her long to find Esme, though she was beginning to find it increasingly difficult to move from one place to another and she focused her concentration on stepping up to the woman's side. It was becoming harder to concentrate as she slipped against the woman's side, her brows furrowing in drowsy confusion as she tried to understand why Esme wasn't returning the embrace as she always did.

Her lips fell open as she looked into the mirror across the room, the warm feeling that had been present all evening growing more pronounced and Esme found herself in a state of shocked silence. The frown that had been bending her brow fell away, her slight confusion morphing into disbelief and frightened concern as she stared at the ghostly image in the glass. Her lips moved, the words formed even as no sound came from her and Esme felt her eyes widen impossibly large as she turned her head and met Alice's startled gaze.

"I knew something felt weird since the restaurant," Alice whispered from across the room as she stared at Esme. "I'll finish getting Bella ready for tonight, call them, Esme."

"I'm not imagining this?" Esme asked her in stunned silence.

"No, you're not," Alice returned, their voices too soft for anyone else to hear. "She probably doesn't even realize she's doing it and thinks it only a dream. Call Rosalie and have her wake Angela up. That's why the morphine isn't working, Angela's using her talent and it's only making her migraine worse."

"How is she doing this?" Esme asked, returning her gaze to the mirror as she watched the ghostly image of her human daughter rest her head on her shoulder. "Alice?"

"I don't know," Alice said and shook her head at Bella when the girl's expression asked for an explanation. "She needs something to block her talent; otherwise she's going to keep doing this. I don't think she knows it's not a dream."

"Find her a cloak or a coat, Alice," Esme instructed as she removed her cell phone from her purse. "It's barely forty degrees outside."

Esme moved into the empty hallway as she brought the phone to her ear and watched in concern as the ghostly image of Angela seemed to follow her every movement. Her daughter wasn't looking at her or even trying to make eye contact and Esme shook her head as she waited for the call to be answered. From what she could see, Angela didn't even seem to be aware that she had moved from her place in front of the mirrors. Esme lifted her hand, watched her fingers pass through the translucent image of Angela's face in the mirror and felt even greater concern as the call continued to go unanswered.

"Esme?" Rosalie's voice came over the line in a whispered hush, the sound of Angela's heartbeat in the background soothing her. "Esme, what's wrong?"

"Wake her up. Rose," Esme commanded, her voice trembling with worry. "Wake Angela up right now."

"Are you serious?" Rosalie asked, the tone of her voice disbelieving. "Esme, I just barely got her quieted down again enough to sleep. Her migraine keeps flaring. I'm not going to wake her up."

"Rose!" Esme hissed as she tried to keep her voice low in deference to her surroundings. "Wake her up. Her migraine keeps flaring because she's here."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Rosalie asked as she looked down on the girl lying nestled against her side. "I'm looking at her right now, Esme. Angela's sleeping right next to me."

"Rosalie," Esme nearly growled her name. "However she was able to visit with Marcus before must be what she's doing now, because she is here with us. I've been able to feel her for a few hours now, but I didn't think anything of it until I looked into the mirror and saw her standing next to me."

"What?" Rosalie's voice was breathless and disbelieving.

"Wake her up, Rose. Just wake her up," Esme insisted, her voice the trembled whisper of a frightened mother. "I'll call Carlisle and have him get there as soon as possible. Don't upset her, just wake her up. Alice is fairly certain that she doesn't realize what she's doing."

"Ok," Rosalie said after a long moment of silence. "I'll wake her up, just tell Carlisle to hurry. I don't want her in pain."

"I know, Rose. I feel the same way, just wake her up," Esme said and disconnected the call.

Esme lowered her phone and covered her mouth with her hand as she stared at the wispy image in the mirror. She couldn't hide the worry she felt, the knowledge that it was Angela's own talents that were causing her pain to be worse. She could feel the minute trembling her emotions inspired, the motion too slight for human eyes to see, and she almost laughed at the knowledge that to those around her she looked calm and collected. Whispering for Angela to wake up as she pressed down on the speed dial number for Carlisle, she brought her phone to her ear and begged him silently to answer.

"Esme," he greeted her and she heard the sound of the dance music in the background. "How's the shopping going?"

"Carlisle," she closed her eyes against the sound of her own voice, the emotions causing her tone to be unsteady. "You need to get back to the brownstone."

She heard his voice become muffled as he spoke to those around him. The sound of the music grew louder as he moved through the area that he was in until he was surrounded by milling voices and an almost maddening percussion of heartbeats. Clenching her jaw and closing her eyes in relief when Angela's ghostly image disappeared, Esme took in a shuddering breath and blinked quickly as she pushed back her emotions. The sound of a heavy door closing in the background drew her attention back to the call and she felt soothed by the sound of silence as Carlisle moved away from the place he had been.

"Esme, what's going on? Why do you sound so upset?" Carlisle asked her, his voice soothing her even as she heard the worry in his tone.

"Angela's migraine," Esme told him and offered Bella a smile when she and Alice stepped past her. "She's using her talents and she doesn't realize it, at least Alice doesn't believe she realizes it. Carlisle…" Esme looked down and took in a deep steadying breath. "Carlisle when she visited with Marcus, she entered his mind because he had already built that place, but with us…"

"We have no such need for a mental hide away, she's coming to us like a ghost," Carlisle finished her thought, wonder and curiosity coloring his tone.

"I could feel her warmth, Carlisle. I thought it was just the same warmth that we always feel around her and then I looked in the mirror…She was standing right next to me, but I could only see her when I looked in the mirror. Carlisle, she's growing more powerful. I would never wish to suppress her talents, but we have to if only to keep her alive until she can be changed. We've all seen what happens when she uses her talents."

"Her migraines become more than she can stand," Carlisle said and nodded as he looked back to see the worried frown on Edward's face. "Do you know how many doses of the morphine Angela's been given?"

"Three," Esme sighed. "Rosalie said that it's only barely been able to take the edge off. The morphine doesn't block her talent like the Toradol does."

"No, it won't," he said and nodded to Marcus as the rest of friends and family came out of the club to join him near the cars. "The morphine is simply a narcotic that relieves pain, the Toradol acts as a neural suppressant. The effectiveness that it has had in relieving her migraines is because the medicine was designed to control the electrical firings in the brain. That is why so many migraine medications can also be used for epileptics."

"I called Rosalie and had her wake Angela up. I told her to keep her awake until you got there. What can we do? How do we help her?" Esme asked.

"I don't know," he sighed as he slipped into the passenger seat of Emmett's Jeep. "I'll stop by St. Luke's on the way back to the brownstone. I can pick up the necessary items for her there. Do we need to make any stops on the way home?" he asked and heard her laugh.

"Alice has that already planned. She said she has everything taken care of and not to worry about the when or the how," Esme said and he could hear the smile in her voice. "All night she was saying that she could see what Angela wanted, what she had envisioned. Neither of us realized that it was because Angela was there with us."

"It's not your fault, Esme," he soothed her gently. "I'll return to the brownstone as soon as I can. She'll be alright."

"I love you," she told him and Carlisle smiled easily as he leaned his head back against the seat.

"I love you," he returned before disconnecting the call. "To the hospital, Emmett."

"Half pint'll be alright, won't she?" he asked, his jaw clenched in worry as he met Jasper's eyes in the rearview mirror.

"She will," Carlisle assured him. "We may need to ask Eleazar to come back for a visit," he said with a frown. "If Angela isn't aware that she's using her talent, she'll need to be made aware of it before she can learn to control it."

"What does that mean?" Jasper asked with worry.

"It means that she has to be trained with her power to communicate," Marcus said, "which in turn, means that she will be in a great deal of pain from her migraines while she actively uses that talent. Her human body can't handle the power she holds. Very rare is it to find a human who can use their talents before they become one of us."

"Wait," Emmett glanced at the ancient vampire in the mirror. "Are you saying that her _talents_ are what is killing her?"

"Yes," Marcus and Carlisle answered at the same time.

"Everything that Angela can do, her call for protection, her ability to communicate, even her ability to call us closer to her when she's happy – all of that is controlled through her thoughts, her mind," Carlisle said with a worried sigh. "The stronger she gets, the more powerful her migraines will be. Her power is being restrained by the limitations of her human brain; once she becomes one of us her talents will no longer be so restricted."

"Which means that she won't have the migraines anymore," Emmett said, his tone asking for confirmation.

"Yes, but it also means that she will need training with her abilities," Marcus affirmed. "As powerful as she is now, the way she is able to use her talents without knowledge or focus means that once she is no longer restrained by her human form…"

"She'll be overwhelmed by her talent," Jasper finished for him. "I remember exactly how it was when I first realized my talent for feeling and controlling emotions. The first few months were…difficult to say the least. She's going to need a lot of support, especially with the new talent that's developing."

"New talent?" Carlisle turned in his seat to look back at Jasper. "What new talent?"

"The incident at the tri county jail," Jasper said with a slow nod and pointed stare. "The shattering of the windows, the destruction of the security cameras and the twisting of the metal chair," he listed off the damage that had been done. "The guards thought there was a bomb if you remember. It wasn't a bomb."

"That was Angela?!" Emmett nearly shouted as he slammed the brake pedal to the floor, the vehicle coming to a jarring stop. "Are you kidding me?"

"No," Jasper said tightly with worry. "She's the one that made the pen fly off the counter, too. She was so upset, her emotions kept skittering back and forth between anger and fear, she couldn't control her reactions and the more unsettled she was…"

"The more destructive her talent became," Carlisle finished slowly. "She's been frightened before, but I've never seen her destroy anything."

"That's because we were always with her," Jasper said. "She was afraid yes, but we have always made her feel safe. That time, in the jail, she was alone. She didn't have us with her."

"Her call for protection went unanswered," Emmett thought aloud, his brows furrowed deeply as he considered the memory. "We were all upset, we could all feel her calling for us, but we couldn't go to her. She had to stand on her own."

"She had to protect herself," Jasper said slowly. "I have a feeling that once she discovers that she is the one who holds that power, that she can destroy like that, she is going to be very afraid of herself."

"And there will be many who will seek her out for her talent. For her ability to destroy," Marcus warned.

"She is _my daughter_," Carlisle fairly growled. "They'll have to get through me first. No one touches my family."

"No one," Jasper and Emmett spoke in unison.

**:::::**

"Shh," Rosalie soothed Angela gently as she tucked her phone back into her pocket. "I don't like this idea one bit, but if it'll help you, I'll do it," she told the sleeping girl softly.

Kissing Angela's forehead before moving to lean up on her elbow, Rosalie looked down on the human girl lying next to her and closed her eyes against the desire to ignore Esme's demands. Brushing her hand over Angela's hair and smoothing her bangs back from her face, Rosalie called to her softly. Pursing her lips when Angela groaned without waking, Rosalie smoothed her fingers over the girl's warm cheek and called to her again.

"I know you're tired, sweetheart. I know all you want to do is sleep, but I need you to wake up," Rosalie spoke to her softly and looked up when the bedroom door opened behind her.

"Why are you waking her?" Aro asked in confusion as he stepped closer to the bed and looked down on Angela's sleeping face.

"She's using her talent," Rosalie said softly. "It's causing her migraine to be worse. She doesn't have any control yet, she doesn't know she's doing anything," she told him and returned her attention to Angela. "Come on, honey, wake up."

Angela groaned again, her eyes squeezing tightly shut before fluttering open slowly. Her heartbeat accelerated as she took in a shaking breath and she called Rosalie's name brokenly, the pain of her migraine making it nearly impossible for her to make sense of things. Aro sat next to her hip on the bed, his hand reaching out to touch her face as he opened his talent to her. Something wasn't right, her thoughts were too frightened, too disjointed for him to be able to make out clearly and the more he pushed into her mind with his talent the more confused he became.

"Rosalie?" Angela's voice was frightened, her eyes moving back and forth quickly.

"I'm right here, honey," Rose said as she brushed her fingers against Angela's cheek. "I haven't left you, I'm right here with you."

"Rose?" she asked again and tried to lift her hand, her body to weak from her migraine to move easily.

"I'm right here," Rose soothed her, taking her hand as she sighed and pursed her lips. "You can't see me, can you?" she asked and saw Aro look at her sharply. "This isn't the first time that her migraines have caused her to lose her sight," she told him too low for Angela to hear.

"Someone else is here?" Angela asked Rosalie and smiled softly when she felt the masculine hand on her face.

"Hello, little one."

"Aro?" she asked, her voice nearly soundless and colored with pain.

"I'm right here," he promised her, keeping his voice low as he smoothed his hand over her warm skin. "That's right," he responded to her thoughts and smiled softly. "You're not alone, we're here with you."

"I was dreaming," she whispered, wincing at the pain burning through her brain.

"It wasn't a dream," Rosalie told her gently. "That's why I had to wake you up."

"I don't understand," Angela mumbled, her words slurred together. "Where's Papa?"

"He's on his way here," Rose promised her. "No no no, come on," she encouraged Angela to stay awake and shushed her gently when she whimpered. "I know, honey, I know, come on," she said as she wrapped her arms around Angela and helped her to sit up.

"Sleep," Angela mumbled as she let her eyes fall closed.

"No, not yet," Rosalie told her and held Angela against her chest. "I know, baby," she soothed and smoothed her hand over the girl's hair. "I know it hurts, but I need you to stay awake. Can you do that for me?"

Rosalie cupped Angela's cheek in her hand as she held the girl's head to her shoulder and kissed her brow. She smiled at Suplicia when the woman moved to join them, sitting on the end of the bed, and spoke to Angela quickly, encouraging her to stay awake when her heartbeat began to slow. Resting her cheek on Angela's hair, she asked Aro for the bag by the window. She nodded her thanks when Aro set the bag next to her on the bed and unzipped it to reach inside. She smiled when her hand touched upon the soft fur and she pulled out the bear and tucked it into Angela's arms.

"I know you can't see it," she told Angela, "but that's Emmett's bear. I brought it with us just in case you ended up with a bad migraine like this."

Angela folded her arms around the bear, curling in on herself as she turned her face into Rosalie's shoulder and pressed as close to her as she could. Lifting the blanket from the bed, Rosalie wrapped it as best she could around Angela, holding the girl close and clenching her jaw against the feel of her sister's tears dampening her blouse. She couldn't help thinking that it would be easier if Angela were to get mad at her, fight against her instead of giving in so easily and being as compliant as she was. Rubbing her back as she held her close, she saw Aro's hesitance when he reached out to her.

"What is it?" she asked him softly. "Are you afraid that you'll hurt her?"

"She is in a great deal of pain," he said with concern, the displeasure he felt written on his face. "I do not wish to cause her any more."

"When she's in pain like this, the only thing she truly wants is to be held. She needs to know that she's not alone," Rosalie told him and remembered the other thing that brought Angela comfort. "Hold her," she said and gently moved Angela from her lap to his. "Just hold her close," she directed him as she covered Angela with the blanket once more. "Talk to her, keep her awake."

"Rose?" Angela questioned as she curled against Aro's chest.

"It's alright, sweetie," she comforted her and stroked her hair. "I'm going to make you some tea. I'm pretty sure Carlisle brought some with us. Keep your hand over her forehead," she instructed Aro. "Our cold brings her comfort."

Rosalie offered Suplicia a smile as she slipped off the bed and walked toward the door. Standing with her hand on the door knob, she looked back at the bed and smiled sadly at the sight of Angela being held in Aro's arms as though she were the most precious thing in the world. Although the girl's eyes were closed, Rosalie knew from the rhythm of her heartbeat alone that she was still just barely awake and touched her fingers to her lips as she turned back to the door and stepped out of the room.

"How is she doing?" Carlisle asked as he came down the hall toward her with the other men in tow.

"She's in a lot of pain," Rosalie said softly, the upset she felt clear in her voice. "I'm going to make her some tea."

"I'm sure she'll appreciate that," he told her with a nod. "She'll be alright, Rose," he assured her, hugging her briefly before moving past her down the hall.

"Carlisle," he stopped in front of the bedroom door to look back at Rosalie. "The morphine doesn't stop her from using her talents. How are we going to help her?"

"I picked up a vial of Toradol at the hospital as well as another pain medication that is safe to mix with it. The Toradol will block her talents until her migraine has abated enough that she can be trained to recognize and control her ability to communicate," he said and nodded to the plastic bag in his hand that was stamped with the hospital's logo. "It's not the most desired solution, but for now it seems to be the most effective."

Rosalie nodded, smiling at Emmett when he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and walked with her down the hall. Carlisle took in a deep breath to calm his own storming emotions before stepping inside the room. His lips pulled up to the side, amusement twisting his lips to see his daughter cradled in his ancient friend's arms. He chuckled silently at the soft spoken one-sided conversation that was taking place between Aro and his daughter. His daughter. Carlisle lifted his head, his smile coming in full as he looked at Angela.

"Yeah, I know," Edward chuckled behind him. "It feels pretty amazing when you think about it, huh? She's your daughter now."

"My little girl," Carlisle said as he stepped over to the bed and looked down on the girl in question. "Hello, sweetheart, how do you feel?"

"Papa?" Angela opened her eyes and Carlisle frowned to see how unfocused her vision was. "Where are you?"

"I'm right here," he told her and touched her cheek, his expression alarmed. "Angela, can you see me?"

"She can't see anything right now," Aro told him. "We're not certain when she lost her vision exactly, but when Rosalie woke her up, Angel couldn't see."

"Her vision was blurred at the museum," Carlisle said with a frown. "Sweetheart," Carlisle called her attention to him. "When did you lose your sight?"

"I think when Rosalie brought me home – here," she corrected. "I couldn't see anything, unless she didn't turn on the lights."

"No the lights have been on the entire time," Rosalie said as she stepped back into the room with a mug of vanilla-chamomile tea in her hands. "Why didn't you say anything sooner?" she asked as she stood by the foot of the bed and watched as Angela was laid down in the bed.

"I could barely keep my eyes open as it was," Angela said, wincing as Carlisle inserted the IV needle into the back of her left hand and taped the needle and tubing in place. "I didn't think it was important."

"Could you hang this please," Carlisle asked of Rosalie and handed her the saline bag. "Angela, in the future," he said as he touched her chin, "I want you to inform me immediately about any sight problems caused by your migraines. That includes vertigo," he told her and she nodded.

"Forget it, baby girl," Jasper said as he responded to her emotions. "I'm staying and I'm helping you."

"You're getting better at this," Carlisle told Jasper with pride. "There was a time when her pain would send you to your knees."

"I've had a lot of practice," he returned, his words kept too low for Angela to hear. "Tonight's the last night that you both are staying here in the states," he said as he looked between Marcus and Aro. "If you haven't felt her tugging at you yet, I'm sure you will soon."

"Aro," Angela's voice was scratchy and weak as she called to him.

"I'm right here," he told her, stepping up to her and nodding to Carlisle when the doctor stepped away from his seat at her bedside. "If you insist," he told her with a touch of amusement when he took her hand. "Marcus," he nodded to the bed. "She wants us with her tonight."

Marcus smiled softly as he undid the laces on his leather shoes and left them on the floor by the foot of the bed. Aro chuckled silently as he stretched out on the bed beside Angela and rolled his eyes at the expression on his wife's face when Angela moved to tuck herself against his side. She groaned softly at the effort it took simply to move close enough to lay her head on his chest and cuddled closer to him, smiling at the feel of Marcus stretching out behind her.

"She has us under her spell," Aro said too low for her to hear and Marcus laughed.

"I don't think any one of us truly minds it," Marcus said before dropping a kiss to Angela's hair. "It's alright now, little one. You can sleep now."

"You'll stay?" she asked softly, her words slurred.

"We'll stay," Aro promised and kissed her forehead. "Go to sleep."

Angela sighed softly as her eyes fell closed, her fingers curling around Aro's shirt as she gave into the exhaustion pulling at her brain. Though she was still in pain, Jasper's influence and the new medication had reduced the nearly crippling burn to a deep throb and she was grateful for the relief. Aro smiled as her active thoughts flowed into the wispy images of her dreams. He smoothed his fingers over her cheek as he watched her sleeping face. Never had he been so attached to another person, let alone a human. Never before had he been welcomed in and invited to stay in someone's mind as freely as she had welcomed him in. And not once, Aro thought as he looked upon her, had he so deeply felt the need to protect a person's innocence, their happiness.

Had they met under different circumstances, had she been brought to Italy instead of him coming to Forks, he didn't know that she would have affected him as deeply as she had. He felt her sigh in her sleep, the sound wistful and happy and he smiled at the strands of music that flowed through her dreams. It was the song that had been played in the lobby of the museum when they were leaving and he smiled as her sleeping mind seemed to be focused on the sound of the cello out of all the instruments used. Kissing her brow when she cuddled closer in her sleep, he met Marcus' gaze and the look shared between them was clearly understood. She would be protected.

**:::::**

Closing her eyes against the nervousness rioting through her heart, Bella took in a deep breath and released it slowly. She kept her eyes closed, counting to ten and then to twenty as she fought for control of her racing heart. She didn't know why she was so nervous, why she felt as though she was standing on a teetering precipice, but she did her best not to think of the reasons why either. Giving into the nervousness that caused her muscles to tremble would only make it that much worse. Perhaps it was the fact that she was standing alone in the nearly empty lobby of the iconic attraction that made her so unsteady or perhaps it was the grandeur with which she had been dressed for the evening, but she tried to push both from her mind in order to gain a sense of calm.

He smiled as he entered the building, his lips pulling up to the side in a loving lopsided grin as he stepped across the polished floors silently. She was a work of art, an angel wrapped in mystery and the best part of it all was that she was his. He watched her face as he moved closer, her every thought displayed in her expression and he breathed in deeply to capture her scent. Reaching out with his hands, he swept her curled hair over her bare shoulder while drawing her into his arms and lowering his lips to hers.

"I'm sorry I'm late," Edward said as he broke the kiss and watched her eyes flutter open slowly. "You look beautiful, Bella," he told her, delighting in the delicate blush that rose to color her cheeks.

"No one will tell me what's going on," she told him, her voice little more than a whisper.

"Alice offered me her vision in full," he admitted to her and kissed her lips once more. "Which is why I was late," he chuckled softly. "If she had let me know beforehand that I needed a tux, I wouldn't have taken so long."

Bella frowned at his words only to realize that she had been staring into his amber eyes the entire time and hadn't yet looked at what he was wearing. Stepping back just enough to look him over, she felt her painted lips part in appreciation and wonder as she took in the sight of him. The black suit he wore looked as though it had been tailor made to fit him, the light glinting off the material in such a way that she was able to tell how expensive it was. They were both dressed to the nines and she frowned again as she tried to understand why.

"This evening," Edward told her drawing Bella's eyes back to his, "is supposed to be a surprise, a gift of sorts. Come," he held out his hand for her to take. "I do believe they're waiting for us upstairs."

"We're taking the stairs?" Bella asked with wide eyes and a teasing grin.

"Turn of phrase," Edward chuckled and looked up at the ceiling above their heads. "I don't think they have stairs here," he said as he led her toward the elevators. "The Sky City restaurant has been partially rented out for us."

"What does that mean?" Bella asked as the shining silver doors closed in front of them, leaving them in the intimate privacy of the elevator.

"There is a room inside the restaurant that holds a grand piano. Alice rented that out for us as well as the area next to it. We will have half the restaurant to ourselves," he told her with a grin.

"Are you serious? Edward, that's…"

"Perfect," he interrupted her before she could finish her protest. "To be alone with you, to have you to myself, is perfect."

He touched his curled finger beneath her chin, tipping her head up as he met her full painted lips in what was meant to be a chaste kiss. Her taste intoxicated him, the feel of her mouth moving against his and the sound of her heartbeat only fueling the desire he felt. She sighed against his mouth, her lips parting in invitation and he was helpless but to accept. She pressed closer to him as he traced her lips with the tip of his tongue before exploring the warm cavern of her mouth. He never would have thought it possible for him to love anyone as much as he loved her and pulled her closer still when she whimpered her pleasure into the kiss.

"I love you, Isabella Swan," he told her in a reverent whisper seconds before the elevator doors opened.

He tucked her hand into the crook of his elbow before leading her from the elevator and smiled at the appreciative glances his love was receiving. He knew that she was blind to the admiration of the men around them and whispered to her of her beauty as he stepped up to the hostess' desk. It took effort not to laugh at the thoughts he read from the young woman who greeted them, her assessment of his appearance at once both flattering and deeply amusing. When she thought of trying to steal him away from Bella, he grinned and looked to his love, cupping her cheek before kissing her slowly. It was a simple gesture of love that also made it clear that his affections couldn't be swayed from the girl he was with.

"Mister Cullen," the hostess waved her arm in a graceful sweeping arc as she presented the piano room to them. "The piano is yours tonight as we have been informed of your expertise. Please, enjoy the drinks and hors d'oeuvres while your meal is being prepared. Are you still certain that you only desire the one serving?" she asked him and blushed at the sound of his warm chuckle.

"Yes, only one," Edward confirmed and breathed in deeply as he stepped up to the side of the piano. "Come join me, Bella," he encouraged and smiled when she moved from her place by the rounded end of the piano.

He smiled at her as she stepped closer and chuckled silently at the way she continuously looked down at the floor to make certain she wouldn't trip on the end of the dress. Long enough to hide her shoes from view, the dress was elegant and graceful, the bottom of the skirt brushing against the carpeted floor in a whisper of sound too soft for anyone save himself to hear. Holding out his hand, he closed his fingers over her hand when she slipped her palm into his and sat next to him on the wooden bench. Kissing her cheek as he released her hand, his fingers ghosted over the keys silently before settling in place and he closed his eyes, smiling as he pressed down on the ivory and ebony keys.

Bella felt herself relax completely, feeling soothed and comforted by the strands of her lullaby that began filling the air. Closing her eyes as she listened to Edward play, she took in a slow deep breath and smiled at the way the music made her feel cosseted and loved. Turning her dark eyes on Edward, she met his lopsided grin with a smile of adoration and love. Turning her head to look at the plate he nodded to, she reached out for the bite-sized pastry puffs that were filled with ricotta cheese and caramelized onions. The taste was delicious, the appetizers at once both decadent and light.

"This is champagne," Bella said when she took a sip of the bubbly drink. "Edward?"

"Alice took care of everything," he told her with a grin. "As far as anyone knows, you are twenty-one and Alice paid them enough that no one will question your age. Enjoy the extravagance," he told her with a smile.

"How does she do all this?" Bella asked and was met with Edward's amused snort.

"She's Alice," he said with a chuckle. "I've learned that it's best not to ask."

"It's so beautiful," she said and he followed her gaze to see that she was looking outside.

"We can go out onto the deck if you like," he told her and watched her eyes grow impossibly wide. "What?" he asked with confused amusement.

"I'm…not actually so good with heights," she confessed with a laugh.

"How did I not know this before?" he shook his head as he studied her face. "I've taken you into the tree tops; I've carried you through mountains and over cliffs. You've never once had a problem."

"I've always been with you," she told him, blushing as she admitted to her complete confidence in him. "It's just up here, the height is a little more…pronounced and there aren't any trees to catch onto."

"I'd never let you fall," he promised with a wide smile. "Come, trust me, Bella," he said as he stood from the piano and held his hand out for her to take. "Let me show you the beauty of the night."

Biting her lip as she slipped her hand into his, Bella let him lead her outside onto the balcony and felt her heart begin to race as she looked at the skyline. Edward chuckled behind her, his arms wrapped around her waist as he held her back to his chest and rested his chin on her shoulder. He reminded her that the trick was to not look down and smiled when she immediately looked down and closed her eyes. Laughing silently to himself as he thought of ways to distract her, Edward tipped his head to the side and pressed his lips against her neck.

Bella gasped, the air drawn deeply into her lungs as a delicious fire swept through her veins and pooled in her stomach. He groaned softly, the sound only causing the fire to burn hotter as he trailed his lips up the smooth column of her throat. She tipped her head to the side, offering her neck to him and released a shuddering sigh when he pressed his hand against her stomach. She whispered his name, called to him as she turned her head up slowly to look at him and met his eyes before he dropped his lips to hers. Time held no meaning as they kissed, the night wrapping around them as their love burned between them in hunger and grace.

"Edward," she whispered his name as he broke the kiss and turned in his arms to look into his eyes. "When the time comes, I want you to do it."

He frowned in confusion. "Me to do…Bella," he shook his head slightly as he understood what she was asking. "You don't know what you're asking of me."

"I do," she insisted as she studied his eyes, feeling spellbound by his gaze. "Please."

He released a heavy sigh and closed his eyes as he listened to her racing heart, breathed in the scent of her sweet blood and the spice of her arousal. He was intoxicated, enraptured and completely hypnotized by everything that was her. Though there were still moments that he saw himself, his kind, as soulless monsters, they were fewer and farther between. He knew that he had Angela to thank for his new perspective, but that hadn't changed how he felt about Bella. He wanted her with him forever, but he was conflicted with his desire for her to remain unharmed.

"Edward," she called to him, her hands framing his face as he opened his eyes. "I want you to change me."

He shook his head. "Give me five years," he offered and released an amused breath when she shook her head. "Three then," he amended.

"I'm not waiting," she told him. "I know what I want, I know the life that I want. If you think I'm going to change my mind, I won't. Edward…"

He touched her face, brushed his bent fingers over her cheek and leaned close for a kiss. "Nineteen."

"No," she denied him and he laughed.

"You are so stubborn," he told her and kissed her again.

"What are you waiting for?" she asked as she leaned back to see his eyes.

"You are so quick to want to be damned like me?" he asked and she frowned in a mix of denial and adoration.

"You're not damned, you never could be," she denied his assessment and smoothed her fingers over his perfectly sculpted cheeks. "You're the one who told me that you'd been waiting all your life just to find me, remember? So why would you want to deny us the future we were meant to have."

He sighed and laughed. "You were supposed to have been asleep," he said and watched her smile. "Of course you would have heard that though. Alright," he captured her lips once more in a slow and heated embrace. "If you want me to change you, then I have one condition."

"What is that?" she asked staring into his eyes as she tried to read his mind.

"Marry me."

Her lips parted, her eyes opening wide as she stared into his eyes. She had never expected those words to pass his lips and felt unable to breathe as she studied him. Her brow furrowed in confusion as she looked at him, her eyes demanding an explanation even as her lungs burned with the need for oxygen.

"What?" she asked, her voice breathless and unsteady.

"Marry me. Be with me, in this life and in the next," he said as he looked into her startled gaze. "Marry me."


	63. Chapter 61

Chapter 61

He groaned softly, leaning forward in the chair he sat in to place his head in his hands. He took in breath he didn't need, filled his lungs until he believed they would burst only to release the air slowly and repeat the process over. The all-encompassing fire, the acidic burn, had lessened hours ago with the addition of the Toradol, but now with the precision of a well aimed spear, the pain was flaring again. He heard his name being called, felt the steadying hand on his shoulder, but was in too much pain to speak. The more he tried to put up a barrier around the pain the more it felt as though the pain was tunneling toward some specific goal.

"Jasper?" Carlisle called his name again as he knelt down in front of his adoptive son. "Jasper, look at me," he instructed.

It was long moments before the southern vampire was able to lift his head, even longer until he had the use of his voice again and his tone was anything but steady. He tried to speak, his jaw moving, but no sound would make it past his lips. He groaned again, his eyes squeezing shut tightly as he bent low, his forehead nearly touching his knees. He couldn't keep this up much longer, not without feeding and he hated himself for the weakness he felt that made him release his hold on Angela's migraine and shut himself off to her pain. He sat up slowly, the piercing burn fading away and took in a few deep breaths before finding the will to speak.

"It was working," he said slowly, choosing his words carefully. "Up until about an hour ago, the new stuff you're giving her was working."

"What changed?" Carlisle asked his son, taking note of his pitch black eyes.

"I don't know exactly," Jasper frowned as he tried to make sense of what he had read through his talent. "It felt like…like she was searching for something. Usually the flares in her migraines are all over the place, but this time," he shook his head and frowned. "This time the pain felt directed, tunneling as though she was searching for something. You're definitely going to have to up the dose, or find some way to put the Toradol into a drip for her."

"Aro," Carlisle turned his attention on his ancient friend, the man still lying beside Angela. "Did you read anything from her specifically?"

"No," he frowned. "Once I am certain that she is completely asleep, I block my talent from her."

Carlisle frowned and nodded. Pursing his lips, the blond doctor turned his attention on Edward, his son lying on the other side of the bed with Bella sleeping in his arms, but sighed when the bronze haired vampire shook his head. Whatever it was that Angela was trying to find with her talent, no one knew what it was. He knew the risks he was taking in giving her another dose of the Toradol, even taking care to only measure out half of a dose, but he felt that he was out of options. Lifting his sleeping daughter's left hand; he slipped the needle into the injection point on the IV in the back of her hand and depressed the plunger slowly.

"Here," he looked up as Alice entered the room. "It's not the best," she said as she handed a large thermos to Jasper, "but it should do for now."

"You took a to-go cup hunting with you?" Jasper asked his wife with a chuckle and accepted the plastic thirty-two ounce mug from her.

"It was either this, or have you try and hold out until the morning. I could see that you wouldn't be willing to leave her side until she woke and that decision would have proved dangerous," she said told him solemnly. "Except that you have me, of course," she told him brightly and he chuckled.

"Well thank you, ma'am," Jasper said with a lopsided grin and a tip of his head. "I'm much obliged."

"Oh you'll pay me back later," she told him with a teasing smile and settled in his lap. "Drink up," she encouraged and tipped the cup to his lips. "You'll need it if you're going to keep helping her."

"Damn, Jazz, she's domesticated you," Emmett teased from his place by the window. "Drinking blood out of a cup and everything," he chuckled even as a worried frown still bent his brows. "She's fighting through the Toradol, isn't she?" he asked his brother and watched Jasper nod. "What is she searching for?"

All eyes turned toward the bed, their gazes coming to rest on the girl lying tucked between Marcus and Aro. Her voice had been whisper quiet, scratchy and weak, but the word she spoke had been clear. She frowned prettily in her sleep, her brows furrowing as a soft whimper sounded from her and she spoke the person's name again. Shushing her gently as he slipped his hand under the curtain of her hair and rested his palm on the smooth skin of the back of her neck, Aro held her close as he opened his talent to her. His lips pulled up at the corners in a soft smile even as his brows bent slightly in confusion. In her dreams she was standing next to a beautiful horse, the same one he reasoned that she had ridden with Michael, but she was looking around at the scenery as though she were lost.

His brows furrowed, his attention drawn to her face when he realized that she was looking directly at him and he felt almost shaken by his confusion. Somehow he was no longer witnessing her dream, her mental landscape, but was now a part of it. He remained silent, his expression one of caution and confusion as he stepped closer to her, watching as her dark eyes followed his every movement. He watched as she bit her lip, her brows furrowing in confusion and though she didn't seem upset to find him there with her, he did notice that she was still searching for someone else.

"Aro," she spoke his name and held out her hand in invitation. "How are you in my dream?"

"This isn't a dream, little one," he told her, unable to hide the concern he felt. "You are using your talent."

"My what?" she shook her head as she stared into his crimson eyes. "What are you talking about?"

"Do you remember how you spoke with Marcus? How you communicated with him before you ever truly met him?" he asked and she nodded quietly. "That is what you are doing now. The one you are looking for, you are trying to draw him closer to this place, closer to you and in doing so you are only causing your migraine to be worse. You must stop."

"Stop?" she asked feeling at once both frightened and confused by what he was telling her. "But, Aro I'm not doing anything."

"You are," he nodded to her as he framed her face with his hands. "You are reaching out with your talent and you need to stop."

"How?" she asked in a trembling whisper, her eyes wide. "How can I stop doing something that I don't know I'm doing?"

"Angela, stop," Aro wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close as she became upset. "You must calm down, no one's upset with you, we are simply trying to help you."

Aro held her close, knowing that he needed to make her feel safe in order to calm her racing heart. Her talents were tied to her emotions; he had read that from Carlisle as well as from Angela herself, though he knew that she had never understood that she was doing anything. Smoothing his hand down over her hair, he spoke to her in low soothing tones, asking her what it was that she had been thinking about when she dreamt of this place that they were in. Angela closed her eyes as she turned her head to rest her cheek on his shoulder and pressed her forehead against the cool marble skin of his throat.

"Michael was with me when I saw my par – when I saw _them_ for the last time," she corrected herself, no longer able to think of the human couple as being her parents. "When I fell asleep after, in the car with you," she reminded him, "I dreamed about him, about our horse ride. We talked until I woke and then last night I dreamed about him, too."

Aro pursed his lips and continued the slow petting of her hair until he felt her calm completely in his arms. He didn't know how to explain this to her. How was he to tell her that the dreams she was having weren't dreams at all and that she was, in fact, talking with Michael? How would he make any of this make sense to her when she didn't understand that it was her talent – her gift – that was allowing her to communicate with others? Tipping his head to rest his cheek against her hair, he held her close and stood still with her wrapped in his arms.

"The way you are talking with Michael, dreaming about him," he told her slowly as he took care to make his explanation one she would understand, "is the same way you communicated with Marcus. Do you remember that?"

"Of course, I do," she said as she felt herself growing tired in his embrace. "But Uncle Mer – Eleazar opened that door," she denied his reasoning. "He told me about Marcus and then I saw him in my dreams."

Aro stilled as he considered her words. This whole time she had believed Eleazar to be the one who had opened the connection for her, she had never truly realized it was her doing. Leaning back slightly as he moved his hands to her shoulders, he looked into her eyes and knew that before he could help her understand how to control her talent, he had to make her understand that _she_ was the one who was opening the lines of communication. Touching her face as he swept her hair over her shoulders, he kissed her forehead and stepped back.

"Aro?" Angela questioned his actions, frowning as it seemed to her that he was pulling away from her.

"I want you to do something for me," he told her and she could see the displeasure and reluctance in his eyes. "Think of your father, think of Carlisle and try to bring him to this place."

"Papa?" she asked him and shook her head in confusion.

"Just do this for me," he requested and Angela nodded slowly.

"Ok," she said and nodded once slowly.

She wasn't sure exactly how she was supposed to bring Carlisle into her dream, but the moment she thought of her desire to have him read his journals to her he appeared. Her eyes widened, her bottom lip caught between her teeth and she stepped toward him slowly. She watched the confusion register on his face only seconds before his eyes found hers and then he looked at her in both surprise and concern. This was just a dream, wasn't it? She frowned in confusion, her movements stopping as her eyes lost focus. If what Aro said was true, if she was doing this – communicating with people through her mind – then how was she to stop it? She didn't understand how it worked or how she was able to do this.

"Baby girl," she looked up at the sound of Carlisle's voice to find him standing in front of her. "Sweetheart, it's alright."

Angela shook her head in confusion and frowned as she looked up at him. Why did it seem as though he was trying to calm her? She stepped into his open arms easily, her arms looping around his waist as he returned her embrace. He kissed her hair, speaking to her softly and she tried once more to understand why he seemed to be offering her comfort, when her eyes suddenly widened and she pulled back. Each time she had woken up after having an intense dream like this, communicating with someone else, her migraines were almost more than she could bear. She whispered Jasper's name with wide horror-filled eyes as she thought of the pain she was putting him through. She was hurting him constantly and she didn't know how to stop.

"Hey, shh," Carlisle wrapped Angela in his arms once more and soothed her as best he could. "Sweetheart, stop," he shushed her gently and rubbed her back. "It's alright."

"I'm hurting him," she said in a frightened trembling whisper as tears filled her eyes. "I'm hurting him all the time and I can't stop. Oh god, I'm hurting him."

"Shh," Carlisle soothed her. "Come with us, Angela. Wake up and we will explain to you as much as we can. Can you do that for me?" he asked and smiled gently when she nodded. "Ok."

Kissing her forehead as he stepped back, Carlisle took her hand and once more encouraged her to wake up. Angela closed her eyes tightly as her tears slipped down her cheeks and concentrated all of her efforts on returning to the waking world. The last thing she had ever wanted to do was cause Jasper pain and now she found that it was her lack of control that was causing not only her migraines to be worse but inflicting pain onto her vampire brother. Her eyes blinked open, the world around her dark and she felt her fear increase at the thought that she had not woken at all, but was lost somewhere in between the waking world and her land of dreams.

"You're awake," Aro assured her as he helped her to sit up. "Your migraine is still blinding you, that's why you can't see," he told her in hopes to offer her some comfort.

"Jasper," she called his name upon a trembling breath and searched for him with unseeing eyes.

"I'm right here," she heard his soothing southern tenor at the same moment that she felt a hand touch her leg. "Hey, no shh," he said responding to the feelings of shame and guilt that were coming from her. "Baby girl, no one is upset with you, certainly not me. Come here," he encouraged and she felt him take her hand. "That's it," he encouraged as she moved to her knees and crawled toward his voice.

Jasper touched her shoulder before gently tugging her into his lap and held her against his chest. He spoke to her softly, comforting her as best he could even as he still felt the sorrow and regret heavy in her heart. She was apologizing to him in her thoughts, one look at Edward confirming what her emotions had already told him. Releasing a deep silent breath, he held her close and tucked her back to lie in the crook of his shoulder as he reached out to take the throw blanket Rosalie offered him. Wrapping the soft thick blanket around Angela as he watched her eyes blink slowly, heavy with her growing exhaustion, he began to tell her about the first time he had ever wrestled with Emmett, smiling when she giggled softly.

"Go to sleep, little one," Jasper encouraged her after finishing his tale. "We'll all be here when you wake up."

"I don't want to hurt you," she mumbled tiredly, her words slurred together.

"Don't you worry about that," he shushed her gently and held her closer as he tucked the end of the blanket between her body and his chest. "You just sleep for me and dream something beautiful, ok?"

"Will you sing?" she asked of him, her words so soft that he doubted she was aware she had made the request.

Jasper's lips pulled up the side in a crooked smiling pout and he turned his head, resting his cheek on her hair as he searched his memory for a song. Closing his eyes as he focused his talent on her emotions and let the sound of her heartbeat soothe him, he took in a deep breath. His words were slow, his cadence that of a lullaby as he began to sing to her from a song he had heard recently on the radio. It was a slow, sad piece, a song full of heartache and longing, but the words and tune were beautiful. He felt the shift in her emotions, the gentle smile in her heart that was reflected upon her face and held her closer when she curled against him to press her face into his chest.

"I'm going to miss these moments," Carlisle mused quietly as he looked upon his sleeping daughter. "All too soon she will no longer have any need for sleep. No need to be held and read to, or to be cuddled and sung to."

"Somehow I doubt that being turned into a vampire will make her desire to be held and read to disappear," Edward said softly. "She loves it too much. She just won't fall asleep anymore is all."

"She'll always be your little girl," Esme told Carlisle as she stood within the circle of his arms. "Being a vampire won't change that. She'll always need you."

Angela mumbled in her sleep, curling closer to Jasper as the warmth of her spirit wrapped around Carlisle. He smiled as he watched her sleep, her face tucked into her brother's chest as she took comfort in his embrace. Looking down into Esme's eyes, he held his wife's gaze for a moment before dropping a chaste kiss to her rose petal lips. It seemed a lifetime ago that Alice had first brought Angela home to them and he held Esme closer as each precious memory of his human daughter cascaded through his mind with an accompanying waterfall of emotions.

"My little girl," he spoke aloud as a smile graced his lips.

"Forever," Esme promised him, her cheek resting against his chest.

**:::::**

He was as reluctant to leave as she was to see him go; he realized and selfishly held her closer as they stood in front of the giant windows. It was a strange thing to know that she was in fact a few inches taller than he was, but could still feel so tiny and delicate when he held her wrapped in his arms. Releasing the breath he'd been holding, he turned his face toward her and drew in deeply of her scent as he petted her hair in long lazy strokes. Never had he found anyone who looked upon him as she did. Never had he been so completely and unconditionally accepted before and never, not once, had he been treated with such kindness and compassion. He chuckled softly as her thoughts came to him through his talent and rubbed her back gently as he smiled.

"I wish for that too, my dear," Aro told Angela softly. "But we must leave; there are things we must attend to. Time passes quickly and before you know it we'll see each other again."

_Both you and Marcus were so different, so sad and troubled when you first came to Forks. I don't want you to be like that again. _

Aro kissed her cheek before pulling back slightly to frame her face with his hands and look into her mahogany eyes. He doubted that she would ever truly understand her power to heal; it was her heart that made her gift so strong, her selflessness that gave her the desire to see others happy and free. She was precious to him, to all of them and infinitely fragile in this human form. He smoothed his fingers over her warm soft skin before pulling her close again and finding comfort in the way she allowed him to hold her. He looked up, his eyes meeting Felix's as they spoke to each other silently. The man's eyes held the promise he was looking for and he was soothed to know that Angela would have so many guardians to protect her.

"I don't believe we could ever return to that state of being," he told her softly. "You healed us, my dear. You gave us a new beginning. For that, and for healing Suplicia, I will forever be in your debt."

"My debt?" Angela pulled back and looked at him with a touch of confusion.

"I know," he said with amusement as he read her thoughts. "You would never think to ask for anything, but should you ever have need of me all you have to do is say the word."

"Take care of each other," she said as she looked from him to Marcus and held out her hand for the other ancient vampire to take. "I may not always be able to hear your words when the two of you speak, but I've seen the look in your eyes and I know that whatever you're going back to isn't going to be good. So please take care of each other, you may be all you have."

"We will," Marcus assured her and dropped a kiss to her forehead.

"Don't forget about me," she teased as Marcus drew her into his arms and held her close.

"Not even possible," he chuckled as he rubbed her back.

"We must leave soon," Aro said as he looked outside the window and into the misty cloud covered morning. "If we don't then we will arrive after dawn in Volterra."

"The sun is very bright in Italy," Marcus said in answer to Angela's look of confusion. "We did not bring our cloaks."

"No, but I called ahead a few hours ago and Gianna will be waiting for us with a car at the airfield. Let's hope she remembers the cloaks," he said with a roll of his eyes.

"Aro," Felix chuckled and nodded at the almost reprimanding expression on Angela's face.

"She is human, but nothing like you. It is not without cause that I say her intelligence is…lacking to say the least," he said and chuckled at the barely suppressed amusement on Angela's face.

"Be nice," she said to him and laughed when Aro gave a long suffering sigh.

"What is it you Americans say? I believe that ship has sailed," he said and smiled when she laughed and shook her head. "When it comes to humans," he told her and touched her cheek affectionately, "you are the exception, not the rule."

"Is she really that bad?" Angela asked and turned her attention on Marcus.

"Unfortunately, yes," Marcus chuckled. "It is often…interesting to read the messages she brings us."

"Bad handwriting?" Angela asked and laughed at the look on his face.

"More along the lines of language barrier. She was born and raised in Italy, yes, but I do believe she has developed her own way spelling things. It is often a challenge to decipher what she has written," he told her and chuckled when she laughed. "I will miss you," he told her solemnly a moment later and held her close.

"I'll miss you too," she returned, her voice trembling as she held onto him tightly. "I don't want you to go."

He tightened his arms around her as he tucked her head under his chin and held her close. He nodded once at the look in Aro's eyes and smiled almost sadly when Angela was sandwiched between them in a twin embrace. Angela closed her eyes as tears filled her vision and spilled over her cheeks. She didn't want them to leave her, especially knowing that what they were returning to would quite possibly be a dangerous situation. She wanted them to stay, to be happy and carefree. In such a short time she had grown close to them, considering them to be as much a part of her family as Esme and Carlisle were. She loved them both and the only thing she truly desired was for them to be safe and happy.

"She's not going to let them go," Edward said to Carlisle with a touch of amusement.

"The way she's become attached to them and with the talents that she possesses," Jasper chuckled as he watched her. "Not even the devil would be fool enough to cross her path."

"It's not the devil we have to worry about," Felix intoned in a very low voice. "It's Caius. He'd do whatever it takes to destroy her. She threatens everything he wants."

"Half Pint?" Emmett looked at the ancient man with a confused frown. "She's not a threat to anyone."

"Take a look at her, look at who surrounds her," he instructed Emmett. "She has their unquestioning loyalty, she has healed them and they would do anything for her. She could command armies if she wanted to, make the world bow to her every whim because of her ability to heal, but she. Doesn't. Ask for it," he said slowly, pointedly. "Her spirit, her gentleness is what Caius would find threatening. She would easily take power away from him for the simple fact that she would never wish to command anyone."

"Felix," Esme shook her head in confusion. "You're saying that Angela's benevolence is why Caius would want her dead?"

"It's the same reason he tried to destroy Carlisle," he said as he raised a brow at the man in question. "Aro, Marcus and myself were far more trusting and more willing to listen when Carlisle spoke than when he did. Hell, he even healed the rift between Aro and Suplicia to some extent while he lived with us in Italy. He took power away from Chelsea, even Jane was infinitely jealous of him."

"But I hold no talent," Carlisle said with a deep confused frown.

"You never needed to," Felix told him. "The way you carry yourself, the way you know who you are and don't let anyone sway you otherwise, that's what threatens Caius the most. You can't be bought, swayed or manipulated. He's threatened by you for the simple reason that he could never control you. What you've done with the wolves, the way your compassion and understanding is able to bridge the gap between species and create the treaty that you have. You and now your daughter," he nodded to Angela, "are the greatest threats to Caius. If he finds out about her, he'll do his damnedest to destroy her."

"She will be protected," Aro said in a very low growl. "I will not let him touch her."

"Aro?" his eyes turned to Angela and he smiled when he felt the warmth of her palm pressed over his sternum. "You're growling. Why?"

"If I asked you not to worry?" he chuckled at the sight of her raised eyebrow and rolled his eyes. "You've learned that look from Carlisle," he told her. "Your safety is important to all of us."

"My safety?" she frowned in question. "Do you mean my migraines?"

"No," he said as he maintained his smile even as his worry showed in his eyes. "But this is not something you should worry about yet. You will be protected."

"Aro," Marcus said his name with regret. "We must leave now if we are to make our flight. Angela," he held his hand out to her and smiled when she stepped toward him easily. "I will remember you this way always. Do not ever change who you are."

Angela's eyes widened as she pushed away from Marcus and stared at him in a mix of fear and anger. What was he saying to her? How could he be saying goodbye like this?

"Angela," Edward called to her quickly. "It's not a forever goodbye."

"What?" she turned her attention back to Marcus. "Why are you talking like you won't see me again?" she demanded of him.

"I didn't mean it like that," he told her and kissed her forehead before wrapping her in his arms. "It is just that this may be the last time I see you as a human."

"So then you plan to come back?" she demanded and he chuckled as he held her closer.

"Most definitely," he told her and petted her hair. "Immortality will look good on you."

"Don't forget about me," she begged of him softly with her cheek pressed against his silent heart.

"Not even possible," he assured her in whisper and looked over her head at Carlisle. "Take care of her," he said too low for her to hear and watched the blond man nod quietly even as amusement twisted his lips up at the corners.

Angela bit her lip and held her breath for a moment as she watched Aro and Marcus walk down the hall to disappear through the security check point. She looked up when an arm draped over her shoulders and met Rosalie's amber gaze. Her sister smiled softly, holding her to her side as she stood with Angela and watched as the private jet lifted into the air. Rubbing her hand over Angela's arm, she lifted her opposite hand and brushed away the tear that had fallen down her sister's cheek.

"You'll see them again," Rosalie assured her softly. "And you get to keep Felix and Suplicia until you do," she said and smiled when Angela laughed through her tears. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fi…I'm tired," she admittedly softly when she caught Rosalie's knowing stare. "It's not even ten," she said softly and looked down at the floor.

"Perhaps so, but airports tend to be unusually bright, all the fluorescents," she said as Angela gave in and laid her head on her shoulder. "I'm certain all the noise doesn't help either. Has your migraine lessened any?"

"…No," Angela said after a long moment. "Not really. I guess I'm just getting used to the stronger ones now."

"What do you want to do?" Rosalie asked her as she let her hand fall from Angela's shoulders to wrap around her waist instead. "Do you want to go back to the brownstone and rest awhile?" she asked as she lifted her free hand and tucked Angela's hair behind her ear to see her face.

"No," she said and Rosalie smiled softly when Angela's eyes fell closed. "They were supposed to be here through tonight. Why did they have to leave early?"

"They left because they had to," Rosalie told her gently, tipping her head to rest against Angela's. "They won't be gone forever."

"Because of the man Felix talked about?" Angela asked as she moved closer to Rosalie without conscious thought. "The hunter?"

"You heard that?" Rosalie asked softly, keeping her voice low and soothing.

"Parts of it," Angela frowned even as her eyes remained closed. "It was like a dream, but I guess…that was me?" she asked.

"Most likely," Rosalie answered, her eyes lifting to meet Carlisle's affectionate and concerned gaze. "How often do you dream like that?"

"I don't know," Angela said as her voice grew softer, her migraine pulling her closer toward the sleep that her pain was demanding of her. "More often since meeting Marcus, but I think I always have. There was this…place in the woods that I used to go to sometimes. Whenever they locked me in the closet, I would dream about that place. Everything felt so real, I could feel the sun, hear the birds and animals. I just always thought it was a dream."

"A safety point," Rosalie said softly and looked down on Angela when the girl simply hummed her reply. "You're already asleep, aren't you?" she asked the girl, her smile bittersweet when Angela failed to respond. "She's exhausting so quickly," she said to Carlisle, her vulnerability showing in the worry that filled her amber eyes.

"She'll be alright, Rose," he promised her and lifted Angela into his arms. "Once we are able to teach her to control her dream-walking," he smiled at the twitch of her brow, "Angela's term not mine," he clarified, "then the medicine will help her more. It won't always be this bad."

"But she will grow weaker as the migraines grow stronger," Rose said, her statement as much a question.

"Unfortunately, yes," he said with a worried frown.

"Emmett and I can take care of her," Rosalie offered as she looked upon Angela's sleeping face.

"Then I shall leave her in your care," he said with love and pride in his voice as he handed Angela to Emmett. "It would draw a bit too much attention of you were to walk out of here carrying her, don't you think?" he said to Rosalie when he noticed the disappointment on her face.

"I suppose you're right," she conceded softly.

"Do you want to take her to the brownstone or back home to Forks?" Emmett asked as he looked down on the sleeping girl he held cradled in his arms.

"Carlisle?" Rosalie asked and watched him smile softly.

"I'll leave that decision up to you," he told her and wrapped his arm around Esme's waist when she stepped up to his side.

"Let's take her home, Emmett. She'll sleep better in her own bed," Rosalie said and petted Angela's hair when Esme stepped up to kiss her sleeping daughter's brow. "We'll take care of her," Rosalie promised Esme quietly.

"I know you will," Esme smiled and hugged Rosalie close. "You make a good mother, Rose," she whispered quietly to her daughter and smiled when Rosalie's arms tightened around her. "We'll see you at home this evening."

"Take the Mercedes," Carlisle said as he handed his keys to Rosalie. "It's quieter and has a much smoother ride than the Jeep."

"Well," Emmett chuckled when Rosalie reached into his jeans pocket for his keys. "I guess you'll get to drive the Jeep this time," he told Felix and watched the man grin.

"I truly didn't understand your fascination for that vehicle until you drove through the washed out dirt road," Felix told him and chuckled at the look of excitement in Emmett's eyes.

"Fun, isn't it?" he chuckled. "Ready to go?" he asked Rosalie when she touched his arm.

"Let's take her home," Rosalie said, her voice almost silent as she looked at Angela.

"I was beginning to wonder when Rosalie would realize her own thoughts," Edward said with a lopsided grin as his siblings disappeared down the hall behind them.

"What do you mean?" Carlisle asked as he looked at Edward.

"That first really bad migraine Angela had, the one that knocked her out," he said and nodded to make certain Carlisle understood which one he was referring to. "Do you remember how angry and edgy Rosalie was that night?"

"Yes," Carlisle nodded as they all began walking toward the exit that would lead them to the short term parking. "She was upset because of the abandonment she discovered."

"No," Edward shook his head slowly and grinned when Alice pulled Bella away to walk beside her. "Rose was so upset and angry because that was the very first time that Rosalie had ever felt the desire – the will – to change someone into what we are. She was ready in that moment to bite Angela, to make her into one of us."

Carlisle froze and looked back at Edward with wide eyes. Every single one of his family members knew how extreme that was for Rosalie. That had been the turning point, Carlisle realized as he began walking once more with Esme by his side. That moment had been the beginning of Rosalie's change, the start of her acceptance for what she was. He knew that she had lost her anger over being a vampire, believing that Angela's talent for healing others had done the same for his blonde daughter, but he had never realized – could never have imagined – that Rosalie would have felt that way about anyone. For his daughter to have felt the desire to change a human into what they were was not something he ever could have foreseen possible. It was more than a change in perspective, it was a complete change of heart and that was a monumental shift.

"You knew?" Carlisle asked Esme, seeing the smile in her eyes.

"I could see it in the way she began treating Angela, the way she responded to her," Esme said with a nod. "A mother knows these things. Rosalie is very attached to Angela, much like we are," she told him as they stepped into the elevator.

"You mean…?" Carlisle questioned as the silver door closed in front of them.

"Mhmm," she hummed with a slow nod. "Exactly that."

Carlisle nodded silently, staring at their reflection in the brushed steel doors, his thoughts turned inward. To understand now what his wife and son had already known made all of the pieces fall into place. He had watched Rosalie himself, seen the way she was with Angela and while he had suspicions of his own, he never would have guessed that Rosalie would have thought of turning Angela. In fact, he hadn't even guessed anything close to that in his attempts to make sense of the tight bond she had with Angela. A mother, he nodded slowly as the thought took hold in his mind. The tender care, fierce protectiveness and quiet support Rosalie had given Angela, it all made so much more sense to him now than it had before and he could see it clearly in the review of his memories.

It seemed impossible to him the many ways that Angela had affected each of them individually. It had never been a major shift, not like it was for Marucs and Suplicia, or even Aro. For the rest of them it had been little things, changes that were so subtle they were difficult to see at first. But the affect, Carlisle kept his arm wrapped around Esme as they walked together toward the parked cars; the change was so profound it was breathtaking. He smiled as he held the car door open for Esme and waited until she climbed inside before sitting next to her. In truth, Angela had only been with his family a short while, but she was so deeply in each of their hearts that it felt as though she had always been there.

She was the missing piece, the invisible thread that tied them all together in an unbreakable bond. His first true daughter. _Their_ daughter, he reminded himself as he took Esme's hand and kissed her knuckles. Esme met his smile, her eyes answering his thoughts as her free hand slipped against his cheek to bring him close for a kiss. He met her lips easily, his mouth moving against her as they embraced in a slow passionate act of love.

"I guess it's a good thing Emmett had me drive," Felix chuckled quietly as he glanced in the rearview mirror.

"Leave them alone," Suplicia returned just as quietly, smiling as she looked in the mirror as well. "They're precious."

**:::::**

"How's she doing?" Emmett asked as he looked at Rosalie in the rearview mirror, a lopsided grin gracing his face.

"She's still sleeping," Rosalie told him as she looked down on Angela, the girl tucked against her side. "I always thought you were exaggerating before when you told me that she didn't sleep well alone."

"Not so much," he chuckled quietly and nodded to the man standing on the dock that motioned for him to drive off the ferry. "She was never given the comfort of being held before. Back before Alice brought her home, when I was staying closer to her at school and going over to her house, I used to tuck her against me when she would start drifting off. I don't think she ever realized that I was doing that, but she'd fist her hand in my shirt and give this little happy sigh each time she fell asleep. I never thought much of it until…"

"Until her abuse was revealed," she finished for him and saw him nod, the tight set of his jaw telling her that he had yet to release his anger over the discovery.

"Yeah," he agreed softly, his voice tight.

"She's with us, Emmett," she reminded him softly. "She's a part of our family and no one can ever take her away from us. We'll never let her be hurt like that again."

"Never," he agreed as he turned the car onto the highway. "You grabbed her medicine, right?" he asked and glanced up into the rearview mirror to see his wife smile.

"It's in Carlisle's bag in the trunk," she eased his worry and frowned softly as she looked down on Angela. "Turn on the heater," she instructed quietly. "Just set it on low, maybe two or three. I didn't think to grab a blanket."

"Half Pint wouldn't be happy if you moved away from her," he chuckled as he turned the controls and adjusted the temperature settings. "I used to try and put a pillow between her head and my chest whenever she slept, so did Jasper for a time until we both discovered that she hated it. She would wake up or tug at it in her sleep."

"R's'li," Angela mumbled in her sleep and Rosalie smiled softly as she smoothed her hand over the girl's hair slowly.

"I'm right, sweetheart," she promised Angela and kissed her bowed head. "You just sleep for me, ok?"

"Mmhmm," she hummed tiredly, her voice barely making a sound.

"That's my girl, shh," she soothed and smiled when she felt Angela return to a deeper sleep. "The stronger her migraines grow, the quicker they'll exhaust her and the more she'll sleep," she told Emmett when she saw his concerned frown in the reflective glass. "She'll be alright, Emmett, she's just going to sleep more."

"Isn't there anything we can do?" he asked his wife, leaning on her knowledge of medicine for some hope of an answer.

"At this point she's almost more like a cancer patient," she said as she leaned her cheek against Angela's hair. "We can make her comfortable, but we won't be able to take away all, or even most of her pain. At this stage, with as advanced as her migraines are, it's about getting her pain down to a level where she's both functional and able to handle it."

"You know Carlisle's a bit pissed off with the school board," Emmett mused as he turned onto the exit that would take them to Forks.

"Oh?" she asked quietly as she listened to the sound of Angela's heartbeat.

"Yeah," Emmett offered a breathy chuckle as he remembered the conversation he'd overheard. "The principal was all set to let Angela take the GED exam when Carlisle explained Angela's migraines to him and why she had missed so much school. The superintendent of the school board, though, said that he wouldn't approve a diploma for her if she took the GED now, being that she's already almost halfway through her senior year. He said that she either finishes the year or he'll mark her as being a drop out."

"I'm sure that didn't go over well," she laughed softly and saw the look of amusement in her husband's eyes.

"Pretty sure that's the first time I'd ever seen him that angry," Emmett chuckled. "We all know that she's strong enough to make it to graduation, but none of us want her to have to. Too many questions, even Charlie wouldn't be able to over look her sudden absence if she were to disappear in the middle of the school year."

"No," Rosalie said as she took in a deep breath. "And it would cause too much trouble for Bella as well."

"Home's just up ahead," Emmett said with a sigh of relief.

"We'll get her changed and tucked into bed," Rosalie said and looked down at the small circular bandage on Angela's hand. "I'll set up the drip again. You should read to her," she told Emmett. "She always wakes just a little bit when Carlisle or I get the IV started."

Angela moaned quietly, tucking herself closer to Rosalie when the car slowed and came to a stop. The engine turned off a moment later, the loss of the low rumbling sound drawing the girl from her sleep and she looked up through sleep blurred eyes to see Emmett step out of the car. She was barely awake enough to realize that they hadn't returned to the brownstone, but too tired to fully understand that they had returned home to Forks. The car door behind her opened, soft words being exchanged between Rosalie and Emmett before she felt herself lifted from the car and cradled against her brother's solid chest.

"She'll settle down in a few minutes," Rosalie told Emmett softly as she stepped out from the backseat of the car. "She's not really awake, just kind of in that half sleep state. She probably won't remember much of anything," she said watching as Angela curled against Emmett's chest and fell easily into a light slumber.

"She's losing weight again," Emmett observed with a frown.

"That's because her appetite is growing smaller with the increase of her migraines," Rosalie explained as she retrieved Carlisle's medical bag from the trunk of the car. "I doubt she'll ever gain that last twenty pounds he was hoping for. At least she weighs more now than she ever has before."

"Maybe," Emmett said as he looked down on his sleeping sister, her face tucked into his shoulder. "But she could stand to gain a little bit more."

"I know," Rosalie chuckled and stepped past him, leading him up to the front door. "Let's get her to bed," she said as she unlocked the front door. "Then later you can go get Rain from Seth, I'm still surprised he offered to take her while we were gone."

Emmett chuckled as he stepped inside and carried Angela further into the house. He was fairly certain that Seth had either chased the cat up a tree or had his tail shredded by the tiny beast that thought herself a tiger. He whispered to Angela, shushing her gently when she stirred in his hold and kissed her forehead as he moved toward the stairs. Looking up at Rosalie when he reached the top landing, he felt his lips pull up to the side in a crooked smile and nodded at the decision he could see in her eyes, the desire that was mirrored in his own.

He moved past Angela's open door and carried her down the hall to the room he shared with Rosalie. Laying her down gently in the middle of the bed, he stepped out of the room and waited while his wife gathered clothes to change her into. He heard her speaking softly from behind the closed door and looked back at the room when she stepped into the hall with Angela held close to her side. He felt surprised for a moment that Rosalie was letting Angela walk only to chuckle quietly when he saw the look of determination in his human sister's face. She never wanted to be or even appear weak, choosing instead to lean against Rosalie and walk down the hall instead of letting herself be carried. He knew that it was the lifetime of abuse she had suffered at the hands of her human parents that left her so reluctant to be doted on completely, but was glad for all the care she allowed them to give her.

"She'll be alright," Rosalie told him softly when Angela closed herself inside the bathroom. "She just needed a few human moments."

"It'd be easier if her life were being threatened by another vampire instead of these migraines," he voiced his frustration quietly. "A vampire I know how to fight, but this – her pain, there's nothing we can do."

"We're doing what she needs," she assured him and kissed him chastely. "We're giving her what comfort we can and making certain she knows she's not alone. What she needs right now is us, her family surrounding her, not some magical cure-all."

"Hey Half Pint," he greeted her when she stepped out of the bathroom and offered a lopsided smile at the scent of the mint toothpaste and mouthwash he could smell on her.

"We're home?" she questioned in confusion, her words slurred together. "When?"

"A few minutes ago," Rosalie said as Emmett lifted Angela into his arms. "I thought you'd be more comfortable here."

"Papa?" she asked as her eyes closed slowly.

"Still in Seattle with the others," she answered softly and smiled when Emmett laid Angela down in their bed. "I don't want you to worry about a thing, ok?" Rosalie told her as she smoothed her hair from her face. "Just rest. Emmett and I will be here."

"Hey half pint," Emmett pulled her attention away from the IV Rosalie was preparing to insert into the back of her hand. "How about _A Walk to Remember_?" he said as he brought the paperback novel to the bed and stretched out beside her on top of the blankets. "It's one of Rose's favorites," he told her as she curled against his chest, his arm wrapping around her back. "Let her finish the IV," he encouraged Angela when she curled her hand around his shirt and watched as Rosalie tore a bit of the medical tape to secure the clear tubing to her hand.

"All done," Rosalie said softly a few seconds later and hung the saline bag from the canopy frame above the bed. "Just rest, baby girl," she encouraged Angela as she cleaned up the items from the bed and nodded to Emmett.

He opened the book in his hands, his voice smooth and deep as he began reading to Angela softly. Kissing her forehead as he turned the page, he smiled at Rosalie when she joined them on the bed and settled against Angela's back. Tucking the blankets higher around the human girl's shoulders, Rosalie swept Angela's hair away from her face and over shoulder. Leaning up on her elbow and kissing her sister's cheek, Rosalie propped her chin in her hand and listened to Emmett read while she watched Angela sleep. There was a certain silent beauty, a gentle peacefulness she found in these moments that made her feel almost reluctant to give them up. A vampire's memories could never be erased and that thought gave her comfort as she thought of how little time she had left to enjoy these human moments with Angela.

Emmett smiled when Angela sighed softly, curling closer against him in her sleep and he set the book aside. Reaching up to turn off the lamp next to the bed, he found himself thankful that Rosalie had pulled all of the curtains closed before they had settled in the bed. It was closing in on noon and he knew that Angela wouldn't be able to handle the sunlight of the afternoon, no matter how cloud covered the Forks sky was. Kissing her forehead as he lifted his hand to cup her cheek, he looked at Rosalie and smiled gently. Angela would always mean more to him simply because of the fact that he had taken care of her first, before anyone else in his family had welcomed her in and he knew that Rosalie had a deeper connection with her as well. He looked down into Angela's sleeping face as Carlisle's words from a lifetime ago came back to him.

_The only thing I will ever ask of you, Emmett, is that you protect your family._

_Always_, Emmett thought silently as he stared at Angela. _I will always protect you._

**:::::**

The wheels of the jet touched down on the tarmac in a bouncing motion, the screeching of rubber against the ground causing Marcus to grimace. The one time he had taken a plane before meeting Angela, he had been too lost in the insanity of his grief to notice the noises of the plane. Now though he was fully alert and conscious of every action taking place, every sound made and having no alternate to focus his attention on, his vampire ears had catalogued even the smallest of sounds made by the aircraft. He looked out of the small window next to him, thankful that the sky was still mostly dark and frowned at the sight of the blonde waiting for them next to darkly tinted luxury sedan.

"Aro," Marcus called his attention. "I thought you said Gianna would be meeting us?"

"She will be," Aro said without looking up from the book in his hands.

"Then why is Bianca the one waiting by our car and more importantly, why is her arm in a cast? In the three years she has been with us, I have not known her to be injured once," Marcus said as he studied the human woman.

"Her what?" Aro closed the book in his hands with a snap and turned his attention out of the window as well.

He found the human woman easily with his eyes, noticing the almost frightened expression on her face first before he scanned down her body. She was wearing a loose fitting knitted sweater, the buttons undone allowing it to flutter gently in the warm breeze. The Champaign blouse she wore accentuated her cream colored skin, but the sight of the dark slacks she was dressed in brought a frown to his face. Something had definitely changed for he had never known Bianca to dress in slacks at anytime in the past three years she had been in their service and certainly not when she was around them. His eyes moved back up her slight frame as the jet came to a stop and the human woman accompanying the pilot stepped over to open the door.

Marcus had not been mistaken; Bianca's left arm was clearly in a cast, the sweater unable to hide the outline of the medical encasing from their eyes. Rising from his seat with grace, Aro stepped down out of the plane and walked toward the human woman slowly. He was not accustomed to being surprised and certainly not in such a manner as this. His eyes narrowed, his dark brows pulling together in suspicion as he studied her neck and found that what he had first thought to be shadows were in fact bruises her makeup was unable to hide. She had been attacked, that much was clear, but he wanted to know by who and why. He may have always seen the few humans in his employ as inconsequential, but he had never once allowed any of them to be hurt while under his care, unless they were to be made a meal of.

"Bonjourno, Master Aro," Bianca greeted and he could hear how forced her smile was, the undercurrent of fear bothering him greatly.

"Bianca, my dear, what has happened?" he asked her as he stepped closer and held out his hand only to frown when she stepped back. "Let me see," he said as he stepped closer to her once more. "It's alright," he soothed, responding to her fear the same way he had to Angela's.

"She is terrified of us," Marcus told him too low for the human woman to hear. "She has never been frightened of us."

Aro stepped closer still and lifted his hand to touch her face. He moved slowly, allowing her human eyes to follow each movement as he cupped her cheek in his palm. The first thing to meet his talent was her fear, the absolute terror filling her mind at what Caius would do to her now that Aro would have her memories. Caius had warned her to keep the memory to herself and what Aro found both enraged and upset him. With him and Marcus gone there had been no one to temper Caius' sadistic nature, nor anyone to control those who seemed to follow the ancient man's tendencies. The first full day that both he and Marcus had been gone, Caius had called upon Bianca.

He had bid her to follow him through the palace and down into the dungeons below, his grip on her wrist anything but gentle. He had thrown her to the ground in front of the cell Jane was bound inside of and removed the ancient child's blindfold. It took every bit of self control Aro possessed to suppress the sound of the growl rumbling in his throat, the knowledge of the pain Caius had willingly subjected her to angering him greatly. He felt her tremble beneath his hand and whispered gently, soothing the human woman in front of him. He knew in that moment that had it not been for Angela he would never have been able to offer Bianca the comfort he was giving her now.

He closed his eyes against the rage pulsing through his being, the memory of Caius waiting for her in her apartment inspiring fear that turned into near maddening terror. He had gripped her arm, crushed the bones beneath his hand as he threw her across the privately owned building and watched with delight as she had cried in pain and fear. He had lifted her from where she cowered on the floor with only a single hand around her throat, the bruises she had tried to hide with makeup formed when Caius had held her aloft and threatened time and again to choke the life out of her. He had laughed at her pain and fear as he tore the clothes from her body and held her in place while he took his pleasure from her time and again. It angered him even more to know that he hadn't only visited his vile torments on her once, but multiple days and nights while they were gone.

"Where is Gianna?" Aro asked Bianca in a soft voice once he was certain that he had his temper under control.

"I don't know," she told him her voice trembling. "She hasn't shown up for the past two days and Caius…he…"

"I know," he soothed her gently and nodded toward the car. "I will drive," he told her and held his hand out for the keys. "You've barely slept these past two weeks; you should not be operating a vehicle."

"Master Aro," her voice trembled, her body following suit as she stared at him with wide fearful eyes. "Master Caius…if he, he said…"

"You leave Caius to me," he told her, his tone soothing even while crimson eyes held a distinctly dangerous glint.

"Aro?" Marcus questioned him as he watched Bianca slip into the back seat of the car. "What has happened?"

"Do you remember twelve-sixty-two when we were almost exposed for what we were?" Aro asked his ancient brother.

Marcus narrowed his eyes as he cast his memory back to that time. They had always hunted carefully, keeping their feeding outside of the city walls, but it was another much darker reason that they had nearly been exposed. Sixteen women between the ages of twelve and thirty had been visited at night, each while they were alone. Their arms had been broken to keep them from fighting back, not that they could fight against one such as him, and each had been viciously raped and left for dead. Most of them had died from their injuries, medicine at that time so primitive that death proved to be a welcomed relief instead. There was one woman though who had survived and only because Caius had bitten her, never realizing that he hadn't drained her completely. It was her turning that had alerted the villagers to what had been violating and killing their women and it was her madness that had forced Aro's hand back then.

"Caius _did that_ to Bianca?" Marcus growled, barely able to keep his temper in check.

"Yes and I fear to Gianna as well," Aro said and looked at the human woman who was all but asleep in the car. "Bianca found us on her own, but you fostered Gianna," he reminded Marcus. "You brought her into our fold and as such she has been under your protection."

"If he has touched her," Marcus fairly snarled as he moved toward the car.

"Take caution, brother," Aro said as he opened the door, their words spoken too softly for Bianca to hear. "Caius warned her that he would make what she experienced the first time around child's play in comparison to what he would do to her if she allowed me to read her mind."

"She is not safe on her own," Marcus said with displeasure as he glanced at the half asleep woman in the back seat. "She will remain in my chambers as will Gianna until their fates have been decided."

"You would protect them both?" Aro asked, his brow raised in question.

"Wouldn't you?" Marcus returned. "I can see it in your eyes brother. I am not the only one Angela has changed."

"No," Aro said softly after a long moment. "You are not. She has freed both of us from our madness, the insanity brought by time and grief. We will find Gianna first and then return to the castle with them both."

Marcus glanced at Bianca through the rearview mirror. "If we change them," he began slowly as he watched the woman finally give into her exhaustion, "we will need to keep them guarded from Caius during and after their change."

"It may be necessary to send them to someone else until we can ensure their safety," Aro said and watched Marcus when the man's eyes fell closed and an expression of sadness washed over his face. "Marcus?"

"Listen closely, dear brother, what do you hear? Or rather," Marcus said sadly. "What don't you hear?"

Aro closed his eyes for a brief moment, his jaw clenching tightly as he noticed the absence of sound. Bianca's heart had stopped beating. It had never been his intention to make the humans who served in the castle into vampires, but neither had he ever intended for them to die in the manner that Bianca had. Throwing them in with the humans brought for food was one thing, but this…Aro glanced at the woman lying dead in the backseat. She had been made to suffer repeatedly for Caius' twisted pleasure, living barely long enough to share with him what had happened.

"Her body cannot be found by the humans," Aro said as he turned onto the road that would take them to the privately owned apartment building both Gianna and Bianca had lived in. "There is no telling what they may find with their modern technology. She will need to be hidden within the ancient crypts."

Aro parked the car in the covered garage and stepped out of the vehicle with Marcus at his side. They made their way quickly into the building that was a mix of modern and classical architecture. Bypassing the stairs and avoiding the humans in residence, they made their way up the three flights of stairs. Marcus growled low, his flawless posture falling into a slight crouch when he noticed her apartment door standing open. He called her name as he neared the door, listened closely for her heartbeat as he moved inside the apartment and pulled in deep breaths as he searched for her.

"M-marcus," her trembling voice called out and he was by her side in an instant, kneeling next to her broken and battered body.

"Gianna," Marcus breathed out her name as he looked over her injuries.

"You saved me from Stefan," she spoke her ex-husband's name in a whispered pain filled voice.

"I won't let you go like this," he told her and listened to the rumbling breaths she fought to pull in.

"Three good years," she spoke with difficulty. "It's more than most ever get."

"Gianna," he called to her as Aro took her hand.

"She's gone," Aro said as he laid her hand down on her the torn shirt covering her chest. "Caius did this as well. You never told me why you took her in."

"I was certain you had read it," Marcus said as he smoothed her hair back from her face and looked into her lifeless eyes.

"No, my talent may allow me to read everything, but it also lets me choose what I see. In most things I have respected your privacy. Even as you tried you to make it seem that you didn't care, you guarded her. She almost died the night you found her," Aro reminded him as he watched Marcus pay his respects to the human woman lying dead between them.

"Stefan beat her near to death in order to rid her of the life she carried inside her womb," Marcus said tightly. "Caius took his pleasures with her and she died as a result." He grimaced when her body was shifted slightly. "Is there even one bone he didn't break?"

"Perhaps only in her face," Aro said as he stood slowly and watched Marcus lift the lifeless body into his arms.

"She deserves better than to rot in a forgotten crypt," Marcus said as he carried her corpse to the blanket Aro had laid out.

"Perhaps so," Aro said as he watched Marcus cover her body and lift her once more into the cradle of his arms. "But we cannot take the risk." Frowning and looking down when his cell phone began to ring, Aro removed the device from his pocket and answered the call. "Hello?"

"What's wrong?" the soft scratchy voice came over the line and he breathed out a soft sigh of relief and recognition.

"Little one, it's barely one A.M. where you are," Aro greeted Angela, smiling at the warmth he felt at the sound of her voice. "How did you get this number?" he asked curiously, noticing the peace that seemed to infuse Marcus as well.

"You're not the only ones who can be sneaky," Angela said softly and he chuckled silently at the sound of Felix's voice in the background. "I could feel you…at least I think I did…I don't understand all of this yet."

"It's alright, little one," Aro soothed her. "Let me talk to Felix."

"Ok," she said softly and Aro heard the man's voice in the background as the phone switched hands.

"It's alright, go to sleep," Felix's voice came over the line and Aro heard the soft sound of Angela's sigh. "It's truly a strange thing," he told Aro, "she doesn't sleep unless she's held by one of us or curled up with that werewolf of hers. I didn't notice my phone was missing until I heard her voice."

"How is she doing?" Aro asked as Marcus tucked Gianna's shrouded body into the back of the car.

"Sleeping mostly," he said and looked up at the sound of the back door opening. "Rosalie and Emmett took her back to Forks after you and Marcus departed. She slept for the entire day and most of the night."

"I'll take her back inside," Rosalie said as she took Angela from Felix's arms.

"She still doesn't understand her talents, her ability to communicate and it's making it more difficult to help her control it. But if she could feel your upset," Felix said and stood as he walked through the grass.

"It may have been more of Marcus' upset she felt," Aro said as he pulled into the abandoned cemetery that hadn't been used in almost three centuries. "Gianna and Bianca have been killed."

"By who?" Felix asked as he looked back at Carlisle, able to feel the man's presence behind him.

"Caius," Aro said tightly. "Protect her, protect her family. Let nothing harm them."

"You have my word," Felix said and lowered his phone when the call disconnected. "Caius is returning to his old tricks," he told Carlisle. "Danger may be on the horizon."

**The next chapter will begin Eclipse. **

**Thank you to all of my fans. Your support and love for this story has made it what it is and I am grateful for each and every one of you. **

**Happy Holidays.**


	64. Chapter 62 (Eclipse)

AN: The events throughout this section as with the others, is a mix of the movie and book canon. There are minor tweaks here or there, but for the most part it follows the same lines.

Chapter 62

(Eclipse Begins)

_Seattle, one year ago_

He knew that he should have left the bookstore earlier, before it got dark, before the storm had a chance to drop rain by the bucketfuls, but he had agreed to take a double shift instead. Looking out of the clear glass door with trepidation at the water flooding the streets and pouring down from the night sky, he hoped to be able to run fast enough to reach his car without getting soaked along the way. Had he thought ahead he might have parked in the abandoned lot down the street or taken the city bus from the university that would drop him off in front of the bookstore, but instead he had parked his car nearly two blocks away in the lot that was tied to the college's main campus. So much for not wasting gas, he thought with a roll of his eyes.

"See ya tomorrow, Forks," the twenty-something college man behind the counter called to him as he opened the door and dashed out into the night.

His hometown of Forks spent enough of the year with rain and mist, but Seattle was worse. He couldn't help thinking that he should have listened to his mother and accepted the scholarship from the University of Santa Fe instead. At least he would have been able to live near his grandparents instead of having his family almost six hours away. He stopped short, his breath catching in his throat when a shadow crossed his path and he spun around quickly as he searched for whoever was following him. The rain soaked him, blinded him even as he continued to search before turning back and beginning to run for his car once more.

"Who's there?!" he called out when the shadow crossed in front of him again before circling behind him. "Who are –"

His voice was cut off, his bag pulling hard at his shoulder and neck as he found himself flying through the air. His body collided hard with an iron-gated door behind him, the sound of the glass behind it cracking only increasing the fear he already felt. He called out again as he struggled to his feet, saw the shadow ghost in front of him once more before his fear led him to run. The gathering rain splashed beneath his feet with each running step he took and he fell once more when the shadow slammed into his side and knocked him down an alleyway.

He grunted when he impacted with the brick building and scrambled to his feet, disregarding his lost school bag as he ran down the alley and out the other end. The docks were close, the ships tied to the wood and he wondered how he had gotten here so fast. He was certain that the bookstore was at least two miles from the docks, but he didn't know how long he'd been running. His heart was pounding, his balance precarious at best with the rain pouring down on him and he barely caught himself before he could fall into the churning waters below.

He spun around, crying out when the shadow passed in front of him once, twice and then a third time, but with the last passing of the darkness brought a searing pain unlike anything he'd ever felt before. He looked down at his hand, studied the place where the fire was originating from and stared in confusion at the human bite mark that was left in the bottom right side of his left hand. He screamed out, crying out sharply as the pain increased and he lost his balance as he fell to the ground below writhing in pain.

"You'll be perfect for what I need," he heard the shadow whisper to him.

"Who-what are you?" he cried out through the pain as he looked up through eyes blinded by the rain and night.

"I am the one who has given you purpose," she taunted and teased. "Tell me your name."

"Riley," he choked out. "Riley Biers."

**:::::**

_I haven't written in here in a long time, in fact my last entry was just after my birthday party. These past several weeks have been filled with every emotion imaginable, sometimes more than I could stand and there have been moments when I thought I wouldn't make it through. Edward's sitting at his piano playing my lullaby while I sit here in the chair by the window using the dying sunlight to write by. I don't know what I would do without him, how I could possibly survive if he were to go away and thankfully I don't think I'll ever have to find out. I still can't believe he asked me to marry him. I haven't given him an answer yet, I can't seem to fully wrap my brain around the question. _

_It's almost winter break, tomorrow is December seventeenth and I'm a complete emotional nutcase. I don't know what's wrong with me lately, but when I found out that Charlie was finally coming home, I started bouncing between being happy he would be home and almost devastated that I would be moving out of Edward's house. If I'm not careful, they're going to think I've gone completely insane and then I'll find myself with a nice new straight jacket to wear. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy Charlie's going to be home, I've missed him a lot while he's been gone filling in for the Kitsap county Sherriff, but at the same time I feel like I'm losing something in return. _

_Carlisle's friends, the two ruling ancients who have been nicknamed 'Angela's Volturi' by Emmett returned to Italy the weekend before last. I'm still not sure what to make of them; Aro seemed completely baffled and entirely fascinated by me. He can't read my thoughts anymore than Edward can and I'm beginning to wonder if there really is something wrong with me. Edward doesn't seem to think so, but he's also the same person who asked _me_ to marry him so I don't think he can truly be deemed sane or logical for that matter. _

_I think I'm going to miss Esme the most when I move back home to be with Charlie. It's not as though I'm leaving her completely, but having her around constantly, feeling her love and support – that's what I'm going to miss the most. I know it's unfair to Renee, but until Esme, I didn't really know what it was like to have a mom. Renee was always more of a best friend or a big sister. She and I talk and laugh and do things, but Esme… Esme sits with me, she talks with me about the things that scare me, the things I want, my hopes and even love. I think she knows that love – being in love – has the power to scare me witless. I'd do anything for Edward, but on some level, I'm still terrified that he'll leave or wake up and realize who it is he's foolishly given his heart to._

_The biggest thing…Esme understands that sometimes I just need her beside me. We don't have to talk or do anything, but having her close is sometimes all I need to comfort me. Renee never understood that. I was always the one offering her comfort, but Esme treats me like I'm her daughter. The nights that Edward, Jasper and Emmett went hunting together after the family was back, Esme would sit up with me at night when I couldn't sleep and talk with me about what scared me. She's even sung to me a few times. And Carlisle…I've never known the kind of comfort and safety before that I felt when he held both Angela and myself and read to us in order to get us to sleep. I know it sounds fairly silly, especially since I'm eighteen and she's seventeen, but those are the moments that I'll treasure. Renee stopped reading to me when I turned seven, by that time I could already read most of the books on my own and she was working more trying to give me everything I could want. But all I really wanted was a mom. _

_Angela…I haven't had a better friend then her – well, except maybe for Alice. Angela has never judged me, never made me feel awkward or out of place. She and I could easily be sisters if it weren't for that whole having been born to separate parents thing. She's growing weaker though, her migraines are growing stronger. Everyone keeps saying that it's because of her talents growing and while that may be true, I think the knowledge that she's also dying is making her pain worse. I never realized how emotions could enhance physical pain until James tried to kill me and then later the injury I got at my party. The more upset I was, whether I was afraid or just depressed, the stronger I felt the physical pain. I wish I could offer Angela some kind of comfort, take her fear away, but how can I, when I feel that same fear. _

_Jessica's been unusually self-centered lately at school. I'm not sure what's up with her, but she's been shutting both me and Angela out as though we've done something to slight her. In all honesty, I think she's jealous. Before Edward and I became a couple, she talked about him like he was made of chocolate or caramel. She has Mike Newton, but I don't think he'll ever be enough for her. It might be unfair to say, but I think what Jessica really wants is the spotlight. She seems to be the happiest when everyone else is focusing on her. _

Bella looked up from her journal when Edward's music stopped and frowned when she watched him rise from the piano bench. He walked toward her, his eyes cast to the window behind her and Bella looked to see that the sun had fallen below the horizon. He moved gracefully, his arm curving under the lamp shade and a moment later a soft golden glow covered the page she'd been writing on. He chuckled softly, offering her a devastating smile as he dipped his head down and captured her lips briefly. Nodding to her journal, he returned to the piano and resumed the music she loved so much.

_I want to tell him yes, but I'm afraid to. Marriage is…marriage is like jumping out of a plane and not knowing if the pack on your back contains a parachute or bunch of bricks. Renee used to tell me that she and Charlie were always happy together until they got married. She seems better with Phil, but…what if getting married only destroys what Edward and I have? Somehow marriage is more frightening than becoming a vampire. And there's also the fact that I'm eighteen – that we're both in our teens. Ok, technically he's one hundred and nine, and yes that's still funny to me don't ask me why. I'd talk to Esme about this, but I doubt Edward planned to mention anything to them until I gave him an answer. It didn't really seem as though he had planned to ask me, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything. Maybe I just need to get used to the idea. Mrs. Bella Cullen. Yeah, I'm not sure how that sounds yet. _

_I miss Jacob. He hasn't talked to me in weeks and doesn't seem comfortable around me anymore. I mean, I get it – the whole vampire/werewolf natural enemy's thing, but I tried going to see him alone on the reservation and he wouldn't even look at me. The last thing he said to me was that I was making a mistake, one he knew I would regret later on. It was weird, too, I swear…I think he was going to kiss me, but I turned away before he could. I don't understand what I did to make him hate me so much, but I just wish I could make sense of everything. I don't want to lose him as a friend, but I'm afraid I already have._

Bella removed Jacob's note from her pocket, unfolding the worn paper and rereading the scratched out lines before looking at the words left unmarked at the bottom. The words hurt; the knowledge that he wouldn't come near her only adding to the confusion that made her heart ache and she folded the paper back into the small square before tucking it in between the pages of her journal. Slipping her pen into the spine of the journal, Bella stood from her seat in the chair and tried not to grimace when she noticed how stiff her muscles were.

"You've been sitting there for pretty close to three hours," Edward told her with a touch of amusement.

"Really?" Bella asked and looked at the nearly pitch black night outside the window. "It didn't feel like that long."

"It never does," he said with a crooked grin and stepped toward her. "Esme's almost got dinner ready, I don't know who's more upset that tonight's your last night over here, her or myself."

"It's not like I won't be coming over again," she reminded him and took comfort in the sound of his chuckle.

"True, but she's gotten used to having you here. I don't think she's ready to let you go yet." Edward draped his arm over her shoulders and walked beside Bella as she crossed through the house. "You know, you didn't have to pack everything quite yet," he told her when they stepped into his bedroom.

"If I didn't pack when I did, I wasn't sure I would be able to," Bella confessed and tucked her journal inside the duffle bag filled with her clothes. "I don't want to go either, but I miss Charlie and I know he misses me."

"You know you still haven't given me an answer yet," Edward reminded her as he stepped toward her, lips twitching with amusement when she backed away from him until her knees hit the bed.

"Answer?" she asked nervously when she fell to sit on the bed only to lie back on the bed when Edward leaned over her.

"Mmhmm," he said as he nuzzled her neck. "Yes, I asked you a certain question at a certain restaurant that you have yet to answer," he reminded her before capturing her lips with his.

Bella gasped against his lips, her hands fisting immediately in his hair as she pulled him closer. She whimpered when his arm curled beneath her back and lifted her to draw her further on the bed. Her legs lifted off the ground, her feet coming to rest on the blankets when he pulled her to the middle of the bed and she uttered a soft mewling sound when he settled between her spread legs. She pulled him closer; desiring the feeling of his touch, the cool hardness of his body pressed against hers and trembled at the touch of his hand upon her hip.

She didn't remember moving, but found her legs to be wrapped around his waist as she tried to press him closer. He chuckled against her lips, the vibrations sending delicious shivers rioting throughout her body and she cursed him for the instantaneous and almost uncontrollable effect he hand on her. He pulled back, rubbing his hand along her right leg until she released the hold she had on him and rolled to the side, pulling her to lie against his chest. Her arm draped over his stomach, her eyes falling closed as she memorized the feeling of the moment and the comfort of his embrace.

"You'll still come over at night?" she asked and Edward chuckled as he rubbed her back.

"Of course," he promised her. "So long as you keep your window open," he teased and laughed when she slapped his chest. "Are you falling asleep on me?" he asked her with amusement.

"No," she said, though her eyes were closed.

"Yes," he rebutted with a chuckle and sat up. "Come on, Esme won't be happy if I let you miss dinner."

"Sure, just as I was getting comfortable," she grumbled and grinned when he laughed.

Edward looked back at Bella, his eyes trailing over her face with love as he memorized each curve and hollow. How many times had he looked at her? How many times had he seen that slightly nervous smile she offered him, the way the edge of her lip would be caught between her teeth? His hand slipped back up to her face, cupped her cheek in his palm and closed the distance between them. No matter how many time he kissed her it would never be enough. He felt her hands twist in his hair, the gentle tugs, the soft whimpers and breathless sighs she made as he kissed her. Each sound she made drove him further; each tug of her hands in his hair made him want her more and gathered her close as he kissed her.

"Do you know how much I love you?" he whispered against her lips and kissed her again. "Bella," he pulled back to look in her eyes. "There will never be anyone or anything more important to me than you."

"It still doesn't make sense to me," she told him in a whispered voice as she looked up into his eyes. "But sometimes the best things don't."

Edward grinned, his lips pulling up to the side in the devastating smile that always made her melt on the inside. He studied her eyes, honey gold meeting earth brown and he found his answer held within her gaze. He nodded slowly, his brow furrowed as he searched for confirmation of what he'd found. She bit her lip, a smile pulling her lips up at the corners and she nodded. His lips met hers again, fierce and passionate and she couldn't help the laughter that bubbled forth.

"So then you'll marry me?" he asked her again, releasing her from his hold and watching as she rose from his bed.

"No," she teased with a shake of her head and a brilliant smile.

"What?" Edward sat on his bed in stunned silence as she walked out of his room, her soft laughter only confusing him further. "Bella," he rose to follow her only to find his path blocked by Rain, the kitten twining around his ankles.

"Damn, Edward," Emmett teased as he moved down the hall. "Foiled by a cat and here I thought you could read minds."

"Shut up," he laughed and sighed as he lifted the kitten into his hand. "You know, we're the vampires, you're supposed to be afraid of us."

"The women folk will be upset if you eat that kitten," Emmett told him and Edward fairly barked with laughter.

"'Women folk'? How old are you?" Edward laughed and rolled his eyes at his brother's thoughts. "Women folk."

**:::::**

Charlie looked up at the sectioned ceiling above his head and tossed the wooden pencil in his hand up above his head watching as it got stuck in the cardboard-composite tile. He sighed as he studied the other five pencils that were similarly stuck in the tile above his head. He was supposed to have been able to leave this place last week, but the department doctor hadn't cleared Malcolm Jefferies for duty yet, stating that the hospitals doctors weren't looking for the same things that he was. Rolling his dark eyes as he considered standing to take the pencils out of the ceiling tile, he wondered if he could just call Carlisle and ask him to come assess the man's condition.

His attention was pulled away from the ceiling when his cell phone began to ring and he gave a heavy sigh as he moved from the chair and stepped toward where his jacket hung. Removing the device from the inside coat pocket he arched a curious brow at the name that showed up on the LCD screen. Rolling his eyes in amusement as he drew in a deep breath, he answered the call and brought the phone to his ear.

"Now Bella I would've expected, but you, Alice," Charlie greeted her and grinned when she giggled.

"Charlie," she spoke his name with a smile in her voice. "I thought you would like to know that Bella's put on almost fifteen pounds since you've been gone. Her clothes are finally fitting right again and she's sleeping peacefully once more."

"Thank you, Alice," Charlie said after a long moment of silence, his voice choked with the relief he felt. "How're they doing, Alice?"

"Bella's doing a lot better. I got her to talk a bit, so has Esme. She's alright, Charlie," Alice assured him gently. "She'll be glad to have you home tonight."

"Tonight?" he questioned her. "I wish I was coming home tonight. Stupid doctors can't seem to agree on anything," he grumbled and Alice laughed.

"You'll be home tonight," she told him with a smile. "Call it women's intuition."

Charlie chuckled and shook his head. "Alright, Sunshine," he spoke the nickname he'd given her with amusement. "If you're that certain, then I'll see you girls tonight."

"She really is ok, Charlie," she told him sincerely before disconnecting the call and he closed his phone before tucking it in his pants pocket.

"Hell, I thought I was the only one who did that."

Charlie spun around at the sound of the man's voice behind him and he greeted his friend with wide eyes. Women's intuition indeed, he thought and rolled his eyes at the man who was proud to be sporting the jagged scar across his left arm. He watched Malcolm step around the metal and wood desk, lifting his hand to remove the pencils stuck in the ceiling before flopping down to sit in the chair behind it. He looked at Charlie, studied the man he called friend and shook his head before laughing.

"Get the hell out of here and go see your kid," he said with a nod and laughed at the quiet nod he received.

Charlie gathered his coat and gun holster before leaving the office and stepping outside the building. The sun was a touch brighter here, the cloud cover not as complete as it was in Forks and he couldn't help but feel relieved that he was finally going home. She had been living with him for almost a year now and in that time he had grown used to hearing his daughter's voice when he got home, seeing her sitting in the kitchen or the living room. Hell, he even found that he missed listening to her talk with Edward.

He needed to call Renee; he thought as he closed himself inside the police cruiser and turned the key in the ignition. He knew there were still things that he didn't know. Esme and Carlisle seemed to have gotten the full story of what Bella had experienced over the years, but not him. His phone calls had been kept too short, the times he had been able to call limited in the beginning only to fall away later on as he found himself set into a routine of near complacency. But he wanted to know, he _needed_ to know. Bella had always insisted that she was happy, but it was that touch of caution he could see in her eyes, the way she seemed reluctant of relationships that now made him worry. Before her downfall, he had thought that her quietness, her caution was because she was more like him than she was Renee. To know that his daughter had been hurt over the years, emotionally wounded by her mother's failed relationships only made him feel angry and sad that he hadn't been there for her when she needed him.

"I'm coming home, Bells," he said as he directed his car toward the highway. "I'm coming home."

**:::::**

Carlisle released a soft sigh as he looked up at the television and watched the news broadcast with growing concern. The situation had been growing steadily worse for the past year, but now it seemed that the killings and disappearances were escalating more than before. In the past week, four more people had gone missing from high schools and college campuses in Seattle. He looked down at Angela when she stirred against him and turned off the television when his cell phone began to ring. Sitting back against the couch and drawing his sleeping daughter against his chest, he grinned at the name on his caller ID before connecting the call.

"Eleazar," Carlisle greeted softly. "How is everything in Alaska, my friend?"

"It's going much better than Seattle," the man said with a touch of a chuckle even as his tone remained serious. "I actually called to see how Angela was doing," he admitted and Carlisle chuckled softly.

"She's doing as well as can be expected," he said with a heavy sigh. "Her migraines are growing steadily worse and she is exhausting for more quickly than before. She insists on going to school even though she's been offered to work with a teacher and finish her classes at home. She doesn't seem to want anyone to know that she's suffering, even though the evidence of her pain is in her eyes."

"I was afraid of that," Eleazar said softly and Carlisle could hear the concern in his voice. "I've spoken to her a few times in the past week, but she just tells me she's fine. Carlisle," his voice grew serious, his tone darkened with concern and warning. "The situation in Seattle, I heard about it a few weeks ago. The news reported it's been going on for the past year."

"Yes," Carlisle said and hushed Angela gently when she whimpered in her sleep. "We've been monitoring the situation. If it grows any worse we will have to intervene before it draws the attention of the Volturi. I can't risk the guard coming here, not while the girls are still human."

"Aro and Marcus have left, I take it?" he asked.

"Roughly two weeks ago and as far as I know they have not contacted Felix or Suplicia in that time. Except for once," Carlisle said and looked up when Esme came to sit by Angela's side the expression on her face speaking of her thoughts. "I have a request to make of you, my friend," he said to Eleazar and with reluctance, let Esme take Angela from his side.

"You know that I would stand with you, fight by your side, but in this I cannot," Eleazar said with regret. "The wolves killed Laurent and Irina's upset has influenced her sisters as well. It would be seen as betrayal to the family if I were to stand with you in this fight."

"I understand that, but that is not the request I would wish to make. If things get worse here and we are forced to deal with the situation, I would ask that you guard Angela. I cannot in good conscience leave her unprotected," Carlisle said heavily as he stood from his seat on the couch. "Even leaving her alone in the house or with Bella's father does not feel like a good option to me."

"You would ask us to come there?" Eleazar asked, Carlisle's silence answering his question. "You would send her here," he said and Carlisle confirmed his suspicion. "She would be welcome here, Carlisle. We would protect her."

"If it comes to that," Carlisle nodded and looked back at the couch where Esme was still sitting with Angela wrapped in her arms. "Perhaps you would also be able to help her understand her talents. It is her inability to understand how she is using them that is making it increasingly difficult for her to control them."

"I haven't seen many with her talents before, but I will do my best to help her in whatever way I can. I believe that Michael has decided to take up meditation or at least it seems that way," Eleazar said with a touch of amusement. "I have found him sitting in silence with his eyes closed several times over the past two weeks."

"He's not meditating," Carlisle said as he stepped back to the couch and touched Angela's sleeping face. "She's been communicating with him. Dream-talking as she's come to call it. She's even communicated with me in that manner once, but still doesn't understand enough of how it works to be able to control it. The easier it becomes for her to speak with someone in that manner, using her talent, the stronger and more frequent her migraines are. "

"You told me once that her medicine was able to block her talent," Eleazar said with confusion.

"It did," Carlisle pursed his lips as he watched Angela sleep. "But her talent has grown stronger than the medicine. I have been able to come up with a temporary solution it seems, the new medicine I've been giving her tempers her talent but does not block it completely. It seems to allow her only a singular focus."

"Michael," Eleazar correctly deduced.

"Yes."

"Carlisle," Esme called his attention to her. "Maybe…Maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea to send her to them directly after graduation. If she's focusing her talent on Michael, speaking with him so frequently through her talent, then maybe sending her to him will stop her from talking with him that way."

"She would be welcome," Eleazar answered Esme's suggestion. "Whether there was danger to her or not, she would be welcome here."

Carlisle released a deep breath slowly. "I don't want her to feel as though we are asking her to leave," he spoke of his concern softly.

"Then let me present the idea to her," Eleazar offered, taking Carlisle's silence as approval of the idea. "I'll call her soon then," he said and chuckled softly at his thought. "She would just be visiting, Carlisle. It's not as though I'm trying to steal your little girl away," he said before disconnecting the call.

"He knows you too well," Esme chuckle softly and watched him lower the cell phone.

Carlisle stood slowly from his seat on the low coffee table and tucked his silent phone back into his pocket. Turning his attention toward the wall of clear glass surrounding his home, he took in the sight of the world outside. They didn't have much longer, only a few months and both Angela and Bella would graduate high school, but no matter how quickly he knew the time would pass it felt to him to be too long. He couldn't hide his concern, couldn't suppress his desire to have her stay home and take the remainder of her classes online, but Angela was absolutely adamant about finishing the year in school.

"She's strong, Carlisle," Esme said softly and he turned around to meet her gaze. "She's strong and she's tough. She'll make it through this, she just needs our support."

"She hasn't been home from school for two hours yet and she's already beyond the point of exhaustion," he denied her assessment as he returned to the couch and sat on Angela's side opposite his wife. "The circles under her eyes, the redness in them, the growing muscle weakness caused by her migraines…Esme she was barely able to hold her glass earlier."

"I know," she told him and looked down on the girl sitting sleeping between them. "I have seen those things, too, but we can't order her to stay home. We have to let her decide this, Carlisle. She needs to feel that we are supporting her, not trying to control her."

He nodded silently, knowing that she was right and agreeing with her even as the worry he felt twisted his heart. Lifting his hand to her face and brushing the backs of his bent fingers over his daughter's cheek, Carlisle felt the warmth of her skin and knew that it was a mix of her migraines and the medication that gave her the slight fever. His expression softened, a gentle smile tugging at his lips as he watched her eyes flutter open slowly. She blinked tiredly up at him, rubbing her fingertips over her forehead between her eyes before dropping her hand back down to rest in her lap.

"Hello, little one," he greeted her gently and brushed his bent fingers across her cheek. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm alright," Angela said softly, leaning heavily against Esme side as she lifted a hand to her face. "I'm mostly tired really. I just can't seem to wake up today."

"How is your migraine?" he asked and saw her frown softly in confusion. "Angela?"

"I don't…I don't really know," she said slowly. "I know that sounds weird, but most of the day I've just been thinking about pushing it away, separating myself from the pain and I think it's worked, but I'm not sure."

"Explain that to me," he requested and watched as she narrowed her eyes in a mix of confusion and concentration.

"I don't know that I can," she said after a long moment. "I just know that I was tired of feeling the pain and when I thought of trying to move it away I felt…I don't know…disconnected?" she looked up at him and shook her head when she realized that she didn't have any better way of explaining it.

"Carlisle," Alice's voice drew his attention away and he looked at his visionary daughter in question. "I think I can explain it," she said and he frowned when she kept her voice below a level that Angela could hear. "I haven't said anything to her yet because I didn't want to frighten her, but there were times today, moments when I would look at her and see two."

"Two?" he questioned and glanced back at Angela to find her eyes were once again closed.

"Yes, two," Alice affirmed as she stepped closer and looked down at her human sister. "It was as though her body and mind were splitting apart."

"Considering her ability to communicate by reaching out to others' minds," Esme spoke her thoughts aloud and looked down at Angela, "is it such a surprise to learn that she would be able to move her mind itself?" She turned her eyes on Alice. "That night in Seattle at the dress store with Bella, you and I both saw Angela there even as her presence appeared to be little more than a ghost. Perhaps this is just part of it."

"But what does it mean?" Alice asked and reached out to touch Angela's hair. "She doesn't understand what she's doing or how it's affecting her migraines. How do we help her without confusing her more or scaring her? I don't want to scare her."

"Scare me?" Angela's voice was soft, her eyes remaining closed as she spoke aloud. "Why would you scare me?"

"I thought you were sleeping," Alice said and sighed softly when Angela opened her eyes and looked at her.

"Don't try and distract me like you did earlier today," she told Alice and saw the expression on her sister's face. "Yes, I know you were upset by something in our classes today, but you kept distracting me each time I asked."

"And you say we're perceptive," Alice told her and pressed her lips together. "I didn't want to worry you."

"Tell me," Angela asked and looked up when Alice held out her hand.

"Come with me," she said and smiled when Angela placed her hand in hers. "We'll talk while I help you study for the history test, ok?"

"Ok," Angela said and smiled when Esme rubbed her back as she stood slowly.

"Encourage her to rest when she gets tired," Esme said quietly to Alice. "Don't let her wear herself out."

"I'll take care of her, don't worry," Alice told her sincerely. "Come on," she chirped happily to her sister. "We've got the American Revolution to study."

"Too bad Jasper wasn't there for that one," Angela said as they moved toward the stairs. "I love his stories."

"Perhaps one day you'll meet someone who was. Carlisle's met quite a few people over the years."

"Carlisle," Esme placed her hand over his as the girls disappeared up the stairs. "You can't worry so much. You have to trust that everything's going to be ok."

"Trust only goes so far," he said with a trembling sigh. "From a medical standpoint, Esme, she could die any day."

"Alice would know," Esme told him, placing her hands against his chest and pushing him back against the couch as she straddled his lap to keep him in place. "She would know the second things changed and her vision hasn't," she reminded him, cupping his face in her hands as she stared into his eyes. "Angela will be one of us. She will survive, the change will happen and she will be reborn not just as our adopted daughter, but as our true daughter. It will be our love, our venom that brings her into this life. She will be strong and happy and she will never have to know this pain again. We will not lose her."

"Not once," he said in a shaking whisper, his hands on her waist, "have I ever been so deeply attached to one of our children before they were changed."

"Carlisle," Esme smiled and kissed him sweetly. "Not once, have any of our children _been_ our children before they were changed. Angela is our human daughter and she will be our immortal one as well. Do you think that rest of our family doesn't feel that same connection, that same deep draw to her? She is so deeply in every one of our hearts that we would do anything for her, anything to ensure her survival until the very second that she can be changed. Our daughter, our precious human daughter was reborn once when she came to be with us – to be with our family. And she will be reborn again to us," she promised and kissed him slowly, sweetly. "She will be stronger," she kissed him again. "Beautiful," she kissed him again.

His hands slipped up from her waist, his fingers combing deep into her caramel colored locks as he cupped her face in his hands and met her lips again. Her hands slipped around to play with the hair at the nape of his neck, tugging at the soft locks gently as she parted her lips and allowed his questing tongue entrance to her mouth. She groaned into his kiss, whimpering when his hands moved down to cup her bottom, his nails dragging across her sensitive flesh through layers of clothing and she trembled in his arms.

"Don't start," she panted and pulled back from him with difficulty.

"Why not?" he asked as he reached for her, pulling her back into his arms as his mouth closed in on her neck, his tongue dragging across her skin.

"Because," she whimpered as her muscles trembled and tightened with the arousal coursing through her body. "We're not alone and we don't have the time right now to go away to be alone."

"Human parents do it," he reminded her as he moved them, rolling her beneath him on the couch as he laid on top of her.

"We're not human," she reminded him as she fought against her growing desire, fought for some kind of calm before her passion could rule her sensibilities. "We don't stop after only one time," she reminded him, offering a whimpering moan when he rocked his hips against hers and closed her eyes. "Alright," she said and he smiled believing he had won the argument. "I'm going to have to be the stronger one here."

Carlisle couldn't help but laugh when his wife tossed him off of her and stood from the couch, adjusting her clothing before looking at him. He stood swiftly, staring upon her with adoration and love as he smiled and stepped toward her. Cupping her face in one hand, he tipped his head down and captured her lips chastely before stepping back.

"I love you," he told her with a brilliant smile.

"And I love you," she returned before rolling her eyes and laughing at the soft voice behind them. "Welcome home you two, how was the hunt?"

"Interesting," Suplicia said and laughed at the look Esme gave her. "What? I can't help it. You two really are adorable together!"

Rolling her eyes and laughing softly, Esme kissed Carlisle's cheek before stepping away from him. Reminding her husband that he needed to discuss the growing situation with their ancient friends, she moved toward the stairs. Their voices followed her up stairs, the sound of their conversation offering her a soothing chorus as she moved toward Angela's door and looked in on her daughters. Angela was still awake, her human daughter's attention riveted on the history book spread open on the bed while she listened to Alice voice questions pertaining to dates and locations and offered her responses. Rosalie was seated with them as well, her blonde daughter sitting behind Angela and brushing out the girl's hair, an action Esme knew never ceased to bring Angela comfort.

She felt her heart warmed again, her heart filling to overflowing when Angela spotted her standing in the open doorway and called to her. She wondered then, as she had several times in the past two weeks, whether Angela was aware that she was calling her 'mom' and not her name. Aware of it or not, Esme felt the warmth course through her, the elation and love burning bright as fire every time Angela called her by the moniker. Stepping inside the room and moving toward the bed, she sat down and smiled at her daughters in turn before asking Angela what she desired for dinner.

"I don't know," Angela said softly, smiling peacefully as Rosalie pulled the brush through her hair slowly. "Something light, I don't know that I could eat too much."

"I think we can handle that," Esme said. "How about some salmon and seasoned wild rice?" she offered her daughter and smiled at Angela's nod. "Ok, I'll get dinner started in a little bit here then. Would like some tea?" she asked as she noticed the distinct lack of a drink in her daughter's room.

"Do we still have any of the white jasmine tea?" Angela asked and Esme smiled. "I can make it," she offered and Esme chuckled.

"I enjoy mothering you," Esme told her and kissed her forehead before slipping off the bed. "I'll be back with your tea soon," she said and handed Angela the cell phone from her desk. "Someone called while you were resting earlier."

"Who?" Angela asked and looked down at her cell phone, smiling when she saw the missed international call. "Marcus."

Esme stepped to the doorway and watched her daughters for a moment longer before disappearing into the hall. Her family was precious to her, it always had been, but now more than ever before it felt complete. She would do anything, give anything to protect those she loved and Esme smiled as she felt the warmth and peacefulness of Angela's spirit infuse her being. How much stronger would this feeling be once her daughter was an immortal, she wondered. How much more powerful would her power of love and happiness be? She felt more impatient than ever before to greet a new member into their family and this time…this time she would be giving birth to her child's immortality as well.

**:::::**

He stood leaning against the frame of the open doorway watching her with his arms crossed over his chest and a lopsided smile twisting his lips. He had known that she was excited for her father's return all day, seeing the light in her eyes when Alice had informed her that Charlie would be arriving home in time for dinner. She had already cleaned the house once, removing any traces of dust from the surfaces and even polishing the windows. He had offered to help her, even going so far as to tell her that he could have the task done within a few short moments, but she had refused him.

Reaching out and wrapping his arm around her waist when she moved to walk past him, he pulled her close and dropped his mouth to hers, claiming her lips in a passionate kiss. She fell against him, her warm hands pressing against his chest and he delighted in the trembling sigh that sounded from her. Wrapping his other arm around her as his fingers disappeared into her hair; he pulled her closer and changed the angle of his kiss, deepening their embrace as she kissed him back with passionate abandon. Her hands slid up his chest and over his shoulders, the feel of her fingers twisting in the hair at the nape of his neck drawing a groan from him.

It never failed, every time that he kissed her and her hands began that soft tugging of his hair, he felt himself driven to the edges of his control. He wasn't used to feeling so enticed, so energized, but each time he kissed her delicious shivers and spirals of energy would cascade through his body. He growled into their kiss, pulling her closer as his hands moved down to cup her bottom and lift her up to press her body closer to his. He needed her, wanted her and knew that she wouldn't object one bit if he took things further. He had to stop, had to keep himself in check as he had made her a promise that he would honor her and wait until they were married to make love to her. He didn't care that she had been sleeping when he had made her the promise, it was one he intended to keep, one tradition he wouldn't break.

"Are you sure you don't want my help?" he asked her as he broke away from her mouth only to place nibbling kisses along the smooth line of her neck.

"Help?" she asked breathlessly with confusion, her eyes closed as she tipped her head and offered him better access to her throat.

"With dinner," he said to her and groaned as he pulled in a deep breath, the spiced honey scent of her arousal filling his senses.

"Dinner?" Bella asked, her mind unable to process any coherent thought under the onslaught of his kisses.

"Mmhmm," he hummed his reply, his voice made rough by the undercurrent of growling caused by his desire. "Dinner for Charlie," he reminded her.

"Charlie?" Bella couldn't think of anything other than the delicious sensations he was causing within her, her hands in his hair pressing his face closer to her neck.

Edward laughed at her incoherence as he reluctantly pulled away from her neck and had to bite down on the inside of his cheek to keep from kissing her further. He knew that he was playing with fire, each time he kissed her taking their intimate play further and teasing them closer to the very edges of their control. He studied her pale face, smiling at the sight of her cheeks flushed with passion and watched as her eyes fluttered open slowly. He smiled at the look in her eyes, the passion darkening her brown depths until they were nearly black and brushed his bent fingers over her cheek as he smiled at her.

"Dinner for Charlie," he reminded her slowly and watched her blink slowly before nodding as her blush darkened. "You are so beautiful," he said as he stared at her, his lips twitching with amusement before he voiced a question he had yet to get a positive response to. "Marry me."

"No," she said, smiling as she bit her lip and pulled away.

"Marry me," he tried again as he followed her into the kitchen and chuckled at her stubbornness.

"I can't," she said and glanced at the digital display on the microwave. "Charlie will be home soon."

"You are so stubborn," he told her as he watched her pull items from the fridge.

"Marriage is just a piece of paper," she told him as she reached into a low cupboard and withdrew a large skillet and a sauce pan.

"Where I come from," he told her as he stepped up behind her and brushed her hair back to kiss her neck. "Marriage is how one says 'I love you'."

"Where I come from, at my age," Bella said as she turned around and pushed him back away from her. "Marriage is how one says 'I just got knocked up'."

"So you're worried about what people will think?" he asked as he handed her the butcher paper wrapped meat she reached for.

"No," she denied and thought once more about giving in and telling him yes.

"Then marry me," he said and found himself amused at their bantering, the questioning that had somehow turned into a type of game between them.

"Change me," she demanded instead and he breathed in as he looked at her.

"I will if you marry me," he said after a long moment. "It's called a compromise."

"It's called coercion," she said as she placed her hands in the middle of his chest and pushed him back against the counter.

"Is that a yes?" he asked her when he watched her smile.

"It's a maybe," she said and laughed at the amused frustration on his face.

"Bella," he tried to pull her closer when she moved to step back from him.

"The steak will burn," she said as she pushed away from him and moved back to the stove.

"Bells?" Charlie's voice called out as the front door opened.

"In the kitchen, Dad," she called back and looked at Edward.

Edward listened to Charlie's thoughts as the man removed his coat and gun holster before stepping through the house. Her father was happy to be home, his affection for his daughter clear in his thoughts even though he rarely spoke of it out loud. Nodding to the human police chief in greeting, Edward watched as the man stepped toward the stove to look at what Bella was cooking. He commented on the steak in the skillet, telling her the cooking meat smelled good, but was surprised to see her making it as she rarely ate beef at all.

"It's for you, Dad," Bella chuckled. "Those are mine," she said and laughed when he wrinkled his nose at the vegetables steaming on the other burner.

"How did you know that I was going to be home?" he asked her and saw the exaggerated innocence on her face.

"Women's intuition."


	65. Chapter 63

Chapter 63

What had started in her head only hours ago had magnified and spread. Now it wasn't simply her brain that was in pain from her migraine, the shooting spears of fire had lanced down her spine, spreading throughout her nerve endings until it felt that her very veins had been filled with some kind of acid. She opened her eyes but was blinded by light so bright it hurt and too far reaching to escape from. The darkness of the usual blindness her migraine caused her had always been frightening, but now she sought the comfort of its escape. There was too much light and no matter where she looked she couldn't escape from it.

Sounds filled her ears, the rush of wind and flapping of heavy cloth grating on her already frayed nerves. Seconds later the light was shut away and she was left in blessed darkness, her rapid breathing beginning to calm as the mattress dipped beside her. Cool fingers brushed against her cheek and hairline, strong arms folding around her and tucking her close to a statuesque body that was soothing in its marble like hardness. A hand smoothed down over her hair, a gentle tenor lifting to her ears as soft words were sung slowly in an almost swaying cadence.

"Christopher Robin and I walked along under branches lit up by the moon…"

His voice continued on, the song fading into the distance as sleep rose from the depths of her pain to reclaim her. Her eyes closed slowly, her tired mind and aching body welcoming the coming darkness as she settled against his chest and sighed softly. One more deep breath and then another, her lungs filling deeply as her breaths became slow and even, her heartbeat losing its maddening rhythm. She breathed in deeply of his scent, her brain finally welcoming the tugging sleep that came to draw her into the world of dreams and just before she fell asleep, her lips turned up in a small smile at the last words she heard him speak.

"Papa's here, baby girl. Papa's here."

"She's out," Edward spoke from the doorway, his brows furrowed in worry.

"How's Jasper?" Carlisle asked quietly, his blond son having been driven to the ground by the force of the migraine.

"Not well," Edward said as he stepped inside the room and came to the side of the bed. "Emmett and Felix had to take him outside. He and Alice just barely returned from hunting and as soon as he opened his talent…She can't go into school like this. We can't let her."

"I know," Carlisle sighed through his nose and pursed his lips. "She's been reluctant to accept the school's offer, but this week she'll be taking her classes from home. After the migraine she had Friday and now the one today, I'm not willing to risk her stepping into such a crowded and loud place on Monday."

"Do you think she'll even be awake to notice that it's not the weekend anymore?" Rosalie asked as she stepped into the room and looked down on her human sister. "What the hell happened to make it worse?"

"It's a full moon tonight," Carlisle said softly as he looked down on his sleeping daughter. "The clouds shifted and the moonlight filled her room."

"Moonlight?" Rosalie shook her head. "But that's barely anything."

"To anyone else, the light would be negligible, but for Angela and the migraine she was already suffering it became torture," Carlisle said and rubbed the back of Angela's neck. "Rosalie, could you gather the…thank you, Alice," he said and accepted the small microwaveable heating pad from his daughter.

"Here," Alice offered and lifted Angela's hair so that he could place the warmed pouch against her neck. "I wonder if she knows the days have passed," she wondered as she looked at her human sister. "It was just after she ate dinner on Friday that she tried to sleep off her migraine. It's Sunday night now."

"I know you're worried, Alice," Carlisle said and held his hand out to her, not surprised in the least when she curled against Angela's back to cuddle her sleeping sister between them. "We all are, but as you have told us…"

"My vision hasn't changed," she nodded at her own words and sighed. "I just wish she didn't have to be in pain like this."

"Her talents have been constantly growing stronger and we all know that what she can do now will be absolutely nothing in comparison to what she will be able to do when she's one of us," Carlisle said wisely. "Her human body simply is not strong enough to contain her power. Her migraines, in a sense," he said slowly, "are akin to the Hoover dam having a very small leak. The power of the water surging behind it will press against the concrete harder and harder as it seeks to find a way to freedom. The stronger the pressure from the water, the larger the fissure grows until finally…"

"The damn bursts," Alice said sadly. "The power of her talents is like the water. The only thing holding it back right now is her humanity."

"Carlisle," Esme stepped into the bedroom with her cell phone held between her hands. "It's Nurse Marks, she couldn't reach you on your phone," she told him and watched as Rosalie took his place when he rose from the bed. "She sounds…off," she said and looked at Angela with a worried frown.

"She'll be alright," he told his wife, kissing her as he accepted the phone from her hand.

"I'd feel a lot a better if you actually believed that," she told him with a pointed look.

"Stop reading my mind," he teased softly as he stepped into the hall. "Camille?" Carlisle frowned at the sound of her stilted breaths. "Camille, what's wrong?"

"I, uh…" she breathed in and out a few times, her voice sounding at once both confused and terribly upset.

"Camille, where are you?" Carlisle asked, upset at the sound her voice, it was rare that anything could rattle her. "Camille, talk to me. What's happening?"

"They brought him in…I don't…I don't know what happened."

"Camille, where are you?" Carlisle asked with a slightly sharper tone, hoping to shock her into answering as he gathered his coat and keys. "Camille?"

"Carlisle, is that you?"

He froze in the open doorway, surprise registering on his face as he held the phone to his ear and looked with confusion into the night.

"Chief Swan?" Carlisle spoke the man's name asking for confirmation as he stepped toward his Mercedes. "What's happened?"

"Nurse Marks' little boy was brought into the ER," Charlie said with a heavy breath. "He found his babysitter's bottle of nail polish remover and drank half of it before she could stop him. He wasn't breathing when they brought him in."

"I'm on my way now, Charlie," Carlisle said as he switched his phone to the car's built-in Bluetooth. "How is Billy?"

"I don't know for sure," he said slowly. "I know they've got him on a respirator and he hasn't woken up since he was brought in. His mom's barely functional, it's like her mind's shutting down. With each minute that passes she gets less and less responsive."

"Has anyone tried contacting her husband yet?" Carlisle asked as he drove into the city.

"No, not that I know of. I tried asking her about him, all she could say was that he was away," Charlie said with confusion.

"He's in Afghanistan," Carlisle supplied. "He's an Army Ranger; certainly there must be some way of reaching him."

"I know a guy down at Fairchild," Charlie said and Carlisle was certain the man nodded from the tone of his voice. "He may be Air Force, but he should know who I would need to contact."

"I'm almost there, Charlie," Carlisle said as he drove toward the entrance of the hospital's parking lot. "Don't be too hard on the girl;" he said in reference to the babysitter, "I'm certain she's upset enough as it is."

"Yeah, I already sent her home with her parents. She couldn't stop crying and that only made Nurse Marks more upset," Charlie told him as Carlisle turned off the engine and stepped out of his car, jogging for the front doors. "You got here fast," he greeted Carlisle as he disconnected the call.

"Camille?" Carlisle asked as he tucked his phone into his pocket.

"PICU with Billy," Charlie nodded to him. "Room four-oh-eight."

"Thank you, Charlie," Carlisle said and moved toward the elevators.

The short twenty second ride in the elevator nearly had him pacing with impatience and Carlisle had to hold himself back from forcing the doors open when they dinged. When he had moved back to Forks with his family Billy had barely been six months old and Camille had been the first of the nurses to welcome him into the staff. She had never looked at him with adoring hungry eyes as some of the younger and even much older female nurses and doctors did. She had always been supportive of him, even when there were times that he was certain the hospital administrator had thought of throwing him out. Humans didn't like it when their status quo was upstaged and several people trusted him far more than the Chief of Staff or the hospital administrator. It had taken him a few months to win over the others, but Camille had always been a steadfast supporter and for that she had come to hold a special place in his heart.

"Camille," he stepped into her son's room and looked at the tiny child who seemed to have tubes coming out of every place imaginable.

"Carlisle?" she spoke his name upon a shuddering breath and fell into his open arms sobbing brokenly. "I can't," she sobbed as he held her and rubbed her back. "I can't go through this again. I almost lost him twice when I was pregnant with him and then his birth…" her voice trailed off.

"Shh," he rubbed her back gently. "You must have faith," he told her softly and closed his eyes against the feeling of her trembling.

"It's hard to," she whimpered. "It's like God's always been trying to take him back. He was stillborn; did I ever tell you that?"

"No," he said with a frown as she pulled back and he smoothed the tears from her cheeks.

"He was," she said as she sniffled and sat down once more in the chair by her son's bed. "He was so blue, but they got him breathing and I swear I was never so happy to hear a baby cry. Then when he was two months old he swallowed a marble. I don't even know where he found it; I've never had marbles in the house. I hate them actually." She picked up her son's hand, careful of the IV, and held it in hers. "Just before he turned one, I found him in his bed. He was sleeping so peacefully, not even moving and then…"

"He wasn't breathing," he finished for her. "I remember," he said as he looked at the boy. "He survived that and he'll survive this, too," he comforted her.

She sniffled sharply and shook her head. "I swear, if he pulls through this I'm gonna get him one of those giant bubbles people live in and he's not getting out until he's eighteen. Maybe not even then."

"Somehow I don't think a giant bubble is the answer," he said with a touch of amusement. "You look tired," he told her. "You should rest."

"I can't, I'm still on shift," she said miserably and tried to rise only for Carlisle to place a gently restraining hand on her shoulder.

"I'm certain they'll understand," he told her and nodded to her son. "This is where you need to be."

"Thank you for coming down," she said and turned her eyes on him. "How did you know?"

"How did I…? Camille, you called me," he told her as he studied her face. "Don't you remember?"

"No," she said as her eyes moved back and forth as though she were searching for the lost memory. "I don't remember much actually."

"When was the last time you slept?" he asked her as he knelt in front of her chair and looked into her eyes. "Camille, look at me," he instructed and held his finger up in front of her face, asking her to follow it with her eyes. "When was the last time you slept?" he asked her again.

"Uh...I don't know," she said softly and sighed. "Amy Bradshire quit while you were in New York and I needed the extra hours. Billy's just barely gotten over the flu and…"

"Camille, you're taking the next three days off," he instructed her, his voice allowing no argument. "Don't fight me on this; it's not up for debate. Do you even know what day it is?"

"Of course, I do, it's Wednesday," she said and saw the muscle in his jaw tick as he frowned in worry.

"It's Sunday," he told her. "Forget three days, you're taking the week off and," he gave her a pointed stare when she opened her mouth to argue. "I won't accept you back to work until you've been given a clean bill of health. You're exhausted, underfed, dehydrated, and I'm willing to bet your added confusion is brought on by low blood sugar levels."

"I'm fine," she tried to insist and he arched a brow at her.

"The hell you are," he said softly and stood. "Jackson," he called to the kindly orderly. "Could you please bring another bed in for Camille?"

"Right away, Doctor C," the man said and moved down the hall.

"You'll stay here and sleep tonight," he told Camille and helped her up from her chair as a new bed was wheeled into the room. "And tomorrow morning," he continued and motioned for her to lie down, "you're going to have a full check up done, no arguments," he told her as he tucked her into the hospital bed.

"Carlisle," he turned his attention toward the door and gave a soft smile when he found Alice standing there with a quilt in her arms. "I saw you asking for this the moment you saw her," she said and held out the blanket.

"Thank you, Alice," he said and took the blanket from her, spreading its warmth over the already sleeping woman.

"Will he be alright?" she asked as she watched him look at the chart.

"The next forty-eight hours will be critical given his previous condition and the amount of nail polish remover he ingested, but he's in the best of hands," he said and put the metal folder back on the end of the boy's bed. "Come on, we should get home," he said and turned off the light as he stepped out of the room.

**:::::**

Carlisle watched Esme pace back and forth as she held the cordless house phone to her ear and waited for the man to return to the line. He could see her impatience, the restless energy that kept her from being still and held out his hand to her. She shook her head and took in a deep breath as she stepped toward the kitchen door leading out to the patio. She sighed, dropping her head into her hand when the man's voice came back on the line and spoke to him quickly.

"No, just this week," she told him softly. "We're taking it one day at a time, but this weekend has been incredibly rough on her… Thank you."

"I could've called the school," Carlisle told her softly when she disconnected the call and turned toward him.

"I wanted to do it," Esme said softly and handed him the handset to put back on the charger behind him. "Besides that, you didn't get home from the hospital until after seven and Angela was already trying to get up for school. She's barely been conscious all weekend, how did she even know it was Monday?"

"I don't know," he said as he pulled her close and wrapped his arms around her. "She'll be alright, my love."

"Rosalie's with her now," Esme said as she leaned into his embrace and rested her cheek against his chest. "Angela's curled up against her and Emmett's behind her. It's actually kind of precious to see them holding her like that. Rosalie was singing to her to get her back to sleep. The drugs, they're not working anymore, are they?" she asked him and bent her head back to meet his eyes.

"They are for the most part," he said as he smoothed her hair back from her face and kissed her softly. "Do you remember what she said Friday afternoon when she came from school?" he asked her.

"Yeah, she…" Esme fell silent, closing her eyes and shaking her head as she realized the answer to her own question. "She said she missed Marcus. She's been trying to reach him," she said with a sigh.

"I got a call yesterday while I was on shift. Aro left a voicemail for me, not something I would have expected from him, but he told me that he was certain he'd seen Angela inside the walls of Volterra. Apparently he ept seeing her out of the corner of his eye and then when he looked in a mirror she was there. He was concerned," Carlisle told her and tucked her back in his arms as he held her close. "She's been fighting through the medicine, but I very much doubt she realizes that she's been doing that. Once her migraine settles, her mind needs to be focused on something else. We have to distract her from missing them, perhaps set up regular phone calls or something to keep her from reaching out with her talent."

"She's still so confused by it. She doesn't understand how she's doing any of this," Esme said as she took comfort in her husband's embrace, her arms wrapped around him, her hands pressed against his back.

"That's because it doesn't make sense to her yet," Carlisle told her softly and looked up only to roll his eyes at the sight of Felix and Suplicia watching them. "It's a thought," he told them all as he returned his attention to his wife. "A single focused thought can take her to them as easily as a dream. She doesn't understand that when she sees them in stone hallways or rooms she doesn't recognize that she is actually going to them. All she knows is that it feels like a dream."

"She thinks about them, remembers her times with them and suddenly she's with them," Esme said as she began to understand.

"It would be difficult for anyone to understand a talent like that enough to gain control over it," Felix said from behind them and Esme moved to stand against Carlisle's side while still wrapped in his arms. "She may never have control over it until she's one of us," he spoke his thoughts aloud. "Only then will she understand that she will no longer day dream or sleep. She'll be able to fully understand her talent then because of how differently our minds work than a human brain."

"Then she'll have to be in pain," Suplicia shook her head as she denied the thought. "No!"

"Songbird," Felix reached out to his friend.

"It's not fair and it's not right," Suplicia denied as she stepped away from him. "I know what Jane's power feels like and you're telling me that her migraines are worse and there's nothing that we can do about it?"

"We tried, Suplicia," Esme said as she stepped toward the woman and embraced her, offering her comfort. "We tried teaching her about her talent in order to help her recognize how she uses it, but all we did was make it easier for her to use it. She doesn't understand it well enough yet and Felix is right," she said as she stepped back. "Angela may not fully understand her talent until she wakes up as one of us."

"Isn't there anything we can do?" Suplicia asked Carlisle.

"She's fighting through the medicines," he said as he sought to offer the woman comfort. "Hot baths, being held and sung to or read to," he offered, "those things have always brought her comfort. She also takes great comfort in the sound of our voices. Felix," he turned his attention on the man. "I'm sure you've noticed how relaxed she becomes when you speak to her in ancient Greek or Latin. Even if she can't understand what we're saying, it still brings her comfort to hear us speak to her."

"She likes Italian, too," Felix nodded with a grin. "She picks up some things fairly easily, I've noticed."

"I was teaching her a bit of Italian before you all came to visit," Esme said with a smile. "She is very quick to understand the context of certain things while learning the true meaning later on."

"She's got a good ear," Felix nodded. "I've noticed that too. She'll answer questions in English that I ask her in Greek or Latin. Her answers are always spot on and sometimes she'll throw in a few of the words she knows. It's actually kind of adorable."

Carlisle chuckled, "Yes, it is. I'm going to go check on our daughter," he said to Esme and kissed her as he stepped out of the kitchen.

Carlisle made his way up the stairs slowly, breathing in deeply as he changed his focus from the conversation taking place in the kitchen behind him to the sound of his daughter's steady heartbeat and deep rhythmic breathing. It comforted him to know that she was still asleep, but he doubted it would last long. He was certain that her internal clock was telling her that she needed to be in school and glanced at his watch to see that it wasn't yet nine. The school day hadn't begun yet, but he knew that she would wake soon and try to get dressed for the day as she had previous times when he'd kept her home from school.

"How is she?" he asked his children as he stepped into Angela's darkened bedroom, the curtains still pulled tight.

"Sleeping," Rosalie said as she looked down on Angela, her human sister's head pillowed on her shoulder. "She's been sleeping pretty peacefully since you sang to her," she said as she tucked Angela's hair behind her ear and Carlisle could see the almost maternal look in his daughter's eyes. "She's stirred a few times, but then Jasper soothes her."

"I can still feel all of her emotions and influence them," Jasper said from his seat in the wingback arm chair by the bed, Alice seated in his lap and wrapped in his arms. "I just have to shut myself off to her migraines. About two weeks after I started learning to block the pain of migraines from her, I learned how to separate her migraines from her emotions."

"I'm proud of you, Jasper," Carlisle said softly as he studied his son. "Your strength and dedication are remarkable. You have grown so much in just the past year and you have much to be proud of yourself."

"Thank you," Jasper said, his voice tight as he allowed Carlisle to feel his gratitude and honor.

Carlisle nodded quietly, a gentle smile curving his lips and turned toward the bed. He met Emmett's eyes, his son grinning at him before they both looked down at Angela when she stirred. Her eyes fluttered open slowly. She pulled in a deep breath slowly and turned her face into Rosalie's shoulder to hide her yawn. Rosalie smiled softly and smoothed her hand down over her sister's warm soft hair as she made the slow rise to consciousness.

"School," she mumbled softly as she pushed herself into a sitting position slowly.

"You're not going to school, sweetheart," Carlisle said as he sat sideways on the end of the bed.

"What?" she frowned in tired confusion. "Isn't it Monday?"

"It is," he told her softly and held out his hand for her to take. "I want you to listen to me, ok?" he said to her when she slipped her hand into his and he waited for her to nod. "Your mother and I have called you in for the week."

"Called me in?" Angela asked as she shook her head. "I can't miss anymore school."

"You won't be missing school," he told her as he studied her eyes and watched her expression. "You'll be taking your classes from home this week," he said and held up his hand when she looked to argue. "I am willing to evaluate you on a week by week basis, but this week, you are staying home. Your migraine on Friday didn't end, didn't lessen, instead it grew to the point that you have spent nearly ninety-percent of the weekend unconscious. I would be remiss if allowed you to go into a loud and crowded building where you would no place to hide from the light that has only ever served to make your migraines worse. This week you stay home."

"Then I should get to work," she said and began to move only to be stilled by Carlisle's gentle hand.

"No," he said softly, "now you rest. Since you're awake and far more conscious then you have been, I'll have Esme make some food for you, but for now you rest. Once your migraine has abated somewhat and you can handle a relatively normal amount of light, then you can do some work."

"Light?" Angela questioned with a frown. "Oh," she looked around the room. "I um, I hadn't noticed. It doesn't seem so dark."

"Your migraines make you incredibly photosensitive," he told her and leaned close to press a kiss to her brow. "We'll start slow," he told her and nodded to Alice, the dim light of Angela's oil lamp filling the room seconds later. "How is that?" he asked Angela.

"It's not so bad," she answered, her eyes narrowed as she adjusted to the added light. "You said I've been sleeping all weekend, so why do I feel so tired?"

"Sweetheart," Carlisle smiled softly and pulled her close for a hug. "Even a headache can be very exhausting, but the migraines that you experience are so much more than that. Your body is essentially under attack, it's desperately trying to turn off the pain and recuperate, but it can't. The harder it works to alleviate your pain and repair the damage done by your migraines, the more depleted it becomes. They will exhaust you easily and I don't want that to make you think you're weak, because you're not. You just let us take care of you."

"Come on," Rosalie said softly with a smile and stood from the bed. "I'll help you to the bathroom," she offered Angela and wrapped her arms around her sister's shoulders when she stood from the bed as well. "We'll get you freshened up and then you'll have breakfast," Rosalie told her as they walked out of the room.

"She's strong, you know," Emmett said as he straightened out the blankets and smoothed away the wrinkles. "She's always been strong and she'll make it," he said with an air of authority as though there were no other possible outcome.

"You're so certain," Carlisle said with a soft chuckle.

"Only because Alice is."

**:::::**

Edward frowned as he wrapped his arm around Bella's waist and walked with her out to the quad for their free period. He studied her face, wishing he had an insight to her continuing preoccupation as he led her to the tree he had come to think of as theirs. As soon as he sat down next to her she leaned against him and cuddled into his side, her actions allowing him the comfort of knowing that he wasn't the reason for her distraction. Kissing her hair and rubbing her shoulder, Edward held her against his side and leaned back against the tree behind him.

"What's wrong, Bella?" he asked her softly. "You've been distracted all day."

She drew in deep breath as she leaned against him and struggled to find the words to speak her thoughts. She bit her lip as she closed her eyes and shook her head. Her head turned up to look at him, her eyes full of question and doubt.

"What is it, Bella?" Edward asked as he cupped her cheek in his hand.

"I don't know," she breathed out, her brows furrowing in her confusion. "Charlie keeps asking about…about me and what happened. Why I fell apart the way I did. He asks about Renee and my time growing up." She looked down and shook her head. "It's not that I don't want to tell him, but every time I think about it, about talking to him and telling him I just…it feels like there's this hand wrapped around my throat and I can't speak. I can't even form words, there's just nothing."

Edward released his breath slowly; his lips pursed and wrapped her tighter in his embrace. He kissed her hair as he held her in his arms, his head turning as he laid his cheek upon her hair. Charlie knew the basics, Esme had given him that at least, but it was the deeper emotional trauma that she hadn't shared with him. He knew that Bella's father only wanted to understand what had happened to her, why she hadn't reached out to him in her youth, but Bella was unable to speak of it.

"How would you feel if Carlisle or Esme were to talk with him instead?" he asked her gently as he kept her wrapped in the safety of his arms. "Would you be upset if they gave him the answers you can't?"

"I don't want to make them think that I'm refusing to," she said and took the comfort he so freely offered her. "Am I asking too much?"

"Not at all," he promised her, smiling softly when he felt her begin to relax. "They love you, Bella. Never doubt that."

"Angela didn't come to school today," Bella said after a moment, worry coloring her tone.

"No, Carlisle's keeping her home this week," he told her softly as his posture relaxed and he dropped one arm from around her as she curled against his chest. "Her migraine from Friday never went away. Her pain intensified, dropped down to where it was Friday morning, but never actually got better. She spent most of the weekend unconscious. I won't say asleep because it was more than that."

"Edward," Bella turned her face up to him as she begged him silently for reassurance.

"My vision hasn't changed," Alice said as she came upon them and sat down in the grass beside them. "She'll make it until the moment she can be changed."

"Isn't there anything that can be done for her pain?" Bella asked and looked up at Edward when Alice remained silent.

"Not in times like these," Edward said with a worried frown. "She doesn't understand her talent enough to control it. The more she finds herself thinking about someone she misses, wishing to see them again, the more she uses her talent. Before we left, when her pain was too much, she would use her talent to escape into Marcus' mind. He no longer needs that escape though, not since she healed him."

"So what does that mean?" Bella asked with a shake of her head. "If Angela can't enter his mind then what is she doing?"

"It's difficult to explain," Alice said as she frowned and searched for an appropriate analogy. "She is entering their minds in a way, but not in a way that's easily understood. It's more like she's brushing against them. They can see her as one would a ghost. They can hear her voice in their minds when she speaks. But they are the only ones who can, only the person she is thinking about."

"So she's haunting them?" Bella asked in confusion as she tried to understand.

"Basically," Edward said and started laughing. "Angela's talent turns her into Casper the Friendly Ghost."

**:::::**

Bella frowned, biting her lip as she looked down at her phone. She knew that she needed to answer the voicemail…and the text, but she couldn't bring herself to do either. Setting her cell phone aside on her desk, she pressed the power button on her computer and waited. Frowning when nothing happened, Bella looked down to make certain that it was still plugged into the wall and then pressed the power button again.

"Seriously?" she asked of no one as she stared at the ancient desktop. "It's a power button. When I press it, you turn on."

She pressed the button again only to turn around at the sound of Edward's chuckling behind her. He had a black back in his hand, the design slim and she knew instantly what it held. Looking at him hesitantly before shaking her head, she found herself held silent by his amused grin and sparkling gold eyes. He stepped closer to her, cupping her cheek in his hand before dropping his lips to her in a slow sweet kiss.

"Let me take this heap of…technology," he amended with a chuckle as he looked in her eyes, "to the recycling center."

"Edward," she shook her head as he placed the slim black bag in her lap. "This is too much."

"No, it's not," he told her and kissed her once again. "Besides, I've been trying to convince you since day one to let me get you a new computer and now you don't have a choice. Besides that, I didn't buy it. It's a hand me down," he told her with a chuckle. "Alice wanted one with a bigger screen," he told her and watched her stare at him suspiciously before she opened the bag and looked inside.

"You can't be serious," she said as she pulled out the MacBook from the bag. "Edward, this is this year's model! This is new!"

"Like I said, Alice wanted one with a bigger screen," he told her and watched her mouth open and close like a fish out of water. "So, technically, I didn't buy it."

"Well…if she wanted a bigger screen why didn't Alice just…exchange it?" Bella asked as she searched for a reason to give the extravagant gift back.

"Yeah Alice doesn't really do exchanges," Edward laughed as he sat on the end of her bed. "She doesn't even go into the computer stores. She special ordered both of the computers from Apple's website. So you see, I didn't spend any money on you and by taking the computer you'll actually be doing Alice a favor."

Bella sighed. "I know you're just trying to bullshit me here and maybe it's all true, but…but I don't care I really like the computer."

Edward threw his head back and laughed before cupping her face in his hands and kissing her deeply. He was still laughing when he pulled back and began moving the heavy and ancient computer tower and monitor from her desktop. The wood groaned almost as though it was relieved to be free of the weight and he took the laptop from her hands to set it on the desk. He smiled at her, kissing her as he took the power cord from the computer bag and plugged it into the wall.

"Now, as for your internet connection," he said eyeing the phone cord with disdain. "That will not work in this computer, but Alice was able to talk Charlie into having cable internet installed. Especially after she told him that he would now be able to watch any games he missed on his computer."

"Charlie doesn't have a computer," Bella said with a shake of her head.

"He does now," Edward said and tipped his head to the side in amusement. "Emmett."

"How did Emmett convince Charlie to get a new computer?" Bella asked eyeing him suspiciously.

"By offering him his old one," Edward grinned.

"His old one?" Bella repeated.

"It was last year's model," he told her as he lifted her up and took her seat at her desk holding her in his lap. "It was a desktop," he told Bella and kissed her neck, delighting in her gasp. "He told your father that he had gotten a laptop for school and said that Charlie would be saving him a trip to the recycling center if he took the computer instead. Charlie couldn't refuse," Edward laughed and nipped gently at her skin just beneath her ear. "Especially not one Emmett showed him the program he had downloaded to track the baseball scores of all the teams and players. Did you know that Charlie's into fantasy baseball?"

"That's just mean," Bella said around a giggle before shrieking and jumping from his lap. "That _was_ mean!" she protested his tickling.

"Come on," he said and stood from the chair. "I'll get this old…computer loaded into my car and take you down to the station. You and your father were supposed to have dinner out tonight, weren't you?"

"It's Thursday, so yeah," Bella said and rolled her eyes when he refused to let her carry any part of the old computer. "Dinner at the diner."

"Are you ever going to call Renee back?" he asked as they stepped outside of her house and he waited while she locked the door.

"I don't know," she sighed and felt for the phone she had tucked into her pocket. "I don't know that I'm ready to have that conversation with her."

"What conversation?" he asked her as he held the car door while she climbed into the passenger seat of his Volvo.

"Her voicemail," she said as he turned the key and started the car. "She wants to talk about that time. I guess she has questions about why I never told her that any of it upset me and that…I don't know, I guess it makes me angry. Every time I think about calling her back and talking with her all I want to do is yell. Then I get mad that I'm mad and that just leads to me being a complete girl and crying because I'm mad."

Edward chuckled softly and lifted her hand to his lips. "You know you still have those plane tickets to use. They expire soon. Maybe it would be better if you have that talk in person."

"Maybe," she allowed as he pulled into the parking lot in front of the police station. "Edward," she frowned as they walked up the concrete steps, "do you think…"

"What?" he asked when she remained quiet.

"Do you think I'm being…weak?" she asked with a wince.

"Weak?" he repeated with a shake of his head as he tried to understand.

"Because I can't talk about this with Charlie, because I don't know how to talk about it with Renee," she explained and his expression softened.

"No," he said studying her dark eyes. "I don't think you're being weak. I think you've been incredibly strong for a long time and now that everyone knows why you've been so strong, it's frightening to you and I understand that. But no, I don't think you're being weak. I think you're finally healing and sometimes that's the hardest part of all."

He offered her a soft smile and cupped her cheek as he kissed her forehead. Releasing her slowly and standing back, he watched her turn toward the door only to frown at the sight of the couple sitting in front of Charlie's desk. The file he had open was the same one that she had seen him with at home for the past week and she turned back to Edward. He turned his eyes away from her, looking inside the glass door as he focused on the thoughts of the three humans seated within.

"Their son went missing in Seattle over a year ago," Edward told her as he monitored their thoughts. "They haven't stopped looking for him yet. Charlie doesn't have any more information now than he did a year ago. They don't understand why the offer of a reward for information hasn't produced any leads."

"That's got to be hard," Bella frowned as she stood leaning against the wrought iron railing with him.

"It's the same thing Charlie will be doing once you become one of us," he told her softly, frowning as he found himself trapped between the desire to have her with him forever yet preserve her humanity.

"Are we back to this?" she asked him hesitantly and met his gaze. "I'm not going to change my mind. I know what I want."

"I know you do," he said and took her hand. "I just wonder if you realize all that you're giving up."

"I've weighed my options; I know what my choices are, Edward. No choice is ever perfect, but I know what's right for me and I've chosen that," she told him earnestly and kissed him.

"What?" he asked when she frowned.

"How do I bring up the plane tickets with Charlie?" she wondered aloud and he chuckled softly.

"Let me take care of that," he offered as the man in question stepped toward the door. "Chief Swan," he nodded to Charlie after the human couple had left.

"Ready for dinner, Bells?" Charlie asked as he nodded to Edward. "It's still just us, isn't it?"

"No, I'm just dropping her off," Edward grinned before walking down the short collection of stairs. "Oh, Bella," he turned back to look at her. "My parents wanted me to remind you about the plane tickets they gave you for your birthday. They're going to expire soon."

"Plane tickets?" Charlie asked not seeing the grin Bella tried to hide.

"Oh, uh yeah," Bella said and met her father's gaze. "To see mom in Florida," she said with a shrug.

"I was thinking you should go this weekend," Edward told her and Bella nodded.

"Only if you use the companion ticket," she told him and he fought to suppress his grin as Charlie looked at him.

"There are two tickets?" Charlie asked and rolled his eyes. "Super."

Edward laughed silently, turning around before his grin could show and walking toward his car. Charlie was far more accepting and welcoming of him now than he had been before, but the thought of his daughter traveling across country alone with her boyfriend still bothered him. It amused him to see the overprotective father come out in Charlie and he smiled as he slipped behind the wheel of his car. There was another reason he wanted to get Bella out of town for the weekend and it had to do with the vision Alice had this morning. It seemed that a certain redhead was back in Forks.

**:::::**

Angela moved slowly, finding herself drawn closer to the waking world. She rubbed her hands against her eyes, feeling exhausted, but for once almost pain free. She couldn't remember how long she'd been asleep or what day it was. Sitting up slowly as the blankets fell from around her she tried to identify what it was that had woken her. Frowning as she rubbed her eyes once more, she heard the familiar sound and looked up through the darkness as she tried to find where it was coming from.

She moved slowly, pushing the covers back and slipping from the bed as she followed the soft strands of guitar music. She shuffled through the hallway, barely half awake as she moved closer to the music and found herself standing outside of Alice and Jasper's room. It was strange, she thought, she couldn't remember having heard guitar music before and slipped quietly inside the open door. Through blurred vision she could see Jasper sitting on the side of the bed, a hand crafted wood guitar propped on his lap as his fingers moved over the strings effortlessly.

"Angela," Jasper spoke her name softly in surprise as he looked up at the door.

"Don't stop," she requested softly, her eyes mostly closed.

Jasper chuckled softly at his human sister, the girl practically asleep as she leaned in the doorway. Setting his guitar aside on the bed as he stood, he walked toward her and held out his hand for her to take. Placing her palm in his as she fought to stay awake, Angela let him lead her back toward his bed. She rubbed her fingers against her eye as she walked with him and frowned in question when he held up the covers. He smiled softly with amusement and nodded toward the bed, waiting for to climb beneath the covers he held up before tucking the blankets around her shoulders.

"I'll make you a deal," he said and kissed her forehead before picking up his guitar. "I'll play for you as long you try to sleep."

"But you'll play?" she asked as she snuggled into the pillows.

"Yes, I'll play," he told her and smoothed her hair from her face.

"Why haven't I ever heard you play before?" she asked as his fingers began to move over the strings, strumming out a slow song.

"Because I always wait for the house to be empty," he said softly. "I don't really play for anyone else. Well, sometimes Alice."

"It's pretty," she told him and he smiled down at her, finding her eyes to be closed.

He stopped playing for a moment, just longer enough to touch her cheek and tuck the blankets closer around her. His hand returned to the instrument, the song he'd been playing changing from a random collection of notes into a gently swaying familiar tune. His voice sounded a moment later as he began to sing along with the music and he felt the brush of her emotions as a loving peaceful sensation fell upon her. He looked up as Edward stepped into the doorway and though he would normally have stopped playing as soon as anyone else stepped close, for Angela he played on.

"You do realize that she's going to want to hear more from you now that she knows," Edward said to his brother with a lopsided grin.

Jasper chuckled softly as he came to the musical break in the song and rolled his eyes as he stopped singing. Alice had tried for years to get him to play with Edward, tried to get him to feel comfortable enough with his music to not keep it a secret. Somehow Angela had been able to accomplish what his wife had not and his sister wasn't even awake enough to understand the significance of what she'd done. Edward moved closer to the bed and looked down at Angela as he waited for the rest of his family to return home.

They all needed to talk more about Alice's vision and how they would keep Angela protected. Victoria was back in Forks after months of silence and none of them knew what to expect or what she had planned. Edward had a feeling that Suplicia would be the one to stay behind with Angela while the rest of his family pursued Victoria. Reaching out to tuck her hair behind her ear, he studied Angela's sleeping face and smiled at the thoughts he could read from her dreams. Looking to his brother for confirmation, he smiled with relief at the thoughts he read. Angela's migraine had finally broken and she was without pain, exhausted beyond measure, but pain free.

"When did her pain finally die down?" he asked Jasper as Alice stepped into the room.

"Around noon, I think," Jasper said and frowned in curiosity. "I think about the same time I started playing actually."

"Music is the key," Alice said with a grin. "I don't remember her migraines being as bad when you played your piano for her," she told Edward.

Edward frowned in thought as he looked to the side while searching his memories. The few times that she had been suffering a migraine when he played the piano for her, he recalled that her pain didn't last as long as her other migraines had. Could it be true? Was music the key?

"It ties her to the physical world," Alice said as she sat down behind Angela on the bed and leaned back against the headboard. "The music grounds her."

"So she fights through the medications, but the music pulls her back. Whoever would have thought that music was the key?" Jasper said with a grin.

"Well, now you have to play your guitar," Alice giggled softly.

"Looks like," Jasper grinned as he continued to move his fingers over the strings. "You finally get your wish," he told his wife and chuckled when she smiled widely.

"So next time I want something from you I just have to pretend to be asleep," she quipped and laughed at the expression on his face. "Or have Angela ask for it."

"That's cheating," Edward told his sister and chuckled at her thoughts. "But effective."

"I already know that she'll want the both of you to play together, I don't need my visions for that," she said with a grin.

"You're playing!" Esme said with a wide smile of excitement as she appeared in the door. "Jasper, oh it's beautiful."

"Get used to having a crowd," Edward chuckled. "Esme couldn't get enough of it when I played for her in the first few years. Suplicia is on her way back as well," he told his brother when the woman's thoughts began to enter his mind.

"I was warned about your kind back in the early sixties," Carlisle said to Jasper with mock seriousness as he came up behind Esme and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Guitar players, they always steal the girls."

Jasper rolled his eyes at Carlisle and chuckled before he looked down at Angela as he began a new song. The strands of the music filled the air as he closed his eyes and focused on the music. The piece he was playing was one of Angela's favorites; one of Carlisle's too, though he doubted the two knew they shared the song in common. He smiled when Carlisle's voice joined his and they sang the words together, the duet offering him a sense of peace. It felt to him as though the last piece was falling into place, the puzzle of their family finally made complete.

"An only child alone and wild, a cabinet maker's son… His hands were meant for different work and his heart was known to none. He left his home and went his lone and solitary way and he gave to me a gift I know, I never can repay…."


	66. Chapter 64

Chapter 64

She tapped the heel of her foot, her knee bouncing as she tried to distract herself from the thought of what they were doing. She turned her head, staring out the window and closed her eyes at the darkness that surrounded them. Glancing at her cell phone, the network signal turned off, she found that the four hour flight had less than thirty minutes left to complete. A soft chuckle sounded next to her, a strong cool hand sliding over her knee and offering her a steady calm as her nervous movements were stilled. She turned her head, looking at him with wide nervous eyes and felt herself relax slowly at the familiar feel of his hand cupping her cheek.

He leaned closer to her, his eyes meeting hers as the distance between them disappeared. His lips touched upon hers, the delicate warmth of her plump mouth soothing him as his kiss enticed her. He felt her sigh, heard her heartbeat accelerate and had to bite back the growl building low in his throat. Moving his mouth against hers as he tipped his head to deepen the angle of their kiss, he smiled against her lips when she pressed closer to him. Her heard the ding seconds before the captain's voice came over the intercom and pulled back slowly, pecking her lips twice before releasing her completely.

"It will be alright, Bella," Edward told her with a disarming smile. "I'll be inside all day while the sun is out and it's only forty-eight hours," he reminded her gently. "She's your mother and she loves you."

"It's just," Bella took in a deep breath and shook her head as uncertainty twisted her heart. "With all that's happened, with everything that was…she and I never talked about any of it and I don't know how to talk about it with her now."

"You won't be alone," he reminded her and touched her hair. "I'll be there with you," he promised her and frowned in thought. "What was it that Renee said to make Charlie hate me again?" he asked her and watched Bella laugh.

"He doesn't hate you…exactly," Bella said as her laughter died away.

"He was plotting my death," Edward smirked. "Not that he could actually harm me, but he definitely wanted to."

"Renee's fairly liberal," Bella shrugged. "She only has one guest room and it has a queen-sized bed. We'll be sharing the room."

Edward nodded with wide eyes as he chuckled. "No wonder Charlie wants me dead," he laughed. "Let's tell him I slept on the couch, alright?" he conspired with a smile. "I'd rather your father not see me as the devil when we return."

"You don't sleep," she reminded him teasingly.

"Yes, well, in this case I do believe I can make an exception," he said and smiled when she giggled.

"We're here," Bella said nervously as the wheels touched down on the tarmac.

"It will be fine," he promised her and rubbed her shoulder. "She's your mother, Bella. Come on," he said as the passengers around them began exiting the plane.

"I can carry my own bag," she offered and rolled her eyes when he grinned and kept the bag.

Chuckling as he nodded for her to walk ahead, Edward grinned at the sight of her smile. This weekend they would get a chance to be a normal everyday couple. Granted, he mused, he couldn't go outside with her until the sunset, but that was alright by him. She needed this time away from Forks, away from those things that reminded her of all that had happened to bring her past pain to light. Nodding his head in greeting to Renee and Phil, he smiled at the couple and arched a brow as the woman's thoughts entered his mind.

Liberal minded indeed, he thought as he followed them out to the parking structure. Renee was already certain that he and Bella were sleeping together, her mind floating back and forth between ideas as easily as a child's. She had a very momentary view of the world; each moment lived for that moment itself with no thought to the future. He snorted with amusement, feeling at once both embarrassed and entertained by the notion of Renee's thoughts. He would need to look in the bedside table to confirm what he had read from her, he couldn't quite believe that she would actually have placed the item in the room for them.

"Bella, I'm so happy you came out to see us!" Renee cheered once again and wrapped her daughter in a hug as they came to a stop beside Phil's car. "You didn't have to take a red eye though, we wouldn't have minded picking you up later."

"I wanted to spend as much time with you as I could," Bella said and grinned at Edward. "Besides, Edward's a bit sensitive to the sun. He burns easy," she said and winked at him.

"Horribly easy, I'm afraid," Edward said when the couple looked at him. "I'll be staying inside while the sun is out. Last time I was got caught by the sun Bella got to see exactly the kind of reaction I have."

"It was pretty startling," Bella nodded with a serious expression. "But he certainly looks amazing in moonlight."

"You kids look tired," Phil said as he took the bags from Edward and put them in the trunk. "It's about an hour's drive back to the house. Try and get some sleep on the way there," he encouraged as they all climbed into the car. "I'm fairly certain your mother won't let you sleep a wink once we get home, Bella."

"I'm not that bad!" Renee protested.

"Yes you are," Bella laughed as she leaned against Edward's chest when he wrapped her in his arms. "But that's ok."

"Go to sleep," Edward told her softly as she blinked tiredly against him, her muscles relaxing. "I'll take care of you," he promised and smoothed his hand down over her hair.

_They're so beautiful together!_

Edward grinned at Renee's thought and tipped his head to rest his cheek on Bella's warm hair. It was just past two in the morning and although he didn't sleep, he knew that Bella's mother and step father would expect him to be just as tired as Bella was. Closing his eyes as he pretended to be asleep, he smiled softly when Bella curled closer to him and mumbled his name. He lifted his hand to cup her jaw, the side of his hand resting on her shoulder as his thumb and fingers fanned across her neck and cheek. Holding her close as she slept, Edward listened to the thoughts of the couple sitting in the front seats and kept his eyes closed as he let them believe he was asleep.

Renee's mind was full of fairytale fantasies, believing him to be the Prince Charming for her daughter while Phil was a bit more practical. Phil could see their connection, observed the relationship between himself and Bella and seemed to be comforted by the care he gave her. The ride passed by quickly and he opened his eyes, acting as though he were waking, when the car slowed to a crawl as they neared the house. He spoke softly to Phil, assured him that he had Bella and slipped from the backseat. Cradling her sleeping form in his arms, Edward followed behind Renee and carried Bella up to the house.

"In here," Renee said as she opened the guest room and ushered him inside. "We only have one guest room. I didn't think you'd mind sharing."

"It's fine, thank you," Edward returned softly and nodded his thanks when Phil set their bags inside the door.

"I'll try and keep Renee distracted until at least noon," Phil said with a smile and nodded as he closed the door.

Edward laid Bella down gently on the bed and brushed his hand over her hair. Bending over her and kissing her forehead, he moved down to her feet and removed her shoes before tucking her beneath the covers. She breathed in deeply, her eyes almost opening as she searched for him and called his name softly. He shushed her gently, touching her cheek and tucked the blankets beneath her chin.

"I'm right here, my love," he promised her softly. "Go to sleep."

Bella mumbled once more, sighing softly as she turned onto her side and curled against him when he laid down next to her. Edward wrapped her in his arms, pulling her close as she cuddled against him and pillowed her cheek on his chest. Once he was certain that she was sleeping deeply, Edward reached out with one arm to the bedside table and opened the top drawer. His eyes widened and he chuckled silently to find the small box with the handwritten sticky note on top.

"So it wasn't an idle thought," he mused quietly as his eyes scanned over the words written by Bella's mother.

_It's better to be safe than sorry._

_Love, Mom._

Somehow he didn't think Bella would find the small box of condoms as entertaining as he did. Closing the drawer once more he made a mental note to dispose of the box before she could find it. Kissing Bella's hair, he stared out of the window into the early morning darkness and let her heartbeat soothe him into stillness. He would pull the stars down from the sky if she asked him to. Anything she wanted, he would give to her. Turning his head and resting his cheek on her hair he focused his senses on the girl in his arms.

"Forever, Bella. I'll love you forever."

**:::::**

He looked down on her with concern. He hated the idea of leaving her, especially considering that she was still unconscious and wouldn't be aware that they had all left or the reason why. Looking up at Sulpicia, Carlisle nodded slowly when she gave him a soft smile. She promised to look after Angela, assured him that she wouldn't leave the girl alone at anytime and watched as he reached out to touch her cheek. Tucking the blankets up around her shoulders, Carlisle leaned over and kissed her forehead before rising from his seat on the bed.

"If she wakes while we're gone, let her know that we'll be home as soon as we can," he told Sulpicia and cast one last glance at Angela before turning for the door. "Thank you for staying with her," he said and she nodded quietly.

"I'll keep her safe," Sulpicia assured and grinned when she caught Felix standing in the hallway.

"Guard them," she commanded her friend and he nodded quietly.

Sulpicia watched as they left slowly, each member of Carlisle's family stepping in to check on Angela before slipping back into the hall. It would have been easier for them to have simply dropped out of her bedroom window. She had smiled at how Esme had deflected that idea though, telling them all that she didn't want Angela to be chilled. Smiling softly as the front door finally closed, she looked down at the sleeping human girl she had been left to tend to.

"Well, it's just you and me now, little one," she said to Angela as she stood from her chair and moved to the bed. "You rest a while; I'm going to go make sure there will be water for your tea."

"Aro."

"No, sweetheart, shh," Sulpicia smoothed Angela's hair from her face. "He's back in Italy."

"I'l'y?" she mumbled brokenly and Sulpicia smiled down at her when she found her eyes to still be closed.

"Mmhmm," Sulpicia sat down beside her and touched her cheek. "He's back in our home in Volterra. You would love it there, I'm sure. All of the art that we've collected over the centuries, the manuscripts that the humans thought had been lost to time or destruction, we have kept safe in our library. There is history around every corner."

"H'str'y?"

Sulpicia chuckled softly and leaned down to kiss Angela's brow. Brushing her hand against the girl's cheek, she spoke softly and described the castle she called home. Stone walls decorated with fine tapestries, rich vibrant paintings and the most exquisitely carved statues. She told her about her favorite room, the round stone room that was decorated with marble statues and overstuffed chairs. She described the white stone balcony that looked out over the gardens, the hours she had spent there simply reading or gazing out into the landscape.

It wasn't long before Sulpicia's imagery painted the scene in Angela's mind and she felt as though she were floating away. The sound of her voice faded into the distance until it was too soft to be heard, a disappearing whisper, and she opened her eyes slowly only to find herself standing inside the room Sulpicia had described. Angela smiled as she moved around the room and delighted in the scent of the warm Mediterranean air. She loved that her dreams always felt so real and stepped toward a painting.

She could feel the rough edges of the paint against her fingertips, the brushstrokes long and elegant and smiled as she breathed in the scent of the ancient oils. Turning away from the painting, she moved to the statue that stood in the center of the room, smiling as she ran her hands over the graceful lines. She couldn't touch the pieces in any other museum, but in this one she could. Looking around the room she found a plush arm chair to be sitting on the far side of the room near the window and smiled as she moved to sit down. From this seat she could look out into the gardens below or stare at all of the artwork in the room. For now though, she just wanted to bask in the presence of the history.

Pulling her legs up off the floor and frowning curiously when she found herself to be barefoot, Angela tucked her feet beneath her and curled against the side of the chair. There was so much beauty here, but it wasn't the gaudy, throw-it-in-your-face kind of beauty that some of the other art museums decorated with. No, this was elegant, understated and warm. This was the kind of beauty that held her enraptured. Closing her eyes as she curled her arm up under her chin, she breathed in deeply and sighed contentedly. She doubted she would ever grow tired of this place.

Sinking into the feeling of peaceful drowsiness, Angela smiled when she felt a familiar presence and opened her eyes. She frowned in confusion, the room around her having changed and looked around at the mix of modern and ancient decorations. Walking through the large room, she moved toward a door that stood slightly open and looked inside. Her eyes widened, her smile coming unbidden when she found Aro to be sitting inside reading a book. She grinned at the knowledge that she was dreaming of her friend and even though this was a dream, she was glad to see him. She didn't remember opening the door or even gripping the handle, but the very second she thought about moving closer to him she was standing in front of him.

"What are you reading?" she asked and watched him look up at her with a startled expression.

"Angela?" Aro met her gaze, his full of surprise and worry. "How are you here?"

"That's a strange question to ask, don't you think?" she chuckled and stepped away as she looked around the room. "After all, you're the one who's in my dream. I don't know how I dreamed up this room though. I've never seen anything like it. It's so beautiful."

"What makes you think you're dreaming?" Aro asked as he stood and followed Angela's transparent form to the window across the room.

"Well for one I was asleep, or almost asleep," she said looking back at him over her shoulder. "For another, my migraine's gone. I don't feel it at all here and it was pretty intense. And three," she grinned and turned her attention back to the window, "I've never seen anything so beautiful. It's like I'm inside a painting or a storybook."

"And if I were to tell you that you are not dreaming?" Aro asked her as he stepped closer to her.

"Then I'd tell you to prove it," she said with amused suspicion.

Her comment stopped Aro and he looked at her through slightly narrowed eyes. Prove it? She wanted him to prove it to her? How was he supposed to provide proof that she wasn't dreaming? Frowning in thought, he looked up at the sound of her amusement.

"See?" she said as though his confusion was all the proof she needed. "Even you can't think of a reason why this isn't a dream. Which means that you're a dream, too."

"It does, does it?" Aro asked her with a chuckle. "Alright then," he said as he studied the girl's ghostly image. "Let's say this is a dream. What would I be doing in your dream?"

Angela giggled and turned around, feeling carefree as she moved about the room. She spotted the large bed off to the side and studied it for a moment. She didn't feel tired, but she did feel peaceful and lethargic, perhaps lying down wouldn't be such a bad idea. Breathing in deeply and moving to the bed, she sat down on the thick coverings before moving to lie across the end of the bed on her side. Propping her cheek up on her loosely curled fist, she looked at Aro and took in a deep relaxed breath.

"Well, I suppose in my dreams, you would read to me. Or tell me about your past," she said and Aro smiled as he watched her fold her arms down to pillow her head.

"Is that so?" he said as studied her. "Well," he glanced back at the book he had been reading when she entered. "That wouldn't make for a very interesting read. What would you like to know?" he asked and reached out letting his hand pass over her cheek without actually touching her. "You felt that?" he asked when she smiled and watched her nod. "Getting tired?" he asked as he watched her close her eyes.

"Not tired, really," she said as her eyes fell closed again. "Just…relaxed. Really really relaxed," she said and he chuckled when her eyes remained closed. "Was there really an Atlantis?" she asked after a few moments.

"No," he chuckled softly. "It was a story that was told to children. It began in Crete. A way to teach them humility, the magic of life, to remember that anything is possible. The loss of Atlantis, the island that fell into the ocean, was to remind them that life is fleeting and to not take any moment for granted."

"No mermaids?" she asked, her voice drowsy as she neared sleep.

"No," Aro laughed. "No mermaids."

"Centaurs?" she asked, one eye opening to look at him and the ancient vampire laughed.

"No Centaurs," he said and chuckled silently at her disappointment.

"Socrates?"

"He was very real," Aro told her and watched as she seemed to sink into the bed even as her image began to fade.

"Did you ever get to meet him?" she asked and he smiled at the knowledge that he could still feel her presence even if he could no longer see her.

"Once, but only in passing, I never read his thoughts," he told her as he felt her warmth wrap around him, tugging him closer. "What is it, little one?"

"When are you coming back?" she asked him and he smiled softly.

"It could be a long while, my dear," he told her softly and watched as her image began to reappear. "Angela?"

"Aro?...How?"

Aro spun around and came face to face with his wife. His mouth fell open, his lips parting as he stared at her ghostly form and looked deeply into her eyes that were slowly lightening from red to gold. He didn't understand how she was there and looked back at Angela, seeing her still lying on the bed, though her form was beginning to fade. The only explanation was that Angela was holding this connection open, bringing his wife to him and he looked back to Sulpicia.

"I love you," Sulpicia said to him seconds before her image disappeared completely.

He turned around a moment later, found Angela's form to still be lying on the bed. Her image was fluctuating, fading in and out, and when he looked into her eyes he could see the pain she was in. He spoke to her softly, comforting her as best he could and waiting for her focus to return to him. He encouraged her then, as she stared at him, to wake up. He needed her to return to her own mind. As untrained as she was and as powerful as she was in her human form, he knew that the pain she would be in was unimaginable.

"I will be here, sweetheart," he promised her when she protested leaving. "I will call you soon, but you need to go back. You need to wake up."

Angela watched him for a moment longer, allowing her eyes to close as the exhaustion she was now feeling called her to sleep. She felt once more as though she were floating, the world around her falling away as sleep came to claim her. The heaviness settled in, a feeling of magnetism that drew her to something she couldn't quite define and when she opened her eyes she found herself to be back inside her bedroom. Her vision was blurred and it was difficult to think clearly, but she smiled at the blurred form of Sulpicia still sitting next to her hip on the bed.

"Angela?" Sulpicia's voice was soft, confusion and concern heavy in her tone. "Angela, what happened? I saw Aro. I saw him in our chambers in Volterra. Was that your doing?"

"Dream," she mumbled softly, her eyes closing once more.

"What?" Sulpicia shook her head and looked down. "You're already asleep again," she said softly and sighed. "Just sleep, ok?" she said softly and kissed Angela's forehead. "Whatever it is you did before, don't do that again. I don't want to see you hurt."

Reaching into her pocket, Sulpicia retrieved her buzzing phone and smiled at the sight of Aro's picture on the screen. She answered his call instantly, holding the phone to her ear and delighting in the sound of his voice. He spoke to her softly, telling her of the love he felt for her and how he missed her. He paused then, listening as she returned the sentiment and taking comfort from the sound of her voice. He loved her, the bond between them as strong as it ever was, and felt renewed each day that Chelsea's power was rendered useless against him.

"How is she?" he finally asked his wife a moment later.

"Sleeping again," Sulpicia said as she looked down at Angela. "I don't know how to keep her from slipping away. How do I keep her here?"

"Carlisle mentioned music the last time we spoke," he told her. "Edward has a piano my dear and you have always been gifted with that instrument."

"The piano is downstairs," she denied. "I don't wish to leave her."

"Then carry her with you," Aro advised and she smiled at the sound of his voice.

"I love you," she told him softly as she brushed her fingers against Angela's cheek.

"I love you," he returned and breathed in deeply. "Take care of her, my dear. I fear what might happen if she were to be lost from us."

"I'll keep her safe," she promised softly. "We all will. It's so endearing to see her with Carlisle and Esme, the way they dote on her."

"I do remember," he chuckled softly. "You are alone with her?" he asked at the lack of other background noises.

"I am," she said softly. "Alice's vision, Victoria is back."

"It's been months," he said with confusion and displeasure.

"I know," Sulpicia said softly. "Something is happening, I'm not sure what yet."

"Keep me informed, my dear," he requested. "I must go. I love you."

"I will, I love you," she told him seconds before the line disconnected. "Alright, miss," she said to Angela as she tucked her phone back into her pocket.

Moving from her seat on the bed, she knelt next to Angela and tucked the thick blankets around her until they swaddled her completely. Lifting the blanket wrapped girl into her arms, she carried Angela downstairs and laid her gently down on the closed piano. Touching her hair and making certain that Angela was still asleep; she ghosted upstairs and returned in seconds to tuck a pillow beneath the girl's head. Sitting down on the polished bench, Sulpicia opened the wooden cover and pushed it back to reveal the ivory and ebony keys. It had been more than a year since she had last played, but the music came to her effortlessly and the soft tones of Vivaldi soon filled the room.

**:::::**

He looked down at his side, smiling at the warmth of her lying next to him and pressed his lips to her forehead. His brows furrowed in concern as the first soft traces of salt scented the air and he watched as a single crystalline drop made its way down her cheek. He didn't understand what brought out her tears, the girl in his arms still asleep, and studied her face as he tried to gain an insight into her ever elusive thoughts. Focusing on her as he projected his scent to her, wrapped her in his essence, he smiled when his inherent ability to dazzle brought her comfort. She quieted then, her hand that had been resting flat on his chest moving over his side to tuck around him.

"My precious little human," Edward whispered to her with a smile and kissed her hair. "I know you want answers," he told her, brushing his fingers down her cheek as she slept. "You deserve them, too, but I'm afraid she won't give them to you. You tried today and she deflected you at every turn." Edward sighed softly as he watched her sleep, knowing that she wouldn't remember his words. "Her mind is like a child's. Everything is fleeting, momentary. Instead of looking to learn from her past mistakes she chooses instead to ignore them like they never happened."

He held her close, pulling the quilt made from all of the old road trip t-shirts up under her chin and kissed her. His lips pulled up to the side as he recalled how Renee had described him and Bella. Bella had told Renee first that she had been accepted to the University of Alaska, the same school in fact that Eleazar taught at, though that part was left out. It had been then that he had listened to Renee's thoughts shift, her carefree childlike ponderings for once turning serious and focused. She had voiced her concern that she would never see Bella again if she went to Alaska, speaking her observations of them as well.

"_You move, he moves," Renee had said as she looked at Bella, " like magnets, orbiting around each other like planets. I just want to make sure that you're making the right decision for you."_

Breathing in and allowing her scent to soothe his worry, he took the vibrating cell phone from his pocket. He smiled to see Esme's picture on the screen and answered the call, bring the phone to his ear and greeting his mother quietly. He frowned at the news she gave him, the knowledge that Victoria had escaped their hunt yet again and rolled his eyes when she told him of the confrontation between Emmett and Paul.

"How is she?" Esme asked him and Edward smiled softly at Bella.

"Sleeping," he said and listened to her chuckle.

"That's not what I meant and you know it," she scolded softly. "It's just after three am there, of course she's asleep. How is she?"

Edward sighed softly. "Renee keeps deflecting her questions, distracting her with other things. Bella needs answers, she needs her mother and Renee isn't willing to talk about this with her. From her thoughts, I don't think she'd be willing to talk with anyone about this. As far as I can tell, Phil doesn't even know what happened," he told her with disappointment.

"Even after everything that's happened?" Esme asked and he could hear the emotion in her voice. "Why? Why won't she just talk with Bella?"

"I wish I had an answer for that, something specific," Edward said as he watched Bella sleep. "All I can tell you is that she's very…childlike is the easiest way to explain it," he said softly. "It's like she's Peter Pan. Anything bad she pushes away and does her best to forget. She doesn't want to talk with anyone about it, least of all Bella. All she wants to do is forget."

"Bella needs her mother," Esme insisted and Edward smiled sadly at the sound of her near silent growl.

"She has you," he offered.

"I don't have the answers she needs," she reminded her son. "Bella needs answers that only Renee has. I'll let you go," she said softly after a moment. "Take care of her."

"I always will," he promised and lowered the phone when the line grew silent. "I love you, Bella," he whispered to her and kissed her cheek.

"Edward," she mumbled his name and he smiled softly.

"You weren't supposed to wake up," he told her gently when she turned her head and blinked up at him.

"I keep…dreaming about that time," Bella said softly, frowning as she tried to make her exhausted thoughts make sense to someone else. "I love her; she's my mom, but…" Her eyes glanced down to his chest, before she looked up at him once more. "She's never going to talk with me about it, is she?"

"No," he said softly after a moment. "I don't think she will."

"Why?"

Edward shook his head. "I don't know. I don't think she ever intended to talk about it with anyone, but Esme's always been good about getting people to talk about what hurts them." He smiled softly at her and kissed her lips. "She got you to talk," he told her with a grin.

"Esme's great," Bella said with a grin, hiding a yawn behind her hand.

"So fragile," he mused and kissed her as he curled his arms closer around her. "Go to sleep, Bella," he told her and smoothed his hand down over her hair until she fell asleep once more.

"Love you," she whispered as sleep claimed her mercilessly.

"I love you too," he told her and kissed her hair. "Always."

**:::::**

Felix looked at the family standing in front of him, his mind calculating every movement as he took in the sight before him. There had been no discussion, no training beforehand, but they had naturally fallen into a formation as though it were second nature. Alice stood at the front, her visions leading the way. Behind her and to the right stood Carlisle, Esme standing in the same place at her left. What was surprising to him though, was how Rosalie stood behind Carlisle, while Emmett and Jasper stood behind Esme.

They were miles away from home, the skies that had been covered in grey clouds since early morning darkening as the sun began to make its slow descent. The air was growing colder, though they were immune to the affects of the temperature and as she stood still in the leaves and grass, she could feel her muscles trembling with anticipation. This was the place she had seen in her vision, these were the same stand of trees and in front of her, nearly fifty feet up, was the robin's nest she had used as a marker. Staring out into the distance as the feel of her family's impatience made her own grow stronger, she searched her visions.

"Are you sure this is where you saw her?" Carlisle asked, her family standing in formation behind her.

"She's almost here," Alice answered him as Jasper moved to her side, called forth by her emotions.

Her brows quirked, her eyes shifting back and forth quickly as images flashed through her mind. Victoria was moving faster, accelerating towards them and Alice gasped as she felt the flood of rage and determination from the vampire through her vision. She was intent, focused and absolutely certain that she would kill both Bella and Angela, an outcome Alice was not willing to let happen. She kept searching, demanding her visions to tell her exactly where Victoria was and blinked quickly, her eyes pulling the forest in front of her into sharp focus.

"On the left!" Alice cried out, leaves kicking up behind her as she shot deeper into the trees.

She could feel the breath rolling in her throat, knew that she was growling, but she was powerless to stop it. This woman sought to destroy her family, to kill her human sisters and Alice would be damned if she let that happen. Running faster as Emmett sped ahead of her, she watched Carlisle and Esme move to the front of the line, the couple making it clear that the family was theirs to protect. Alice watched Emmett move faster as Felix pushed ahead, seeming to be guided by an unspoken understanding with her brother, the guard moving to stay next to Rosalie.

It was strange to see this hunt both through her visions and before her eyes. Everything that was happening had two outcomes: that which was happening and the possibilities she could see. It was almost disorienting and more than once she found her speed slowing down. Pushing herself faster, she watched as Emmett reached out to grab onto Victoria only for her to throw him into a tree. The sound of his body colliding with the giant conifer was grating, a thudding crunch that resulted in deep snarls sounding from each one of them.

It took Emmett no time at all to recover, Jasper speeding ahead to take his place and Alice watched with wide eyes as her husband vaulted from tree to tree only to miss the redhead by less than an inch. He fell to the ground, tumbling in the leaves as Victoria shot across the ravine. She could feel Esme's anger the closer she got to the matriarch of their coven, the woman snarling as she whipped her head to the side.

"She's getting away!" Esme yelled furiously.

"No she's not!" Jasper called out as the wolf pack broke through the cover of trees across the divide.

Their snarls and snaps filled the air, the scraping of their claws against the stone and earth cliffs grating against the vampires' ears. Alice watched as Seth skidded to a stop across the divide, his eyes following them almost longingly. He was hunting with his pack this time, staying across the divide, their lines clearly drawn. She knew that Seth missed being with them, the wolf having taken to her family as easily as they had all taken to him. Staring at him for a second longer, Alice's eyes widened as her vision flashed through her mind.

"Emmett, no!" she called out, but it was already too late, her brother having launched himself into the air.

Paul snarled as he raced forward, his large jaws snapping at Emmett as he threw the vampire into the river below. Their eyes held; vampire and werewolf growling darkly as they defended their territories, their right to the hunt. Alice shook her head, Jasper's frustration felt as they watched Victoria slip easily away, the distraction giving her the opening she needed. They couldn't chase after her because she was back in the wolf's territory and the wolves weren't moving for fear of Paul and Emmett coming to blows. With neither side willing to back down it was left to Sam and Carlisle to break up the stare down and stop the impending fight.

"Idiots," Alice whispered furiously. "We almost had her."

"Jane would've crippled her," Felix said only to growl low as he thought of the diminutive vampire. "Or them," he finished his thought.

"Edward and Bella will be coming home tonight," Alice said and shook her head. "He's too damn impulsive," she said of Emmett as she shook her head.

"It's not impulsiveness," Felix said with authority. "I've had a long time to temper my lust for the hunt. There was a time when I would've jumped across territory lines as well. It comes with being the protector, giving up the hunt is unacceptable."

"Yes, well," Rosalie stepped up to their side. "I love my husband, but if you can get him to think before he does something like that, I'd really appreciate it."

Felix laughed heartily as he looked at Rosalie. The blonde rolled her eyes, shaking her head as she walked away and found Esme to be chuckling as well. Casting a look at the caramel haired woman, she watched as Emmett came toward her, his clothing sticking to him in a soaking mess. She backed away seconds before he snatched her up, shrieking as she pushed him away.

"Really, Emmett?!" Rosalie stared at him. "I just had this dry cleaned."

"We'll get her, Rose," he promised her. "We won't let her hurt Bella."

"She won't touch our family," Carlisle promised solemnly and blinked as he turned his attention to the vibrations coming from his pocket.

"Who is it?" Esme asked as she watched him stare at his iPhone.

"Aro," he said with a frown and brought the device to his ear. "Angela," he said as he listened to the voicemail, his eyes widening.

**:::::**

"Mom," Bella stepped outside and pulled the door closed behind her.

"Bella," Renee smiled as she dragged out her daughter's name and spun back to face the ocean. "Isn't it just beautiful? Aren't you going to miss this?"

"The sun's nice," Bella nodded as she stepped through the sand and sparse grasses. "Mom, can we talk now."

"Bella," Renee turned her head back to stare at her daughter, holding her hat to her head as the wind picked up. "Not this again. That's ancient history. Live in the now! Just be happy."

"I need to know," Bella insisted as she moved closer. "Did you ever blame me?"

"Blame you for what?" Renee asked her as she let the ocean breeze soothe her.

"You know what," Bella said as she stared at her. "All those times, all those guys…"

"Of course, I didn't blame you," Renee shook her head. "Sure some things might have been easier alone, but I love you." She shook her head again when she saw the look on her daughter's face. "It's done, Bella. I'm not talking about this anymore."

Bella sighed as she bit her lip and closed her eyes. All she wanted was one mature conversation with her mother about the past, one moment where she actually felt understood, instead she was turned away. She knew that her mother loved her, knew that on some level Renee understood her need to talk, but the fact was, her mother refused to discuss the painful things. Making an excuse she didn't remember after uttering it, Bella turned and walked back inside the house where Edward hid from the bright Florida sun.

"Bella," Edward held his hand out to her.

"Part of me wants to yell at her," she said as she placed her palm in his, letting him draw her close.

"I don't think that would do either of you any good," he told her gently as he stroked his hand down the length of her hair. "Tired?" he asked when she rested her cheek against his shoulder and grew heavy against him. "You didn't sleep much last night."

"I don't want to be tired," she said softly and he chuckled.

"My fragile little human," he teased her softly. "Come on, you should be able to get a short nap before she makes dinner."

Bella chuckled tiredly, letting him lead her toward the bedroom. They both knew that Renee couldn't cook her way out of a Chef Boyardee can, but it amused them whenever she claimed to be the chef. Watching as Bella climbed into the bed, Edward grinned as she fell back into the pile of pillows. He chuckled at the sound of surprise she made; half sitting up, when he took off her shoes. Encouraging her to lie down and rest, he set her shoes on the floor by the door before joining her on the bed.

"Go to sleep, Bella," Edward said as he wrapped her in his arms. "So fragile," he whispered, kissing her hair as she drifted off to sleep.

**:::::**

"Are you alright?" Edward asked as he walked down the concourse with Bella, his hand resting in the small of her back.

"I don't know," Bella said as she nodded to the flight attendant before taking her seat on the air plane. "There was this look in her eyes," she said and shook her head. "I don't know, maybe I'm seeing things that aren't there."

Edward remained quiet, giving Bella the time she needed to collect her thoughts and allowing him the time he needed to analyze all that he had read from Renee and Phil over the weekend. Even after everything that had happened, Renee still hadn't told Phil a thing and Bella hadn't seemed comfortable opening up about their past either. While Edward knew that it hadn't been his place to tell Phil, Bella's step father had asked him point blank what all the tension was about. He had waited until they were truly alone and then, monitoring the man's thoughts throughout, Edward had told Phil all that he knew.

He was certain that Jasper would've read a firestorm of emotion from Phil during their conversation, his thoughts tumbling over each other like drunken acrobats. The man truly felt protective and fatherly toward Bella, his upset clear in his thoughts even as his face remained carefully calm. To know that there had been the separation, the reversal of roles and shifting of responsibilities had explained to Phil all of the little things he had seen between them. He had thought Renee leaned more on Bella for the hard decisions she should have been making instead.

"Edward?"

He turned his eyes to Bella, frowning at the concern he saw in her gaze. The slight move, the gentle brush of her bent finger across the edge of his jaw almost too swift to be noticed told him what she was thinking and he smiled before kissing her. It was her way of telling him that he was tense. Lifting the arm rest between them, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and tucked her close to his side. Their flight would be nine hours long, non-stop and as soon as they landed in Seattle it would be another two hour drive. They wouldn't be stopping at his house or hers first, instead they would be going directly to the high school.

"Why don't you try and get at least a little bit of sleep," he encouraged and kissed her hair.

"You told Phil, didn't you?" she asked softly and Edward took in a deep breath to answer, grimacing at the scent of so many humans around them.

"I did," he said softly. "He asked me and I wasn't going to lie to him, Bella," he told her as he let his fingers comb through the ends of her hair. "His only thoughts were of you. He was concerned about you."

"He was?" she asked and watched him smile softly as he kissed her head.

"He was."

He kissed her head again, repeating the slow tugging motion of combing his fingers through the bottom few inches of her hair and smiled as his ministrations put her easily to sleep. He'd often wondered what it felt like for her, why the simple repetition was able to soothe her so easily, but he had never dared to ask. He remembered his human youth, his mother telling him once that there were certain things about girls that not even a girl could explain. Tipping his head to rest his cheek on her hair, he wondered if this was one of those things.

The flight was over sooner than he realized and he smiled at the drowsy expression on Bella's face as the passengers around them woke her with their noise. He helped her up from her seat, carried her bag for her and smiled as he led her down the concourse. Carlisle and Esme were waiting for them, his father sharing with him the result of the hunt through his talent and Edward nodded quietly. He grinned to see that Bella was practically asleep again, being led through the halls of the airport by Esme's guiding arm around her waist.

Charlie had wanted to be there, Esme told them, but had been unable to get anyone to cover for him at the station. Bella was nearly asleep once more as they made their way out to the parking garage, Carlisle taking the travel bags from his son and smiling softly as he watched Edward lift Bella into his arms. She protested weakly, her voice muffled and half hearted as she laid her head against his shoulder and closed her eyes. It had been Alice who insisted they gather Bella and Edward from the airport instead of simply allowing him to drive his car and Edward chuckled silently when he found his car to be at home.

Edward was careful as he tucked Bella into the backseat of Carlisle's Mercedes and gave a lopsided grin, nodding as he stood away from the open door. Moving into the space Edward had vacated, Carlisle let one knee rest on the edge of the seat as he leant toward Bella and touched his hand to her face. In truth, the only heat from her skin was courtesy of the light sunburn that colored her cheeks and the bridge of her nose. Pressing a fatherly kiss to her brow before backing out of the door, Carlisle nodded and watched his son climb in beside her.

It wasn't long before they were on the road and even with the congestion of early morning traffic; it seemed to take them no time at all to reach their home on the outskirts of Forks. Alice woke Bella quickly, scolding her human sister for the circles under her eyes and pressing a plastic lidded paper cup full of coffee into her hand. Bella barely had enough time to adjust to being awake before she was being taken outside to Edward's car and still couldn't remember exactly when Alice had done her makeup.

"Are you awake yet?" Edward teased as he rounded the bend and pulled into the high school's parking lot.

"I'm pretty sure Alice is directly related to the blue fairy god mother from Cinderella," Bella said as she looked down at her clothes, still unable to recall when her outfit had changed.

"Just don't tell her that or she'll start saying 'bippity boppity boo'," Edward laughed and slipped into an empty parking space as he turned off the engine.

"If she had a fairy wand, I think we'd all be in trouble," Bella muttered with wry humor and saw the tense set of Edward's jaw. "What is it?"

"If I asked you to stay in the car, would you?" he asked as he stepped out of the car, Bella following suit. "Of course not."

"Jacob's here?" Bella asked with a frown as she walked forward with Edward by her side.

"He's checking to see if you're still human," Edward told her as they approached the bronze teen.

"Jacob," Bella spoke his name, drawing his attention as they approached. "Where the hell have you been?"

"Where have I been?" he asked her. "What about you? Charlie said you were out of town for three days."

"Yeah, in Florida seeing my mom," she told him.

"Look, I just came here to warn you," Jacob said as he looked at Edward. "If any of your kind come on our land again…"

"Wait, what?" Bella asked as she looked between them.

"You didn't tell her?" Jake asked and watched as Edward shook his head slowly in warning.

"Jacob…" Edward shook his head as he read the wolf's thoughts. "Emmett and Paul had a misunderstanding."

"Tell me what?" Bella asked as she looked at Edward.

"She should know," Jacob said. "She's the one the redhead wants."

"Victoria was here?" Bella asked with alarm as she stared at Jake. "You knew?" she asked Edward, her eyes drifting to the side before snapping back to stare at him as the answer came to her. "Alice's vision," she accused.

"I was trying to protect you," Edward said.

"By lying to me," she shook her head. "You and I will talk later," she told him before turning to Jacob. "Why haven't you been returning my calls?"

"I have nothing to say," he said and looked away.

"Yeah, well I have plenty," she said and moved toward his dirt bike.

"Bella, don't," Edward warned as he reached out to stop her from following the werewolf.

"What, you don't trust me?" she asked Edward, her frustration feeding off her body's demand for more sleep.

"Of course I trust you," he told her and watched as she turned back toward Jacob.

"Hey, wipe that grin off your face, Jake," Bella told him as she climbed onto the back of his bike. "You haven't won anything."

"You better hang on tight, Bells," he told her as he kicked the bike into gear and sped out of the school parking lot with her.

The sound of the motor and road were too loud for a conversation and she comforted herself as she watched the familiar scenery slip passed them. It took no time at all for them to reach La Push and she grinned at the sound of yips and excitement that came from the teens inside. Paul and Jared were the first to come out and greet her, the teasing bantering from all of them offering her some comfort and she smiled as Emily approached. Hugging the woman tightly as she watched Leah jog around the house only to phase and disappear into the woods, she turned her eyes back on Jake.

They walked together, the path familiar enough to be forgotten, and talked at length about almost everything. She watched him, glancing at her friend out of the corner of her eye, as he seemed to open up to her while being very cautious as to where he let the conversation go. It was nearing mid afternoon before she had realized any time had passed at all when she told him of her impending change, the date already having been set. She backed away quickly, recoiling from anger and bigotry she hadn't been prepared for and had asked to be taken home moments later.

Shaking her head as she stepped inside the home she shared with Charlie, she spoke a few short words to her father before a knock sounded at the front door. Thinking it to be Jake, Bella opened the door and looked at Edward, his concern edged with a touch of fear mixed with frustration. He spoke to her, taking in a deep breath and frowning as he watched her wince and tug on her jacket, but it wasn't the wet dog smell that drew his attention.

"Someone's been here," he told her as he jogged up to her room and reached out for the dream catcher hanging on her bed. "Take a shower and get changed," he instructed her, nodding toward the bathroom as he took his phone from his pocket. "You're staying with us tonight."

"Charlie…"

"On his way to the station," he answered for her. "Emmett, Jasper," he called his brothers to Bella's house as she closed herself inside the bathroom. "I need you to come to Bella's house and track a scent. There's a new player in town."


	67. Chapter 65

Chapter 65

She watched from the doorway as Angela sat at the wooden table. The girl was working diligently, typing quickly on the computer in front of her. She made a small sound, trying to gain Angela's attention, but the noise went unnoticed and she tipped her head to the side. Releasing a soft snort of annoyance at being ignored, she moved forward, her steps unheard as she snuck up behind the human girl. She offered up another sound, this time letting the noise rumble in her throat and waited patiently only to narrow her eyes when she was ignored once again.

She didn't like the lack of attention, the distraction that kept Angela's eyes riveted on the machine. She'd been sitting there for hours, working on one thing after another and it was high time that someone gave her a little attention. Moving swiftly into the chair across the table from Angela, she offered up another noise before narrowing her eyes and growling softly. Two could play at this game, she thought and if she were going to be ignored in such a manner, she was damn well going to make her presence known.

Hopping up onto the table top, she moved until she was sitting directly behind the shining silver monitor of the all-in-one iMac computer. Again her presence was ignored and again she narrowed her eyes. What would it take to get this girl's attention? Moving around from behind the computer, she slipped quietly closer and watched with wide gold eyes as Angela's fingers danced over the keyboard. Narrowing her eyes on the girl's face before looking at her hands, she decided that perhaps she would have better luck getting Angela's attention if she made her hands stop moving.

Reaching out with lightning speed, she swiped at Angela's hand only for the girl's fingers to move out of the way before they ever touched. She tried again with the other hand only to have the same thing happen. This time it seemed, Angela's attention was pulled away by the book lying open on the other side of the computer. Giving a low growl as she moved around behind the computer, she came up to the side of the book and looked down. It certainly didn't look important to her, but it was keeping Angela incredibly focused which only solidified her belief that the book had to go.

There were many ways that she could take attention away from the book, several of them involving some kind of destruction, but the best method seemed the simplest. Giving Angela one last glance, she laid down on her side and braced all four paws against the large textbook before giving it one mighty kick. The book slid effortlessly off of the table and she sat up quickly, her tail twitching back and forth as she purred loudly when Angela's eyes finally landed on her.

"Rain, I was working with that," she said and looked up when Felix appeared in the doorway.

"Tired of trigonometry?" he asked with a grin as he lifted the book from the floor and handed it back to Angela.

"Rain decided I was," she said with a roll of her eyes and looked at the kitten in question. "Kicked it right off the table."

Offering up a short purring meow, Rain pranced in front of the keyboard and sat down on the edge of keys. Her tail moved back and forth over the keys slowly as she studied the pendant hanging around Angela's neck. Each time Angela moved, the carved stone moved and it was calling to her like a mouse daring to be caught. Sitting up on her hindquarters as Angela and Felix continued to talk, Rain reached out quickly to grab for the pendant with her claws only to find herself lifted into the air by the scruff of her neck.

"Yeah, cute-face doesn't work on me, remember?" Felix said as he looked Rain in her eyes. "I told Sulpicia you'd be trouble from the moment I met you, but did she listen to me? No," he said and glanced at Angela when she giggled. "How much longer do you have with that?" he asked and nodded to the computer.

Angela blew out a breath slowly and looked at the screen. "Maybe another hour or so," she estimated. "Math is always the hardest part for me. I get it when I'm using it in practical applications, but when it's a test it's like this it turns into a foreign language."

"You know, considering that you easily understand Latin, Italian, and both ancient and modern Greek, comparing math to a foreign language doesn't make it sound that difficult for you," he quipped and laughed when she balled up a piece of scratch paper and threw it at him. "All right, I'll leave you to your work," he chuckled and stepped out of the library with Rain in his arms.

Adjusting the glasses on her face before rubbing her right temple with the tips of two fingers, Angela stared at the screen through narrowed eyes. She would much rather be playing with the kitten than taking the last of her midterm math exam, but she didn't have much of a choice. Math was the one subject she struggled in and only because of the tests. The class work and homework she understood perfectly, but the tests were far too cut and dried to her. Blinking quickly several times as she stared at the screen in front of her, she tried to understand why the computer seemed to be shining around the edges.

Closing her eyes tightly and removing her glasses, Angela opened her eyes only to whimper when it felt as though long sharp pins of fire were stabbing her through each eye. Closing her eyes again and breathing in deeply as she ground her teeth together, she opened her eyes once more only to feel as though she were being blinded by the light. She was fine just seconds ago, she thought with helpless frustration and reached out for her glasses. She felt the water bottle next to her tip over and was thankful that the lid was on tightly when she failed to catch it before it fell.

"I don't have time for this," Angela said as she tried to focus her eyes on the computer screen only to realize that her vision had become too blurred to see anything clearly.

"Would you mind a little help?"

"Sulpicia?" Angela turned her eyes up to the woman who was standing next to her and smiled softly.

"I should hope so," the woman chuckled as she pulled a nearby chair closer and sat down next to Angela. "Felix and I are the only other two in the house right now. I think it would be pretty odd if he had long blonde hair, wouldn't you?" she asked, smiling when Angela chuckled and nodded. "You tell me what you need and I'll help."

"I can't really make out the screen anymore," Angela said with a touch of annoyance.

"Are you in pain?" Sulpicia asked, her brow furrowed deeply with worry.

"I've been working through that. That's not the problem," Angela said and bit her lip. "I just can't see it anymore and this is trig, it's hard enough to do when I can see."

Sulpicia glanced to the computer screen and stared at it with wide eyes. She saw the numbers, the letters and the strange symbols, but none of it made any sense to her. Looking down to Angela's notes, or what she thought were notes, she only found more confusion. Her silence was answer enough and Angela chuckled softly, feeling more amused than frustrated and shook her head.

"Do you see the blue 'save' button on the screen?" she asked Sulpicia and waited for the woman's affirmative response. "Just click on that for me and it will save what I've done so far. Believe me; even my math teacher wouldn't be able to help me at this point. Trig is one of those things that you have to be able to see in order to do. Either that or be completely blind and able to read Braille."

Sulpicia chuckled. "Well then, I don't feel so bad," she said with humor and helped Angela up from the table. "Are you hungry? Humans eat more frequently than we do."

"I'm ok," Angela laughed and walked beside Sulpicia as she was led into the living room. "We could just sit and talk," she offered speaking the words in Latin and smiled at the sound of Sulpicia's excitement.

"You're improving so quickly!" Sulpicia praised in Latin and looked up when Felix stepped toward them.

"I understand almost everything now," Angela returned, falling easily in the strictly Latin language conversation as she sat down on the couch. "I just don't always know how to say everything."

"That's perfectly fine," Felix told her as he sat down next to her, rolling his eyes when Rain jumped into his lap and began wrestling with his hand. "Like your claws could do anything to me," he said to the kitten and chuckled.

"Maybe not, but she'll still try," Angela laughed. "I think I hate this stage the most," she said and leaned back against the couch. "I can see, but not clearly enough to make out what I'm looking at it. It's mostly shapes and colors now. If you were standing rather than sitting next to me," she said and turned her eyes on Felix, "I wouldn't be able to tell if I was looking at you or a bookcase."

"I'd like to think I'm better looking than a bookcase," Felix teased and smiled when Angela laughed. "Carlisle and Esme should be home soon," he told her and frowned at her look of confusion. "What?"

"You always say that like you think I should be afraid to be left alone with you two," Angela said. "I'm not afraid of you," she said and shook her head. "If you're expecting me to be, I won't."

"She hasn't ever been afraid of us, Felix," Sulpicia said softly and grinned at her friend. "Even that very first day, she was nervous, but she wasn't afraid."

"You're as bad as the kitten," Felix told Angela. "No common sense whatsoever."

"I do too have common sense!" Angela laughed. "I'm just not afraid of you, is all."

"Mmhmm," he teased her with determination and winked at Sulpicia. "For a girl who can't see, you certainly are brave."

"Brave has nothing to do with it," Angela told him as the front door opened and closed. "You see, I know the truth," she told him, not hearing Carlisle step into the room.

"Oh?" Felix asked as Carlisle stood back with a grin and watched the interaction with interest. "And what's the truth?"

"You're just a big fluffy bunny," she told him and Carlisle's eyes widened as he chuckled with surprised amusement.

"Bunny?" Carlisle asked as he stepped closer and saw the look passing between the two ancient vampires.

"You told her about that?" Felix asked Sulpicia and saw the woman shrug with an expression of exaggerated innocence.

"I thought she was sleeping," she said unable to hide her grin.

"Yup," Angela said and stood from the couch. "Bunny," she nodded and looked down as she concentrated on the distorted dark colored object she knew to be the coffee table.

"When did you lose your sight?" Carlisle asked as he helped Angela around the table.

"It's not gone completely," Angela said. "A few minutes ago, I think," she said and turned toward the direction of the couch.

"Roughly forty-five minutes," Sulpicia offered and saw Angela's eyes widen. "Time passes faster when you're having fun and we were talking for longer than you thought."

"Her Latin's damn near perfect," Felix said with pride and grinned at the sight of Angela tucked against Carlisle's side as she stood within the circle of his arm. "She catches on to new languages very quickly."

"Esme noticed that too when she began teaching Angela Italian," he said and looked at Angela to find her eyes closed. "Are you falling asleep or just keeping your eyes closed?" he asked, knowing that the blurred vision had a tendency to bring on bouts of vertigo for her.

"Just keeping my eyes closed," Angela answered. "I can almost see you in a way when I focus on the feel of your energy," she said and twitched her lips. "Maybe it's not really migraines," she said with humor. "Maybe I was actually bitten by a radioactive spider."

Carlisle chuckled. "I don't think you're turning into Spiderman," he told her as he laughed.

"Maybe not," she agreed. "But it'd be pretty neat to have that web thing. I could swing through the trees like George of the Jungle."

"You've been watching cartoons again," he accused Felix with a chuckle.

"They're oddly entertaining," the man said with a bemused grin.

"Emmett's said the same thing more than once," Carlisle chuckled.

"Hey, just think of it this way," Angela grinned up at Carlisle. "At least it's Spiderman, George of the Jungle and Batman. He could be watching Sponge Bob or the Power Puff Girls."

"I suppose we should take our victories where we can get them," he told her wisely and grinned at Sulpicia when she looked at Felix and rolled her eyes. "Have you taken your medicine?" he asked Angela and arched a brow at the delay in her response. "I'll take that as a no."

"It's not exactly a 'no'," she said as he led her into the kitchen. "It's more of a 'I can't remember'. I know that I felt the migraine start a few hours ago, but I was in the middle of my English Lit midterm and I can't remember if I actually took anything or not."

Carlisle took in a deep breath as he looked at her and studied her scent. Though it was very difficult to distinguish if there were medicines in her system by scent alone, he tried anyway. He pulled in another deep breath before admitting defeat and guiding her to the table to sit down. Moving to the fridge, he reached inside the freezer and drew out the small carton of dark chocolate fudge swirl ice cream. It may not be the healthiest of snacks, but he knew she favored it and knew the chocolate would bring her comfort.

"Alright," he conceded and smiled as he set the small bowl in front of her. "The chocolate should help somewhat. Eat that while I go check your medicine," he told her and smiled at the sight of her grin.

"Where'd Mom go?" she asked as he stepped away and Carlisle smiled at the name she had taken to calling Esme. "She had been working out in the greenhouse and then came in a little while ago sounding almost annoyed."

"She was called away to a meeting with the firm she works with in Seattle. She should be back sometime tomorrow afternoon," he told her and dropped a kiss to her hair. "By the way," he chuckled knowing that her sense of time was often skewed when her attention was held by her academics. "Your mother left before ten this morning, it's well after five."

"It's been that long?" Angela asked and glanced up only to roll her eyes when she remembered she wouldn't be able to read the clock on the microwave.

"I take it you didn't stop for lunch while you were working on your midterms?" he asked and chuckled at the chagrinned look on her face.

"Um… no, not really," Angela answered. "But I got almost everything done," she said with a smile and Carlisle chuckled.

"Eat your ice cream," he told her and grinned at her.

**:::::**

There was a part of him that wanted to rage. Kick and scream and throw things like a toddler having a tantrum, but he held back. It was difficult to keep calm and act as though nothing had happened when it felt to him that everything had changed. They had left. They had both left for almost two months and now they were back. He wanted to kill something, definitely a human. Leaning back in his throne and affecting a bored expression, Caius let the memories of his time spent with Gianna and Bianca flow through his mind.

He missed the sound of their screams, their cries of pain and the way they had both pleaded for mercy. The scent of their fear had soothed him, called to him like a fine wine and he drew out each moment just to make it last a little longer. Aro wasn't aware of what had happened that he was certain of. If he had, Caius was certain that the telepathic ancient would have acted. Closing his eyes, he folded his left hand into a slow fist as he recalled the feeling of bones snapping beneath his fingers. They had broken with the ease of dry twigs and the sound…

"Tonight, we will have a feast," Aro said, breaking through Caius' musing as he motioned to the group of humans Heidi was leading toward them.

"I believe I may dine out tonight," Caius said only to be silenced by Aro's low growl.

"You will feed here," Aro said, his voice tight with anger even as his expression appeared pleasant and calm. "Do not think me unaware of what you did with Gianna and Bianca," he warned as he stood from his seat and glanced back at Marcus.

"They were inconsequential," Caius dismissed.

"Careful brother," Marcus warned, his tone painfully bored and devoid of emotion. "We cannot fight before we eat. They would make a mess."

Aro clenched his jaw and closed his eyes looking as though he were on the verge of losing his temper, however Marcus knew different. His words had the desired effect on Aro, his brother's mind being cast back to the drowsy ramblings of Angela and her comparison of what she thought feeding on a group of humans must be like. While they both knew that she well understood the seriousness of such a topic, she compared it to humans who ate live miniature octopus. Her whispered words flowed through both of their minds, bringing with them a sense of calm.

Nodding once to Marcus, thanking him silently for drawing his attention away from the anger inspired by Caius' actions, Aro moved toward the barren banquet hall that held the humans. There would be time later to deal with Caius, but for now he needed to feed. He looked to Marcus as he chose his dinner and waited for the man's nod before draining his victim in a matter of seconds. They needed to begin weeding out the weakest of Caius' loyal brood, but everything had to be done carefully so as not to raise their brother's suspicions. They couldn't risk a war, even as secluded as they were in the castle; Aro knew the humans would be drawn to the commotion.

"I shall retire," Marcus said slowly and met Caius' challenging gaze. "You have something to say?"

"You have changed," Caius said suspiciously. "I'm not certain how, but something about you has changed."

Arching an eyebrow as he remained silent, Marcus held the man's gaze until Caius turned away. It wasn't often that they found themselves locked in a stare down, but with both himself and Aro having talents, Caius always turned away first. His brother's jealousy and animosity was only growing stronger and Marcus was certain that very soon Caius would slip up royally.

"Perhaps a museum tonight, brother?" Aro said and Marcus nodded silently.

"I grow bored with such things," Caius said as he turned to watch his wife glide across the room toward him.

"I haven't seen Sulpicia at all since your return," Athenodora commented as she stood next to Caius. "Where is she, Aro?"

"She is safe, my dear," he told the ancient woman pleasantly. "That is all that matters."

"Of course," she said with a grin that was as false as it was predatory. "Come, husband, I feel like staying in tonight."

"You've sorted out at least two from those I mentioned?" Marcus asked and watched Aro nod slowly once the couple had disappeared from earshot. "Then it will begin tonight."

"Yes," Aro said quietly. "Our numbers are back up to near two hundred," he said with displeasure. "Sorting this carefully could make the entire process last a year or more."

"We knew it would be slow," Marcus said as they turned away. "Too quickly and it would be unsafe for us and her. What of Chelsea?" he asked as they moved toward the doors leading outside.

"She has suspicions, yes, but she knows better than to comment on them. It is rather amusing though to see how frustrated she becomes when she realizes her talent has no affect on me since Sulpicia is no longer here. She cannot break a bond apart if one half is missing," he said with an almost feral grin. "To think of all the torment my wife suffered, all of her upset caused because of Chelsea's manipulation."

"I warned you when Caius first brought her to us," Marcus said. "You wouldn't listen."

"I was a fool," Aro said in a rare show of self depreciation. "And my precious Sulpicia suffered for it."

"And now," Marcus said as they exited one alley only to enter another. "It is time to rectify it. We will set right what has been made wrong, if for no other reason than to protect those who Felix guards."

"We should call them both soon, it's been almost a fortnight since our last communication," Aro said with a slow nod. "This place?" he asked as he looked up at the abandoned building. "How have you kept them all here?"

"When one of us gives an order…" Marcus said and looked at Aro with amusement. "It is not as easy as I thought it would be to act unaffected. I am constantly battling the urge to watch him burn to ash."

"As am I brother. As am I."

**:::::**

She was thankful that her sight had returned completely after eating the dinner Carlisle had prepared for her, the migraine medicine helping as well. Stepping up to her room as she felt the desire to lie down and relax, she took her phone from her pocket and thought once more about calling Marcus and Aro. She missed them both and wanted nothing more than to hear their voices. Opening her bedroom door and grinning at Rain when she scampered past her to hide under the bed, she shook her head and smiled as she set the song to play on her phone.

Angela bit her lip and closed her eyes as she fell gracefully back to lie on top of her neatly made bed. The song she was listening to had been played on nearly every radio station to a point that most of her friends were annoyed with it; but not her. The low throaty quality of the stringed instrument was invigorating, hypnotizing and made her feel as though she could float away on the notes themselves. She loved the sound of it; the cello soothing her in a way that made her feel like dancing and she laughed at the thought that she could feel the instrument in her hands. The vibrations, the way the cadence of the instrument lilted back and forth was reminiscent of teasing movements.

The notes went back and forth quickly, the instrument only resting on one note long enough to entice her to want more and she snatched her BlackBerry cell phone up from the bed seconds before the song could end to make certain that she had set it to repeat. She couldn't get enough of the song. From the very first moment that she'd heard it all she had wanted was more. She knew it was a silly notion, she'd never even seen the instrument in real life, never stood in the same room as one, but all she wanted was to play this song with Edward.

"She's listening to it again," Rosalie said to Carlisle with a soft smile as he came to stand next to her in the hall. "I swear she's glowing."

"She is," he confirmed with a smile as they watched Angela listen to the recorded song. "What is the name of this song?" he asked as Edward came up to them.

"Secrets, by One Republic," Edward answered and took in a deep breath. "A cello. She wants a cello."

"A cello," Rosalie whispered as she looked at Angela. "It's perfect for her."

"What is it that she's thinking of when she listens to it?" Carlisle asked of his telepathic son. "She always has that dreamy smile."

Edward chuckled softly. "She's listening to the song, but focusing on the cello. She imagines holding it, playing it. She wants to play this song with me."

"Christmas," Alice whispered knowingly and turned her delighted gaze up to Carlisle.

"Christmas," he nodded in reply.

Carlisle smiled as he looked upon Angela from the hidden spot he kept in the hall. Spruce was the best wood for a cello, the vibrations perfect to make the throaty instrument sing with unmatched beauty. A new one would not cut it; it would lack the spirit he knew that she would respond to. An older cello, flawless condition and handmade, that is what he would find for her. Smiling as he stepped away from his place in the hall, Carlisle nodded to himself as the thought came to him. Italy was the birthplace of the cello, and what he would want for her would need to be at least two hundred years old.

"Marcus did ask if there was anything he could do for her," Edward reminded him with a wide grin.

"Yes he did," Carlisle said aloud as he moved to the stairs. "A cello."

Alice smiled brightly as she moved from her place in the hall and stepped into Angela's open bedroom. Snatching the phone from the bedspread, she sat next to Angela and giggled at the questioning arch of her sister's eyebrow. Alice knew that she was growing tired, she could see it in the way that her human sister grew reluctant to move, the bed molding around her to cushion her body. Leaning down over Angela to kiss her forehead, she reached up and turned off the bedside lamp before exiting the room and pulling the door closed behind her.

Angela was asleep within moments, the world around her fading away as the misty wisps of dreams took its place. She breathed in deeply as her dreams brought her to the strange place made of stone of wood. There were paintings and statues around almost every corner and she never grew tired of exploring the place her dreams brought her to. Frowning down at the chill feeling against her feet, she wondered why it was that in every dream like this she had, she was barefoot. In these dreams she could smell the air, feel the ground beneath her feet and objects she touched with her hands as though the place she was in was real.

Looking up from the painting she was studying, her brows drew together at the sound of voices coming closer to her. She couldn't recall having heard voices in this dream before and walked closer as she sought to put a face to the voice. She didn't recognize the man with the long blond hair, or the woman walking next to him, but felt a cold shiver pass through her as though she were being warned away. He felt cold, cruel and evil as though he had been made from the depths of hell itself and even his beauty could not take away the fear she felt.

Angela held her breath as she watched him pass by, hoping and praying that he hadn't seen her and sighed with relief when the couple continued on their journey down the hall. Closing her eyes for a brief moment, Angela continued her walk down the hall and found herself both curious and amused to have found another person in her dreamland. Who was this woman with black hair, she wondered as she stepped closer. The girl was tiny, easily a foot shorter than her and seemed almost timid. She wanted to know her name, learn more about this strange girl and frowned in confusion when she stopped walking only to turn around and look at her.

Her face was pale, delicately featured and young. She was slight of build, as tiny as Alice was and Angela grinned at the comparison. The woman turned around seconds later and she wondered why she hadn't said anything to her. Certainly the woman had seen her, Angela thought as she continued to follow her down the hall. How could she not have, she had been staring right at her. Her curiosity getting the better of her, Angela trailed after the woman nearly giggling each time the woman turned to look behind her. She had been following her through a maze of hallways only to be led to a room that held more books than she had ever seen.

Her lips parted, her mouth falling open in awe as she looked around the room with wide eyes. There were so many books and she didn't even know where to begin. Stepping toward one set of books lying in a neat formation on a marble table, Angela reached out and touched one of them, delighting in the feel of the supple leather binding. Closing her eyes as she focused her thoughts on the feel of the leather and the smell of the book, Angela wrapped her fingers around the corner of the cover and opened it slowly only to drop it back in place when she heard a scream behind her.

"I told him this place was haunted," the woman she followed said before fleeing the room and Angela frowned in confusion.

"Haunted?" Angela looked around the room and shrugged. "It doesn't look haunted," she said and turned her attention back to the book.

"My dear, we are vampires," she heard Aro's voice say and her face brightened with excitement, "and you're afraid of a ghost?"

"I'm telling you, Master, it's haunted," the woman insisted and Angela turned her attention toward the door as the two stepped inside. "See? Look?" she said and Angela frowned when the woman pointed at her.

Angela met Aro's gaze with confusion before looking at the woman standing next to him. She had followed the woman throughout the castle, but she was certain the woman had known she was there. Rolling her eyes at the diminutive vampire's insistence that the room was indeed haunted, Angela turned her attention back to the book in front of her and opened the cover once more. Her movements only seemed to make the woman's agitation worse and Angela turned around with the intention of asking her why she was upset by her being in the library.

"Renata," Aro touched her cheek and smiled with amusement. "Trust me when I tell you that I am aware of the presence within these walls and that one day it will make complete sense to you. Go now, gather the books you wanted and enjoy your evening."

It was a hard thing not to laugh as he wanted to and Aro met Angela's gaze with amusement. She still didn't understand that she was traveling from one person to the next by the pull of their mind, nor did she understand that the place she was in was real and not a dream. Watching Renata leave the room quietly, Aro moved to the wide double doors and shut them tightly before returning to the center of the room.

"Good evening, Angela," he greeted her and chuckled when her transparent form seemed to fuse with his. "I miss you as well, my dear."

"Why did she think this room was haunted?" Angela asked as she turned back to the book she had been studying moments before.

Aro chuckled. "Because, only I and Marcus are able to see you," he told her. "When you speak, I hear your words in my mind and when I look at you, I see you as barely a wisp of an image."

"A wisp?" Angela questioned with wide eyes. "You're in my dream, you know. I should be more than a wisp. Unless I'm dead," she thought with a frown as she considered the possibility. "I don't think I'm dead."

"You're not," he told her as he stepped toward her and chuckled. "This is part of your talent. You're growing stronger," he said and felt his amusement fall away only to be replaced by concern instead. "What were you thinking about before you fell asleep?" he asked her as he sought to understand her talent as much as to explain it to her.

"You," she answered simply. "And Marcus. I've been worried about you two. I was afraid that going back to your home in Italy would make you sad again. I didn't want that."

"Was there anything else?" he asked her as his grin reappeared. "Renata said that she's felt you before."

"Just the museum I keep dreaming about, but I guess that would be this place, huh?" she asked as she looked around the room. "I didn't know there was a library before. Usually I just wander around and look at all of the statues and paintings. I thought I made this place up."

"Not quite," he told her and watched her study the room. "How are you doing, my dear?" he asked her as he watched her image fade away until he could only feel her presence.

"Tired mostly," she said and he could feel her shrug even though he couldn't see the movement. "It seems like I'm tired all the time, no matter what I do. Staying awake is hard; fighting through the migraines to complete my class work is even harder. I was almost done with my last midterm exam when my eyes decided that I didn't need to see anymore," she said and he could feel her pull away. "I'm sorry, I really shouldn't be complaining."

"You have every right to," he told her and felt her warmth wrap around him, filling him completely as though being touched by the sun. "What else?" he asked her and grinned when the pages of the book she had been looking at began to move seemingly on their own.

"Something's happening," she said and he could feel the frown in her energy, the confusion and concern. "Papa's been watching the news a lot more often. There's been a lot of gang violence in Seattle lately and he's been pretty upset by it. Felix is upset too. Every now and then it sounds like they're talking about sending me away, but I can never catch enough of the conversation to actually understand what they're saying."

"Gang violence?" he questioned her and watched as her image began to reform, first barely a mist until she was standing before him translucent, but a complete image. "Do you know what kind of violence?" he asked her and watched the expression on her face as she searched for the memory.

"A lot of people missing," she said with confusion. "Mostly late high school and college kids, but there have been a lot more dead. I can't remember the details; I'm usually asleep when Papa starts watching the news. It's just harder for me to stay awake lately."

"Alright," he told her and nodded slowly. "Why don't you return home now?" he told her gently. "I'll let Marcus know you visited. I'm certain he'll call you later."

"Ok," she said and he smiled as he felt her energy dissipate completely.

"Be well, little one," he offered up silently before taking his cell phone from his pocket. "Carlisle," he greeted once his call was answered and frowned as the voicemail recording continued. "She was here a few moments ago. She is able to move objects now if she concentrates enough. You must find a way to help her control her talent or she will not survive to be changed."

He felt the need to be alone, the desire to close himself away within familiar surroundings and closed his eyes for a brief moment. Stepping toward the doors, he opened the library and stepped into the hall. Making his way to his private chambers, he searched through his collection of journals until he came upon the most recent book. His last entry had been made more than fifty years ago, but that mattered little to him. Tucking the supple leather bound book into the folds of his cloak, he moved quietly through the halls before exiting the castle and slipping into the night. Following a familiar path made of stone and dirt, he felt soothed as he looked upon the ancient building he had made certain to keep in the best condition possible.

He had always believed that his decision to keep this apartment was nothing more than foolish sentiment and perhaps at the time it had been. Now though, Aro thought as he took a seat at the ancient wooden desk, it served a greater purpose than that of nostalgia. Closing his eyes and breathing in deeply he could almost feel the brush of memories the room held, ghosts that were soaked into the wood and fused into the stone hearth. Releasing the unneeded breath as he opened his eyes, he removed the leather bound book from within the folds of the suit jacket he was wearing. Setting the old book down on the desk, he felt his lips pull up to the side as he spotted the familiar owl feather quill and ink well sitting in the right hand corner of the desk.

Before now the items had never been anything more than relics of a time long lost, but in that moment they became something more. Lifting the feather into his hand and checking the tip, he lifted the small glass well and swirled the ink within. Even after all these years, all these many decades, the ink was still as fresh as it was the day it had been poured into the bottle. He didn't understand how it could have lasted so long without drying out, no matter that in the time it was made the fluid was simpler and held a greater longevity than its modern cousins. Lifting the hinged metal lid, he frowned at the odd scent that wafted into the air.

"No," he said with amusement as he lifted the vial to his nose and smelled the ink. "I must be senile," he said as he took his cell phone from his pocket and dialed the familiar number. "Tell me something," he said in lieu of a greeting. "Back in the eighteenth century, did you truly mix your venom with ink?"

The laughter that greeted him was warm and welcoming. A familiar sound that offered him a sense of comfort and reminded him of times long past as well as the peacefulness of the new memories formed.

"It made the ink last longer," Carlisle said simply. "I got tired of having to replace the ink. It would either dry out or become sticky," he said with amusement. "I found out through a moment of curiosity that when I mixed my venom with it, the ink held its proper viscosity and didn't need to be replaced as often. The same amount that used to last me one month, with the addition of my venom, lasted six." Carlisle grew quiet for a moment and Aro was almost certain that he could hear the man's brow furrowing. "Where did you find my ink?"

"…I never let your apartment go," Aro said slowly after a long moment. "I purchased it and the building it was in outright. The building itself has been restored a few times, but your apartment has remained untouched by time. It is the same as it was when you lived here in Italy."

A soft breathy moan sounded over the line, a soft feminine voice speaking softly a few seconds later. He knew the voice, knew who was with Carlisle and smiled at the knowledge. He wondered where Carlisle was, knowing that the girl his friend was with was most likely asleep or very close to it. He grinned when he heard her speak Marcus' name and then his own, chuckling softly when he heard Carlisle relent to her request.

"Hello, little one," Aro said after he heard the phone change hands and her voice sounded closer.

"Hey, Aro," Angela said softly, her voice rough and weak.

"Are you alright, my dear?" he asked with a deep frown. "Are you in pain?"

"I'm ok," she said softly. "'s not so bad," she mumbled the words slurring together. "Migraine's pretty much gone, just tired. I miss you."

"I miss you, too," he told her and wondered how she could be so powerful. "What was that?" he asked her and frowned when it seemed to him that he had heard her voice inside his mind rather than over the phone. "Angela, what did you say?"

_Sulpicia, she misses you._

Aro's eyes widened and he pulled the phone away from his ear to look at the device. He wasn't imagining things; he had heard Angela's voice inside his mind as clearly as he had when she would speak to him through his talent. Brining the phone back to his ear, he called to her softly, hoping that she would speak to him verbally rather than through her talent. He heard the rustle and movement, the phone changing hands again and frowned when Carlisle's voice sounded once again.

"She's asleep," Carlisle told him softly.

"Carlisle, I heard her voice inside my mind. How quickly are her talents progressing?" he asked and looked down at the open journal in front of him.

"We tried to train her to recognize her talents so that she could learn how to better control them," Carlisle said with a heavy sigh. "Instead all it did was allow her to access them easier. She still doesn't understand them enough."

"Her migraines?" Aro asked as his jaw tightened in response to the thought of her being in pain.

"In direct relation to her talent. She's able to fight through the medication now, though she doesn't understand that's what she's doing," Carlisle said softly. "We have found that music is able to distract her, to tie her to the physical world. At least it is for now."

"Carlisle…"

"Aro," he stopped the demand he knew the man was about to make. "We always knew her pain would grow worse. We have also known that there would be delays before she could be changed, things that would need to be settled in the human world first. She will be alright," he promised his friend. "Alice's vision hasn't changed."

"Aro," Angela mumbled softly as her eyes fluttered open and Carlisle chuckled softly.

"She's awake again?" Aro asked and looked around the room that was comforting in what it offered him.

"Barely," Carlisle said with a soft chuckle. "I should get back to her. Call Sulpicia," he directed. "She misses you greatly."

"As I do her," Aro said softly. "Her absence has raised questions, more so among Corin and Chelsea than anyone else. It has been…difficult since our return. Marcus and I have to be careful to appear the same as we were before we each left, but as you well know…"

"The circumstances have changed," Carlisle finished for him. "With each new experience, who we are changes as well."

"Your daughter offered us freedom from the madness clouding our minds. There has never been another like her," Aro said, his tone almost cautioning. "There has never been another of our kind with the ability to heal that she has. Guard her well, Carlisle, there are those who would see her as threat because if it."

"More than just Caius?" Carlisle asked as he looked down at Angela and watched her stare tiredly at the phone.

"Carlisle, I don't believe you fully understand," Aro sighed softly. "Didyme was my sister, her power was happiness. She had an incredible aura of happiness around her that made those near her feel peaceful and docile. All any of our kind wanted to do after meeting her was bask in her presence. It was Chelsea who toyed with our relationship and it was Caius who whispered in my ear of the threat she made until I found myself contemplating how to separate her from my group. When Marcus proposed leaving us with her, Caius increased his efforts and Chelsea used her talent until I felt no bond to my sister at all. Everything that they did was so subtle, so careful that I didn't truly realize why I had done it, until your daughter healed me. You see, Carlisle, Angela's gift to heal does not only allow for one to be freed from their pain and darkness, but she also allows for truths to be seen."

"Truths?" Carlisle asked and kissed Angela's brow as he watched her eyes blink closed as she returned to a light slumber against his side.

"Her gift to heal our kind – to mend the tears in our spirits, in our hearts and minds – is far more powerful and important than most can understand. With the darkness taken away, with our anger, fear and doubt removed, we are able to see what others have been trying to hide from us. She is able to undo what others have done. Those that have been attempting to destroy, she reveals. Those that are able to change, to unite, she strengthens. Carlisle, there have been other humans like her, but none of them were ever made into our kind because they were all seen as threats to those humans who wanted power." Aro closed his eyes as he dipped into his vast knowledge of history. "Martin Luther King Jr., John F Kennedy, Princess Dianna, Abraham Lincoln and thousands before them…Carlisle, if humans would kill those who possess the unifying powers that she does, than what makes you believe that there are those of our kind who wouldn't do the same?"

"She is not without protection, my friend," he told Aro. "She will be guarded before and well after she is changed," he promised. "She is my daughter and always will be."

Aro chuckled softly. "Yes, I expect she will. Take good care of her, _Papa_," he quipped before disconnecting the call.

Carlisle rolled his eyes and chuckled softly. His extended family, and even his own children, often teased him about being called Papa. Looking down at Angela, he wrapped his arm back around her and held her close as she slept beside him. He didn't mind the teasing, he thought as he smiled up at Esme when she stepped toward the bed. He loved that Angela called him that and he knew how much Esme loved it that she called her 'Mom'. His daughter had finally found a family and he would allow nothing to come between them.

"How is she?" Esme asked as she sat down on Angela's bed and touched her daughter's hair.

"Sleeping now," he told her and smiled softly. "Jasper spent most of the day playing his guitar for her. They're all out hunting now; even Sulpicia and Felix went with them."

"The house is ours, with our daughter," Esme said as she stretched out on the bed behind Angela.

"How was the meeting?" he asked her and saw her sigh as she rolled her eyes with amusement.

"Jonathon Freiman keeps trying to get me to take on the Longshore House project in Providence, Rhode Island. It's been almost nine months since I last took on any project and he's getting nervous that I'm being sweet talked by another firm," she said with a grin.

"You get to choose your own projects and are paid quite well for all the work you do, why would you switch firms?" he asked with a touch of humor.

"That's what I said," Esme offered with a touch of humor. "He asked why I've been declining projects. I had to give him something more than "family" and so," she paused and looked down at Angela. "I told him that we had adopted again."

"What is it?" he asked Esme, seeing the nostalgic expression on her face.

"I'm just thinking about that first night, before she ever came to live with us," Esme said and brushed her fingers against Angela's forehead.

"The night when you read to her Black Beauty?" he asked and watched her nod.

"There was never a question was there?" she asked him as she met his eyes. "She was ours from that first moment."

"She was born to be a Cullen."

**:::::**

Breathing in deeply, she felt soothed by the familiar scents of grass and wildflowers. She could feel the night surrounding her, the peaceful darkness calling her closer as the feathering grasses tickled her feet. Opening her eyes as she looked out into the field around her, she smiled at the sight of the mare she had come to think of as hers. The soft whinny sounded from the horse seconds before she tipped her head as though nodding. Angela watched as the beautiful chestnut and white gypsy horse pawed at the grass with her hoof before trotting toward her and she smiled as she reached out to greet the elegant beast.

"Hey Sunset," Angela said as she reached up to pet the horse's forehead. "Have you seen Michael tonight?" she asked the horse as she rested her cheek against the mare's head.

"I'm only here when you are," Michael said as he approached her from behind and smiled at the feel of her excitement. "I've felt your absence as well," he told her and wrapped his arms around her.

Angela hummed her delight and hugged him close as she pressed her cheek against his shoulder. She had no idea, back when he had asked to court her, that their time would be spent so often here. Tipping her head back to meet his gold gaze, she tried to count the number of times they had met here at these stables, but felt unable to find any exact number. They had talked over everything, grown closer over time until she felt as though she knew him inside and out, but still he had yet to kiss her.

His hand brushed against her cheek, his fingers combing into her hair and Angela gazed upon him with lazy grace, watching and hoping that he would kiss her now. He leaned closer, dipped his head and brushed his lips against her cheek. Smiling as she took matters into her own hands, Angela turned her head and caught his lips with hers. The touch of his lips against hers burned her and she gasped as her hands moved up to fist in his thick hair.

Michael groaned against her mouth, the vibrations sending delicious shivers through her body and Angela whimpered as she held him closer. His arms tightened around her back, his lips moving against hers as he changed the angle of their kiss to allow him more contact with her as she pressed closer to him. It felt as though her heart was exploding, so filled with love and warmth was she and Angela whimpered as she gave into the feeling.

It was supposed to be a chaste kiss; Michael thought as he held her closer and tasted her honeysuckle lips. Their first kiss was supposed to be gentle and sweet and innocent, but he couldn't get enough. It felt as though she was calling to him stronger with each passing second and he breathed in deeply only to growl softly when the scent of her spice wafted to him. Her hands were buried in his hair, the soft tugs as she gripped his long locks only enticing him further and Michael groaned at the feel of something tugging him away from her.

"Michael?" she called to him when he broke their kiss and moved away. "Wait, where are you going?"

"Someone is trying to call me back," he told her and brushed his lips against her cheek. "I love you, Miss Weber. Never doubt that you hold my heart."

"Why are you leaving me?" she asked as he seemed to be fading in front of her eyes.

"I was out hunting with the sisters before you called me here," he told her and jerked slightly. "I do believe Kate's trying to get my attention. I will see you again, my love."

"Michael," she whispered his name when he disappeared from her completely. "He kissed me," she whispered touching her fingertips to her lips. "Fifty two," she said after a moment as her mind completed the tally. "We've met like this fifty two times," she giggled and nodded. "Bout time I got that kiss."


	68. Chapter 66

Chapter 66

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Carlisle asked her once again, concern heavy in his bright gold eyes.

"I'm sure, Papa," Angela said and offered him a comforting smile. "If I can concentrate enough to feel the trigger, to know when I'm…doing whatever it is I'm doing," she offered with a confused shrug, "then maybe I'll be able to control it better. I'll be ok," she promised him.

Releasing an unsteady sigh as he wrapped her in his arms, Carlisle held her close and kissed her hair. He knew that the only way to help her understand her talent was to have her actively try to use it, but that didn't mean he liked it. She was always in pain now, whenever Edward or Jasper weren't around to play their instruments, her use of her talent became effortless and uncontrolled. She still wasn't able to distinguish the difference between her talent and her dreams, didn't know how to tell when she was truly traveling to another person through the power she held.

"I want you to stop," he told her as he smoothed her hair from her face and cupped her cheeks in his hands. "As soon as the migraines start, I want you to stop."

"Papa," Angela looked into his eyes and held his gaze. "I'll be alright. You have to trust that I can do this. I want to learn how to control it. Besides, I have the time now," she told him and looked around. "With all that energy that I had two days ago, I got my assignments for the next two weeks done and turned in."

"Just because you are caught up on your class work does not mean that I want you in pain," he told her and kissed her forehead before holding her close once more.

"We'll keep her safe," Sulpicia offered from the doorway as she stood leaning against the wooden frame. "We'll watch her and make certain we can pull her back if it gets to be too much," she assured him and nodded over to the table behind her. "Felix is trying to get Eleazar on the video chat now. We'll take care of her, Carlisle."

"Alright," Carlisle released Angela from his hold and stepped back. "Esme and I have the meeting with you school counselor today. I'm still not entirely certain what he wishes to discuss, but he was rather anxious to meet with us. We'll tell you everything tonight," he promised her and kissed her forehead. "The others are all out; Rosalie and Esme are shopping…"

"Papa," Angela interrupted him with a soft chuckle. "I'll be fine," she promised him. "Go, you'll be late for work."

"Carlisle," Sulpicia grinned at the man and watched as he rolled his eyes.

"Alright," he relented and gathered his medical bag before moving toward the door.

"Get out of here," Angela laughed when he turned back to look at her with his hand on the door knob. "Or I'll ghost you!"

Carlisle laughed and shook his head as he opened the door and stepped out of the house. Rolling her eyes in amusement and turning around to face Felix, she arched a curious brow when he stepped into the room empty handed. She was certain that he had intended to set up in front of the fireplace to do the exercises as he already had cedar chips smoldering inside the stone hearth, but he hadn't brought the computer out with him.

"Felix?" Angela questioned and smiled when he wrapped his arm around her.

"Eleazar isn't available," he told her as he led her into the living room. "However he did send an email with a few suggestions of what to try. He did say that this would be unfamiliar territory for him as well."

"So, right now it's all just trial and error?" Angela asked as Sulpicia handed her a bottle of water.

"It would seem so," Felix said and motioned to the large floor pillow he had set out for her. "Do you still want to try this?" he asked as she sat down. "We can wait, if you'd like."

"You and Papa are so worried that I can't handle this," Angela laughed. "I'm fine," she told him. "And I have every intention of doing this, practicing with my talent, with or without your help. So really, the choice is up to you," she challenged him. "Will _you_ be joining _me_ or not?"

"You're a stubborn little thing, aren't you?" he chuckled as he sat down in front of her and crossed his legs. "Alright," he said and nodded to Sulpicia, watching as she sat down next to him. "Eleazar believes that your ability to "ghost", as you like to call it, to other places is tied to the people you know that are in those places. So, the idea here is to allow you a stronger connection. As Volterra not only holds both Aro and Marcus, but was our home as well, then having physical contact with us should allow you greater control."

"Ok," Angela nodded as she furrowed her brow. "That makes sense," she said slowly. "How do we do this?"

"We'll each hold your hand," he nodded at Sulpicia, "and you just… do what you do," he said with a lopsided grin. "Think of Marcus or Aro. Let your mind take you to them."

Angela tipped her head to each side and took each of their hands in hers as she breathed in deeply. Nodding once and closing her eyes, she focused her mind on clearing her thoughts. She needed to relax, to find the same peacefulness that she did at night before she fell asleep. Even with the pain of her migraines over the past few days, there was still a moment of stillness and peace that would overtake her just seconds before she felt her dreams take her away.

The change came to her hands first as she felt her skin begin to tingle with the energy she felt from Sulpicia and Felix. She felt the energy travel up her arms as the scent from the cedar chips smoldering in the fireplace behind her filled her nose. She let her mind wander, her thoughts turning to the woman she had met once before in her dreams and she gave a soft sound as she felt herself falling back. Felix's voice sounded next to her and though she could feel his cool breath upon her skin, the sound was too far away for her to understand what he was saying.

"It's alright, little one, I've got you," Felix soothed as he supported her with one hand behind her back and lowered her gently down to lie upon the second pillow he'd set behind her. "Sulpicia, the blanket," he asked nodding toward the light throw blanket on the couch behind her.

"Now what?" she asked him with wide eyes as he covered Angela with the blanket.

"Now we wait," he said softly and smoothed Angela's hair back from her face. "Once she wakes we'll need to talk with her and see if she can identify how she uses her talent."

Sulpicia smiled softly, chuckling quietly when she spotted Rain trotting toward them with a small stuffed mouse toy in her jaws. The kitten stopped moving as she came up to Angela and tipped her head to the side. Offering a purring meow, the sound muffled by the toy in her mouth, Rain hopped up onto the pillow Angela was lying on before jumping up onto her thigh. Stretching out her front paws as she pressed her chest down with her rump in the air, Rain straightened and curled up into a ball on Angela's stomach.

"So you'll snuggle with a human, but not with me, huh?" Sulpicia asked as she petted the kitten's head and listened to her purr escalate into a soft thundering rumble.

**:::::**

Angela opened her eyes and looked around her with delight. She was once more within the stone walls of the museum she loved to visit in her dreams. She had to remind herself that it wasn't a dream, that the place she was standing in was most definitely real, and found herself empowered by the knowledge. She smiled, feeling her eyes widen, as she spotted the delicate girl with dark hair that she had met only once before. Her brows furrowed, her lip caught between her teeth as she studied the girl – vampire, she corrected herself, and tried to remember the name Aro had spoken.

"Renata," she whispered and watched as the diminutive vampire spun around to face her.

"Who's there?" Renata asked, her crimson eyes searching the room and Angela tipped her head.

"Renata?" Angela called her name again, this time in question.

"Where are you? Who's there?" the woman asked, appearing to be almost frightened and Angela smiled.

"Renata, can you hear me?" she asked as a smile began to bend her lips and moved forward.

"…Yes," Renata answered hesitantly. "Who are you?"

Angela bit her lip, "Can you see me?"

"No," Renata answered after a moment and Angela sighed. "Who are you?"

"My name is Angela," she said and frowned when there was no recognition on the woman's face. "I won't hurt you," Angela said when she saw the hesitation and fear in the woman's expression. "I'm sorry," she said and moved forward to hug her only to find that she was disappearing into the woman's form. "I didn't mean to scare you."

Renata closed her eyes, the fear leaving her only to be replaced by a gentle warmth that left her feeling lethargic and peaceful. She hadn't felt this sense of comfort and safety since the last day she had seen her beloved Uncle Luca. Feeling her emotions storm through her, the warmth she was feeling only grew stronger and Renata swore she could feel a hand stroking down over her hair in a soothing motion. Whoever this ghost was, she had a very loving feeling, an almost maternal embrace that comforted her and she sank into the feeling. That same feeling of peace remained when Angela moved away and Renata smiled when she realized that the fear she had always felt was gone. She no longer felt timid or fearful, instead she felt calm, strong and for the first time in years, she felt happy.

"Did you die here?" Renata asked and frowned in confusion at the soft sound of Angela's chuckles.

"I'm not dead," Angela laughed. "I'm just kind of…invisible?" she offered hesitantly.

"Invisible?" Renata asked and turned around as she felt the energy around her shift and move. "Where are you?"

"Technically," Angela said and shrugged. "I'm in Washington."

"…Washington?" Renata asked, her eyes narrowed in confusion. "I don't understand."

"Believe me, that makes two of us," she laughed. "Do you know where Marcus is?"

"Marcus?" Renata repeated the name as she tried to pin point exactly where in the room Angela was. "He's in the court," she said and narrowed her eyes as she focused on the painting across the room. "You're in front of the Raphael," she said with certainty.

"You _can_ see me!" Angela laughed with approval and spun around to look at her.

"No," Renata chuckled. "I still can't see you, but the painting is out of focus and I _don't_ have vision problems."

"Oh," Angela said and Renata chuckled at the pout in her voice.

"Follow me and I'll lead you to Marcus," she said and frowned in thought. "I won't talk to you as we walk though, the others would think me insane."

"Oh that's ok," Angela said and Renata grinned at the brush of energy against her arm. "This may sound weird, but if you think about talking to me – like focus your thoughts as though you're actually talking to me – then I can hear you."

"How does that work?" Renata asked her and felt the energy fluctuate as Angela shrugged.

"I have no idea how any of this works, all I know is that it does work. It would be really nice if there was an owner's manual somewhere to explain all of it to me," she said and Renata laughed heartily with wide eyes.

"I know that feeling," she giggled before moving to the door. _Ok, here we go,_ Renata said as she concentrated all of her attention on projecting the thought to Angela.

"Just normal," Angela said with a slight wince in her voice. "That came through like you were yelling."

_Oh, sorry,_ she answered and Angela giggled. _How do you know Marcus?_

"He's part of my family," Angela answered simply and smiled as they moved through the hall. "Who is that?" she asked as she slipped close behind Renata, hiding from the man who made her feel cold and unsafe.

Renata growled low, not realizing that she was using her talent to deflect Caius' attention as he walked past her. The infusion of power, the feel of Angela's fear, inspired within her a feeling of fire and ferocity as the need to protect the specter she couldn't see ignited within her. Renata stood taller, stilling as she turned so that her back was to the wall, the energy against her telling her that Angela was still behind her. She waited until Caius had passed her by to move, her stance relaxing only when Angela's energy seemed to calm.

_That was Master Caius,_ Renata answered her softly, the tone of her voice cautioning. _He's not someone you want to mess with. Come on, Master Marcus is inside._

"Aro!" Angela fairly cheered when she saw both of her friends seated inside the large room.

_You know Master Aro as well?_

"Of course, I do!" Angela said "What's going on? They seem upset," she said as she left Renata's side and moved through the room. "What's happened to Marcus?!"

_I am alright, Little One,_ Marcus spoke to her silently, his crimson eyes moving slowly to meet her gaze. _I must appear unaffected here._

"Unaffected?" she asked and moved closer when he turned his right arm to hold his palm up in offering.

_No one aside from Aro can know that you have healed me,_ he told her and closed his eyes when he both saw and felt her ghostly hand slide against his palm. _I see you have met Renata,_ he said with approval and watched Angela smile.

"She's sweet," Angela said and frowned. "She can't see me though. Why can't she see me?"

_I do not know,_ he answered and she watched as he touched his left hand to Aro's. _What is it?_ He asked when he felt her energy fill with longing.

"I miss that," she said as she looked at Aro.

"Brother," Aro said calling his attention back to the proceedings. "We must decide."

Angela moved away from Marcus, shrinking away to stand behind his throne as she stared with wide eyes at the woman who stepped into the room. She didn't like this new woman; the very feel of her was grating and dark, like nails on a chalkboard. She felt cold, fearful, as the woman grew closer and moved from her place behind Marcus to stand in between him and Aro. She reached out as her breath trembled from her and grasped both their hands only to feel even more frightened when she saw her hands pass through them.

_Hush, Little One, you are safe,_ Aro's voice sounded and she took comfort from his words. _Neither Marcus nor I would allow anything to harm you. Who is it that frightens you?_

"Her," Angela said and looked across the room.

_Jane?_ He asked of her and felt her confusion. _The young girl with flaxen hair?_

"No," Angela shook her head. "Her," she said and lifted her hand to point at the woman.

_Chelsea?_ He spoke her name with confusion. _Why does she frighten you?_

"I wish I could touch you," she said as she moved closer to him. "I wish you could see my thoughts and understand. I don't know how to describe it, but I just…I don't like how she feels."

_Shh, it's alright, Little One. Go with Renata,_ he instructed her gently. "Renata, my dear," he looked at the woman who served as his personal guard. "Be a dear and wait for me in the library," he said pleasantly, his gaze answering the curiosity in her eyes.

"Of course, Master," she said and bowed before turning on her heel to leave.

"Master?" Angela snorted and rolled her eyes as she followed after Renata. "Really? Don't you think that's a bit pretentious?"

Marcus smirked at her words only barely keeping himself from laughing aloud while Aro did his best not to appear as amused as he was. Carlisle's family was very different indeed and he couldn't see anyone within that coven being called 'Master' for any reason. It wasn't a surprise for her to think them egotistical for having their subordinates calling them by such a title. He watched them disappear into the hall, waiting a moment longer, and turned his attention back to the vampire standing in front of them.

"For now we wait," Aro said and looked at Demetri. "Let us see what happens."

"These newborns aren't being trained at all," Caius growled. "They will expose us!"

"Brother," Aro snapped even as his tone expression and tone remained pleasant. "We wait. The decision has been made. Our business is complete. You are free," he spoke as he looked around the room and watched as the members of his high guard slipped out of the doors.

Jane stared through narrowed eyes at Aro, watching both him and Marcus for a moment. She had overheard Caius and Chelsea talking and the more she watched the two ruling heads of the three masters, the more she agreed with him. Something had definitely changed for them both, but whatever it was, the change was so subtle that she couldn't clearly identify it. Turning away as she gave up trying to sort out the change, Jane slipped out of the room and traveled down the hall. She moved toward the library, the windows offering a better view of the gardens below than she was afforded from her own chambers and smiled with malicious intent.

She was bored, terribly bored, and with her favorite targets dead and missing she would have to come up with a new creature to amuse herself with. She and her brother had both been very cautious, their newfound freedom coming at a heavy price. They were present for all of the court proceedings, but not to be looked upon or spoken to by anyone but Aro himself. If Jane or Alec were to use their talents on anyone without Aro's direct command, they would either return to their bonds or be destroyed, depending upon whom they used their talents.

For Jane, this meant that she was no longer afforded the daily amusement of watching Felix or Gianna writhe in pain. Rolling her eyes as she stared out of the open window, she stared down into the garden below only to glance in delight and surprise when a small bird landed on the sill. This creature would do perfectly; she thought and focused her attention on it as she ignored Renata's presence in the room. The corners of her lips turned up in a cruel smile as the bird began to falter on its perch. Watching as the creature lost its balance entirely, she increased the force of her power until it fell to the floor.

"Stop it!" Angela cried out, her eyes wide as she stared at Jane. "Stop it!" she cried again as the bird twisted in agony.

_Angela, don't,_ Renata cautioned, fearing what might happen to her ghost of a friend if Jane were to be made aware of her presence. _Angela…_

"_Stop it!"_ Angela screamed and felt raw power burst forth from her in a startling explosion.

The clear glass in the window shattered from its metal frame, the sound breaking Jane's attention away from the bird and she focused her eyes on Renata. Her expression grew stern and dark, her belief that the timid fool who acted as Aro's guard had dared to interrupt her enraging her. Narrowing her eyes as she thought about casting her talent upon the raven haired vampire, she found herself suddenly thrown across the room. Shooting to her feet and looking around quickly, Jane growled when she found that Renata was the only person with her.

"How did you do that?" Jane growled as she stared at Renata.

"I didn't do anything," Renata denied with wide eyes as she backed away when Jane advanced on her.

"Tell me how you did that!" Jane demanded and cast her talent upon Renata.

Angela's eyes grew wide, rage filling her at the sound of pain Renata uttered and she watched as her friend fell to the floor. She felt hot, her power burning and building within her like white-hot fire. She moved to stand in front of Renata, hoping to block Jane's power only to find that her movement had no effect and felt her temperature rise again. How dare she, Angela thought as she allowed her anger to take control of her power.

"No one hurts my friends!" Angela fairly snarled as she focused all of her attention on Jane. "Stop it!" she cried out again as a vase shattered behind her.

_Angela, stop._

"Felix?" she questioned as her attention was pulled away. "Felix, where are you?"

_Angela, come back,_ his voice called to her again, this time louder than before. _Come on, Angela, come back to us._

"No," Angela shook her head and focused all of her attention and anger on Jane. "Not while she's still hurting Renata. _No one. Hurts. My. Family!_" she snarled each word darkly, having already considered Renata among those she held dear and watched as the ancient vampire child was thrown out into the hall. "What she did wasn't right," Angela said as she turned to look at Renata and reached out to her as she stood from the stone floor. "Will you take care of the bird? I have to go."

_I will,_ she assured her and felt the incredible warmth and peace of Angela's energy replace the residual pain of Jane's talent. _Thank you,_ Renata said with reverence and Angela smiled softly.

"Show Aro," Angela instructed her softly as exhaustion began to cloud her mind. "She had no right to do that and he needs to know. I hope I see you again," she said softly, her voice fading as the room around her disappeared into darkness.

**:::::**

"Come on, Angela, wake up," Felix commanded, a hard edge to his voice as he stared at the girl lying on the pillows. "Damnit, come on!"

"Felix," Sulpicia shook her head, her voice frightened as she stared at Angela and covered her nose and mouth to resist the pull of the girl's blood. "I can't," she said before disappearing through the house.

"Angela!" Felix shook her gently as he stayed bent over her. "Damnit!" he snarled and pulled his cell phone from his pocket, hitting the number on his speed dial before bringing the device to his ear. "Carlisle," he said once the call was answered. "I can't get her to wake up and she's bleeding."

"Bleeding?" Carlisle asked with a tight edge to his voice. "What do you mean 'she's bleeding'?"

"Her nose, her eyes," Felix said as he stared down on the human girl. "She's bleeding. It started maybe thirty seconds ago, but I can't get her to wake up."

"How long has she been unconscious?" Carlisle asked as Felix tried to shake her awake once more. "Felix?"

"I'm not sure," he said with an edge of frustration. "I didn't look at the clock before we began. Maybe an hour after you left."

"That was almost seven hours ago. She's been using her talent this whole time?" Carlisle asked with alarm. "I'm sending Rosalie and Jasper to you now," he said. "They'll know how to take care of her. Felix, what happened? It's been a long time since one of her migraines caused her to bleed like what you're describing."

"I don't know," Felix said as he looked around the room. "About fifteen minutes ago things started shattering. Glass and ceramic things just started to burst. I've been trying to wake her since that started happening."

"Hold on," Carlisle said as the line cut out for a moment. "I'll call you back soon; I've got another call coming in."

"Carlisle…"

"It could've happened with any of us, Felix. She doesn't have enough control yet. I'll call you as soon as I can."

Releasing a heavy breath as he lowered his silent phone, he turned his attention down to Angela when a soft painful moan sounded from her. He watched as her eyes squeezed shut tightly and she whimpered softly. It was only moments later, as he was moving Angela from the floor pillows to lie on the couch that the front door opened and closed. He looked up as Rosalie ghosted to Angela's side, a tissue already in her hand as she began dabbing at the blood on the girl's face.

"Are you alright?" Rosalie asked Felix. "Do you need to leave?"

"No, I'm used to…the pull isn't as powerful for me as it is for Sulpicia," he said and watched the care both she and Jasper bestowed upon Angela. "I couldn't get her to wake up," he said helplessly. "And then things started shattering."

"At least it was glasses and a few vases," Jasper said as he looked around the room. "Alice would not be happy if her figurines got broken."

"Felix?" Angela's voice was scratchy and weak, her eyes barely open as she called out for him.

"I'm right here, Sweetheart," he said as he moved next to her.

"Where?" she mumbled, pulling air into her lungs with difficulty. "Can't see."

"Right here," he said and took the hand she held up. "What happened, Angela?

"Hurt," she groaned out as she fought against the exhaustion and pain clouding her mind.

"I know, sweetie," Rosalie soothed as she touched her sister's face. "I just need you to stay awake a little bit longer until I can get the drip set up," she said, knowing that she couldn't let Angela slip back into her talent before the medicine had a chance to kick in.

"No," she groaned as she was lifted into a pair of strong arms. "Hurt…Ren…"

"What?" Felix looked down on the girl cradled in Jasper's arms. "What is she trying to say?"

"Ren…ata," Angela struggled to get the words out. "She hurt…Ren."

"Who did, little one?" Jasper asked her as he laid her gently down on her bed. "Who hurt…Renata?" he asked putting the broken syllables of the name together.

"Eyes…"

"What?" Rosalie shook her head only to glance at the window when Alice sprang through the open glass.

"I was with Carlisle when he got the call," Alice said as she stepped over to the bed and soothed Angela gently when she tried to speak once more. "Aro called him. Jane was using her talent on Renata and Angela…he doesn't know how, it doesn't seem possible, but Angela defended her."

"How?" Felix asked her with wide eyes. "Did Jane do this to her?"

"From what Aro said," Alice shook her head, her brow furrowed as she tried to understand it all herself. "There was a window and a vase that were shattered and Jane was thrown across a room and down a hall, as he said, 'by an invisible force'. At least that's what he told Carlisle. Angela can't stand to see anyone hurt, using her power to that extent…If she can do _this_ now…"

"We can't have her practice with her talents anymore," Jasper said as he looked down on her and watched Rosalie pet her hair until she fell asleep. "Today has proven it's too dangerous. We can't risk her talent killing her while she's human."

"Even with today," Alice said as she placed her hand on her love's shoulder. "My vision hasn't changed."

"Maybe it hasn't now," Rosalie said as she checked the medical tape holding the IV to the back of Angela's hand. "But that doesn't mean that it won't. These sessions have to stop. Angela slipping away in her dreams is one thing," Rosalie said as she tucked the blankets up around her sister's shoulders. "But these sessions she's been doing to learn her talent, to control it, these have to stop. It's getting harder and harder to pull her back to us. I won't have her dying in her sleep."

Leaning over to press a kiss to Angela's brow, Rosalie stood from the bed and motioned for the others to leave the room. With the medicine having taken effect before Angela fell asleep, her talent would be blocked from her, at least for a few hours and she hoped that would be enough. Turning back to look at the bed when Angela called to her, her name broken and slurred, Rosalie walked back to the bed and sat down.

"You should rest," she told Angela and petted her hair.

"Sing," Angela requested softly and closed her eyes when Rose kissed her forehead.

"Ok," Rosalie said softly and curled on her side next to Angela. "I'll sing."

Wrapping her arm around Angela and holding her close, Rosalie began to hum pieces of different songs until she found the one that made the girl smile. Breathing in deeply and lifting her voice only a touch louder, Rosalie smiled down on Angela and encouraged her to close her eyes. It amused her that Angela would want a Christmas carol at this time of year and she met Jasper's gaze when he stepped into the room with his guitar in hand. Sitting down in the wingback chair by the bookcase, he strummed his fingers over the strings before beginning the tune and offered Rosalie a lopsided grin as she began to sing.

"Have yourself a merry little Christmas. Let your heart be light…"

**:::::**

Esme looked at Carlisle as she met him in the hallway of the high school. They were both concerned about this meeting as the only thing the counselor had told them was that it was concerning Angela. Smiling at his wife as he took her hand, Carlisle brought her hand to his face and kissed her knuckles as they waited for the man to invite them into his office. It was only seconds later that they heard him end the phone call, the sound of the plastic receiver being returned to its cradle and the creak of the chair signaling that he would soon be inviting them in.

"Doctor and Mrs. Cullen," the man greeted as he opened the door and invited them into his office.

"Please," Carlisle said as they took the seats offered to them. "Carlisle and Esme," he supplied instead.

The man nodded and lifted a stack of six thick white catalogue envelopes onto his desk. He looked at the stack, studying it for a moment before lifting his gaze back to meet theirs each in turn. He frowned when he saw the concern on both their faces and realized that he had not actually given them a reason for this meeting when he had called them only two days prior.

"This is nothing bad," he told them with a smile. "I'm sorry if I left you with the impression that anything was wrong."

"Then her school work is meeting the standards set?" Esme asked as she glanced at Carlisle before meeting the counselor's gaze once more.

"Oh!" he looked at with wide eyes. "No she's not meeting the standards, she far exceeding them. The reports that I've received from her teachers are all exceptional. In fact, her trigonometry teacher told me that she received a ninety-five on her midterm exam. The only person who received higher marks than her was your son, Edward."

"That's wonderful!" Esme praised, her smile bright. "We haven't received her midterm marks back yet."

"They won't be officially released until Monday, but you have every reason to be proud," the man told her with a grin. "The reason I called you both in here on such short notice, is that the material I have here is time sensitive. Two years ago," he began and laid his hand on top of the stack, "Angela came to me and asked that anything to do with college be allowed to be mailed here care of my office. She didn't tell me why and I didn't ask, but now these have all come in for her. I am quite happy to tell you that Angela's marks have caught the attention of quite a few institutions."

Standing from his desk, the man handed the tall stack of envelopes to Carlisle and Esme, giving each of them three of the heavy packets. The envelopes had each been opened, their self sealing tabs allowing them to be closed once again. He explained to them that as the envelopes had all been sent to him, he had reviewed the information first to find that they were intended for Angela.

"She is being scouted and wooed by the top schools. I've worked in this school all of my professional life," he told them with excitement and pride, "and this is the first time that I have had one student receive scholarships and invitations to apply from Harvard, Princeton, Georgetown, Dartmouth, Yale and Columbia. Those are the ones that I received on Monday. They need a response by the middle of next month. These," he said and lifted two large envelopes from the far side of his desk and handed them to Carlisle and Esme, "I didn't receive until the day I called you. They came in while I was out sick a few weeks ago and Janet forgot about them until she came across them again on Monday."

"This one is from Oxford," Esme said as she looked over the welcome letter from the university.

"This one is from Cambridge," Carlisle grinned and showed Esme the familiar signature at the bottom.

"Those two need to have replies by the end of next week," the man told them. "You have every reason to be proud of her. For other students that I've seen with ailments that have forced them to work from home, their school work has either remained the same as before or suffered greatly. But Angela, her work has improved and continues to improve. In the entirety of her education here, she has not received anything less than a three-point-nine-five GPA."

He grew quiet as he studied them and smiled at the looks of shared pride and love on their faces. He had never once met Angela's birth parents and despite all of the communication he had sent to them in the past, he had never even spoken to them on the phone. The one time he had gone down to the church to confront the reverend and his wife he had been informed that they were unavailable. The few times he had asked her about them, Angela's expression had been guarded and full of pain. Nearly a year ago now, that had all changed. He had seen a change in Angela, a brightness that overtook her and watched as she seemed to blossom before his very eyes. When the official documents had come into the school and he had seen a copied court document stating that she had been officially adopted by the Cullens, he had felt confident that she would flourish under their care.

"She has only two months until finals and graduation," he said with a nod of approval. "She'll need to come in for yearbook pictures and the graduation ceremony, but aside from that she will be fine to continue her classes from home."

"Thank you," Carlisle said and gripped the man's hand as they all stood.

"She's an exceptional girl. It's been an honor to have her here," the counselor said and nodded as they left.

"Eight colleges, Carlisle," Esme said with a wide smile as she looked at the envelopes they both carried. "Angela can go to any school of her choosing."

"Yes, but I do believe we already know which one she will choose," Carlisle chuckled as he held the door open for her and followed her to his car.

"Cambridge," they said in unison and smiled.

"None of our children have ever been a part of our family before they were changed," Esme said as buckled her seatbelt. "Angela is…" her voice trailed off as she became choked with emotion.

"I know," Carlisle smiled and kissed her cheek. "I feel much the same."

"Let's go home, my love," Esme said as he turned the key to start the engine. "I want to see our daughter."

**:::::**

Angela awoke slowly, her head pounding and body aching. Hissing softly as she rolled onto her back, she reached to scratch the back of her right hand, the skin irritated only to feel someone catch her wrist in a cool gentle grip. A soft voice whispered to her, a hand smoothing her hair back from her face and she wondered why she hadn't opened her eyes yet.

"You have, sweetheart," Edward's voice sounded next to her and she felt a gentle brush of fingers against her cheek. "Your migraine has blinded you. Your eyes are open, Sweetheart, you just can't see."

_My hand itches,_ she told Edward silently and heard his soft chuckle.

"You have an IV in your hand, sweetheart," Edward told her and smiled at the half formed thought flitting through her mind. "They're coming up the stairs now," he told her and looked back to the door as Carlisle stepped through. "She's awake and waiting for you," he told his father as he rose from the bed and stepped away.

"Hello, baby girl," Carlisle greeted Angela as he sat down next to her hip.

"Papa," she spoke softly, her voice scratchy and weak.

"I'm here, Sweetheart. So is Esme," he told her and touched her cheek.

"Mom," Angela mumbled, the word barely holding any sound.

"I'm right here," Esme soothed and kissed her cheek.

"She wants you both to lay down with her," Edward said softly as he moved toward the door.

Esme smiled as she looked at Carlisle, both of them removing their shoes before lying down on either side of Angela. She smiled softly, curling between them to lay her head on Esme's shoulder and released a drowsy sigh. Petting her hair as he checked the IV in her hand as well as the medicine being released to her slowly, Carlisle encouraged her to close her eyes. Angela blinked slowly a few times before curling closer to Esme and letting herself be drawn back into the world of dreams.

"She's asleep," he said a few moments later and kissed Angela's hair.

"Our little girl," Esme smiled as she looked into Angela's sleeping face. "Is the medicine helping enough?" she asked Carlisle. "Her voice sounded so full of pain."

"It's helping as much as it can," Jasper said as he stepped into the room. "I've felt her drift away more than once. Something else is calling to her. When she drifts away, it feels like she's responding to something or someone, not searching."

"You can feel the difference?" Carlisle asked his son curiously.

"It's her pain, the feel of her migraine," he said as he sat down at Angela's desk. "I don't really have an accurate way of explaining it," he said with a frown. "I can just feel the difference."

"I wonder where she's being pulled to," Esme mused as Edward began playing his piano below.

**:::::**

The exhaustion she felt didn't leave her, but the soft throaty sound of the stringed instrument drew her closer. She blinked tiredly, realizing that she had not seen this room before and turned around as she surveyed the chambers she was in. The room was beautiful, the pieces held within timeless and full of history. She moved over the rug, feeling herself grow more tired by the moment and followed the music out to the balcony.

"Marcus," she mumbled his name and watched as he stilled the music of his cello ceasing. "Don't stop," she implored him and watched as he stood.

"Come with me," he encouraged her as he lifted the cello with one hand. "That's it, little one," he praised and led her through his chambers toward his bed. "Lie down if you're able to," he instructed and watched as her ghostly form curled up in the center of his bed.

"Will you play?" she asked him softly as heavy sound drew her attention. "What is that?" she frowned drowsily.

"Marcus?" Aro stepped further into the room. "I didn't expect your music to stop quite so…Angela?" he asked as he stared at the bed with narrowed eyes.

"Hey, Aro," she spoke, her voice barely a brush against his mind and he frowned as he moved closer.

"How bad is it?" Aro asked as he reached out to touch her ghostly form.

Angela hummed her confusion, unable to keep her eyes open and sighed softly. Marcus lifted the bow as he watched her transparent figure and, drawing it across the strings, watched as her formed seemed to solidify even as she fell asleep. He looked up at Aro, watched as his ancient brother studied Angela's sleeping ghostly figure and waited a few moments before lowering his arm. Aro turned his head, looking at him for only a few seconds before turning his attention back to Angela and watched as she slowly faded until her image disappeared.

"She's been appearing for a few moments every now and then," Marcus said as he carried the cello and tucked it into its box. "Mostly it seems to be when I play the cello, her cello," he said slowly as he walked back to his bed and waved his hand where her image had last been seen. "She is gone now. Aro, what she did earlier, how clearly she appeared to us both and her ability to protect Renata…"

"How often?" Aro asked as he stared at the spot on the bed Angela had disappeared from.

"Twelve times in the past nine days," Marcus said. "But I'm not the only one she has appeared to. She has come to you as well."

"Yes," Aro said as he turned to look at the box that held the cello. "She comes to me when I'm reading," he said with a deep frown only to chuckle softly as his expression relaxed. "I've taken to reading the passages aloud when she appears to me. I fear now that I may have only been encouraging her."

"She would come to us regardless," Marcus grinned. "Her visits before, when she was simply watching us or speaking to us did not cause her as much pain. It has been her attempts to learn her talent, to focus in order to actively use and control it that has caused her this level of pain. She simply needs to be distracted from actively using it."

"And how do we do that?" Aro asked and Marcus chuckled.

"We have that apartment next to Carlisle's converted into a media video room. Built in devices," he said as he stepped to his desk and picked up a sheaf of papers. "Web cameras, large screen T.V.," he listed off as he handed the papers to Aro. "Five point one or better surround sound system, in wall microphones to allow for ease of communication no matter where in the room we are."

"And who drafted this design?" Aro asked with curiosity, grinning when Marcus smiled.

"Who do you think?" Marcus returned and Aro huffed out a breath of amusement.

"Felix," Aro chuckled and shook his head. "He always has been fascinated with technology. I believe he even still has the very first Macintosh computer somewhere in his chambers."

"And to think," Marcus grinned. "You were so certain they would be a fad."

"Oh do shut up," Aro said and turned to exit the room.

"Aro," Marcus called him back. "You should consider introducing Angela to Renata over the video."

"Right you are," Aro nodded and turned to leave. "There are times I look around our court and believe that Angela is the only thing holding us steady."

"She is," Marcus said as he turned to stare as the setting sun. "None of them realized it, none of them saw it, even I didn't until I caught our reflection in the glass…Everyday she survives the impossible with grace and a steady calm that draws others closer. Her warmth, her spirit envelops those around her and heals their pain. Like the sun, we are planets revolving around her and just like the sun; it is her strength and her warmth that we rely on. She is what holds us together and she is the reason that we are able to stand strong even when we think we can't." He paused and turned to look at Aro. "Three thousand years ago, a man was turned into a vampire, a man who sought to destroy everything around him to further his own power for the fear he felt at holding none. In a very short amount of time, for one of us that is, another of our kind will be created. One who's light will shine and break through the darkness. A new dawn is upon us. Dare not forget why we fight."

"No," Aro said softly, his voice heavy with the weight of Marcus' words. "We must never forget."


	69. Chapter 67

Chapter 67

She felt weak, her throat burning with hunger even as her emotions overpowered her need to feed. Her eyes were black and had been for more than a month now, her spirits lower than she could ever remember. She couldn't forget, couldn't push the memories away and each time they passed through her mind she wanted to cry. It was impossible for her to shed tears, impossible for her to weep as her heart demanded she do. Stepping outside into the gardens, she found herself wandering toward the one place that made the pain she felt worse.

Falling to sit on the stone bench when her legs refused to hold her any longer, she stared with lifeless eyes at the roses that had been planted around the base of the marble angel. They were two toned, crimson and white, roses that grew on the same plant her immortal mother had cultivated for nearly two centuries. The plants had been carefully pruned and guided to climb up the stone angel, the white and red blossoms twining around the wings of the celestial statue.

She had helped to plant these roses, helped her mother to cultivate them and now here she sat, staring at them as though her mother's favorite place in the gardens had been turned into a memorial. The hours passed by slowly, the changing angle of the sun never noticed by the woman who sat staring at the roses. She couldn't pull her eyes away from the blossoms even as her mind was too absorbed by the memories of all she had done to take notice of their beauty. The sun fell from the horizon slowly, the day turning into night and even as the moon rose to cast her in silver shadows, she never noticed the change.

She had always loved her mother, always wanted to only protect and bring the woman peace and happiness. Her loyalty had never been in question before and she didn't understand what had happened. She didn't understand how her love and loyalty had so easily turned to hate and disdain. As many times as she reviewed her memories looking for answers, all she found was more confusion. It felt as though one day she had looked upon her mother and no longer wanted anything to do with her at all. Why? Why would she feel that way? Why had she hurt her?

"Corin."

Aro looked upon her, watched her as she sat staring at his wife's roses and grew more concerned when she didn't appear to have heard him call her name. Stepping closer, having come in search for her at Renata's urging, he moved to sit beside her on the bench. She was weakened; he could tell that just by looking at her and frowned deeply as he once again spoke her name. It took her long moments to respond, far longer than it should have, and he understood Renata's concern as it became his own.

"Master?"

His worry grew stronger when she spoke, her voice barely more than a whisper. Her dark eyes were lifeless yet so full of pain that it nearly made him flinch. When he failed to speak, she turned her eyes back to the roses; her movements painfully slow as though she lacked the energy to move any faster. Her talent was completely absent, Renata having come to him to voice her concerns when she realized that it had been more than a month since anyone had felt Corin's soothing power.

"Corin," he called her name again, watched her carefully as she turned her eyes back to meet his. "When was the last time you fed?"

"I don't know," she said after several long moments of silence.

"Corin, look at me," Aro commanded of her when her attention was drawn once more to the roses.

When her eyes met his once more, Renata's fearful words came back to him, flowing through his mind as he looked upon Corin.

"_She was staring at the fire, Master," Renata had told him with a trembling voice filled with worry. "If I hadn't pulled her away, if I hadn't taken her out to the gardens, I fear she may have walked into the flames. Please, Master Aro, please go see her. I fear what she what will do."_

"Corin," he spoke to her gently, seeing the death wish in her eyes. "Give me your hand, child."

She watched him impassively, studying him with confusion as though she didn't understand his request. Looking down at his upturned palm, her spirits fell further, her wish to burn making every cell in her immortal body ache as though she were crumbling apart. She didn't resist him with he reached out and slid his palm against her skin to cup her cheek; she didn't try to hide anything from him and heard his sharply indrawn breath. Her eyes met his slowly, her belief that she was undeserving of his concern drawing her thoughts once more to her desire to be burned for her crimes.

Aro knew that every action he took from that moment was critical in aiding Corin. Her actions taken against Sulpicia had been only under the influence of Chelsea even though Sulpicia's daughter was blind to the knowledge that their bond had been manipulated in such a manner. Even for her fierce protectiveness and her steadfast loyalty, Corin had always possessed a gentle heart and it had not been until the end of the first week that Sulpicia had gone missing that Chelsea's power had lost its hold on Corin. With Sulpicia gone, Chelsea was no longer able to manipulate their bond, no longer able to keep control of Corin and it had been then that she had realized what she had done.

She hadn't fed since that first night when the memories had played through her mind, her heart shattering beyond repair and Aro began to fear that she may try to bring herself harm as well. He had not heard of any of his kind taking their own lives successfully, but with the nearly apartment sized fireplace in the grand hall; it would not be difficult for her to step into the flames. To know that his daughter had been toyed with – played like marionette on a string, enraged him even as he burned with the need to protect her.

"Corin," he spoke her name again as he let his hand fall from her cheek. "The actions may have been yours, but the fault behind them is not."

His words meant nothing to her, the sound of his voice unclear in her mind. Her emotions made it impossible for her to understand him, his voice simply a collection of notes. She knew he was speaking but held no comprehension of his words. Staring at the roses once more, her thoughts turned to the fireplace in the great hall, the flames allowed enough fuel and space to burn nearly to the height of her waist. It would be simple enough to step into them, to seek oblivion. She still didn't understand why she hadn't been destroyed for what she had done. Why had she been allowed to live?

"Corin, you need to feed," Aro told her as he watched her stare at the flowers. "Corin? Corin, do you understand what I am saying to you?" he asked her slowly as he placed his hand over hers.

It was with great alarm that Aro found that not only was Corin unable to understand his words, but that in her despair, his voice was so removed she barely heard it. Sulpicia had left the castle with Felix nearly six months ago and in that time his daughter had not fed once. He called to her again, tried to reach her only to admit to defeat with helpless frustration. Lifting her quickly into his arms, Aro carried her back into the castle, dismissing her chambers as he carried her to his own.

Commanding a nearby guard to summon Renata to his chambers, he laid Corin down on the bed he shared with Sulpicia and watched her eyes as she seemed to fall deeper into herself. He spoke to her softly as he waited for Renata to appear and touched his hand to her face. He knew that he needed to get blood into her, her body weakening with each passing moment and hoped that she wouldn't fight him too much.

"Master?"

Renata's voice pulled him from his thoughts and he turned his attention back to look at his personal guard. Nodding for her to approach, he watched as her eyes moved to look down at Corin and saw the worry in her crimson depths. Assuring her that he would care for Corin, that she would be alright, he commanded her to drain one of the humans kept in the dungeons below and bring their blood to him with a goblet. If Corin wouldn't feed on her own than he would hand feed her himself.

"Renata," Aro called to her as she neared the door. "Have the fire in the main hall put out and close the fire pit. I don't want there to be any temptation any chance that she could walk into the flames."

"Yes, Master," Renata said, nodding before she left quickly to do his bidding.

Standing from his seat on the bed and moving to the door, Aro closed the heavy stone door to the main part of his chambers carefully before returning to the bedroom. Looking down upon Corin, he knew that what he was about to do could very well be dangerous, but he knew of no other way to help his daughter. Sitting down next to Corin on the bed, he took her hand and closed his eyes.

"Angela," he called her name softly. "Angela, my dear if you can hear me if you can feel me calling you please come to me."

**:::::**

Angela looked around the crowded cafeteria, grinning at Edward when he chuckled in response to her excited thoughts. It had taken a lot of convincing on her part, as well as some well timed sad puppy faces at Jasper, for Carlisle and Esme to allow her to return to the high school for the last week of her senior year. She was trying to relax, trying to play down the exuberance she felt at being back within the familiar brick walls, but every time her brother chuckled she knew she was failing. Most of the past few months had been spent with her in enough pain that she was rendered unconscious and, though she was still in pain now, she felt stronger than she had in a long while.

"I'm alright, stop worrying," she told Edward at the sight of his frown. "It's just a headache, not a full migraine."

"You'll tell me if it gets any worse," he said making it clear that his statement wasn't a request.

"I'm fine," she insisted and looked into his ochre eyes when he touched her shoulder. "Yes, I'll tell you. Now will you stop worrying? I'm not made of glass."

_I'll look after her, Edward_, Alice spoke to him silently as she came up to Angela's side. "Come on," she said with a giggle and linked her arm with Angela's. "Bella's saving seats for us at the table."

"I still can't believe you're back," Jessica fairly cheered as Angela sat down at the lunch table. "It's been what? Two months, maybe a little more?" she asked as she studied her friend.

"About that, yeah," Angela nodded quietly with a grin. "It's good to be back, even if it is the last week of school. I heard you made Valedictorian!"

"I did," Jessica said with tilt of her head and a wide smile. "Trying to work on my speech now."

"It's going to be epic," Bella said before munching on a carrot stick.

"Epic?" Jessica asked teasingly. "It's going to change lives."

"Well here you go," Mike said as he tugged Jessica's notepad across the tabled and mimed writing on it, the tip of his pen still in the barrel. "My fellow students…We are the future…Watch us fly…blah blah blah, speech written."

"Yeah that's exactly what I'll say," Jessica said as she pulled the notepad back to her and tore off the top sheet. "If I want to get diplomas thrown at my head."

Mike grinned and laughed, his eyes flicking closed when she tossed the crumpled ball of paper at his head and Angela laughed as she looked at her friends. She felt as though it had been a lifetime since she had last seen them. Looking around the table, her eyes came to rest on Alice and she laughed when her sister announced that she had decided to throw a graduation party at their house. Shaking her head and rolling her eyes when Alice looked at her and winked.

"After all, how many times are we going to graduate high school?"

Angela had to bite her lip not to laugh out loud at that comment and turned her eyes to look at Edward. Tipping his head and shrugging, her brother simply grinned at her before kissing Bella's head. Casting her eyes back around the room, Angela stilled her brow furrowing when she caught a half formed image of Aro standing by the doors. He looked troubled and she could feel his worry and upset as though it were her own. Standing from the table as the sound of the students around her fell away, she began to hear Aro's voice calling her name, never noticing that she was no longer in the lunch room.

"Angela!"

The mixed voices of those at the table calling out her name drew the attention from all the surrounding tables, Edward catching his sister seconds before her body hit the floor. He had seen her thoughts disappear, a kind of cloak falling into place when she was communicating with someone else using her talent, but this time had been different. Lifting her easily into the cradle of his arms, he spoke softly to Alice before taking Angela down to the nurse's office and calling Carlisle. This time she hadn't been the one reaching out, this time, Edward looked down at Angela's sleeping form, this time someone had been calling out to her.

"We promised Carlisle you'd be alright," he told her softly, his bent fingers brushing against her cheek.

Looking back over his shoulder when Nurse Michaels stepped into the room, he read her thoughts before she spoke and knew that she had been unable to reach Carlisle. He listened when the nurse told him that she had contacted the secondary emergency numbers on Angela's card, informing him that Felix had promised to be there shortly. Nodding quietly as he bent down over Angela and pressed a kiss to her brow, he requested to be allowed to stay with her until their uncle arrived.

"Normally, I would say no," she told him as she glanced at Angela. "But it's the last week of school and finals have already happened, so it's not like you're being presented with any new material. I'll call down to your teacher's classroom and let him know you'll be late for class."

Nodding his thanks and looking down at Angela, Edward lifted her hand and held it between both of his. Rubbing the back of her hand as he tried to see into her thoughts, he hated that her ability to communicate with someone else cloaked her mind from him. He had a suspicion that the reason she was cloaked from him was because she was, in a sense, entering someone else's mind, but he couldn't be certain. Her gift was still too much of a mystery to them, there was still far too much that none of them understood about how it worked. Even Eleazar wasn't able to help much, his knowledge limited as well.

Minutes passed, time escaping without him being aware of it and Edward looked up when Felix's thoughts entered his mind. The man was coming up the walk to the school building, his worry demanding that he move with his full ability while logic told him he must appear human. Edward waited patiently for the ancient man to make his way through the building, watching through his thoughts as he interacted with Bella. Smiling softly at the way Felix had taken to the women in his family with the same brotherly protection he treated Sulpicia, Edward turned his head toward the door when he stepped into the room.

"What happened?" Felix asked when the nurse stepped out to leave them alone.

"She collapsed," Edward said as he stood from the bed and allowed Felix to move closer, watching as he lifted Angela into his arms. "Seconds before she fell, I swear I heard her call Aro's name."

Felix nodded once, his expression grim. "Well, that makes a weird kind of sense. About twenty minutes ago, Sulpicia became completely unresponsive. She was working in the garden, pruning a rose bush when she just…stilled. I carried her inside when I couldn't get a response from her; she was still out of it when I left."

"I can't say for certain, but I think Aro called her this time, not the other way around," Edward told the man and watched the Volturi guard frown.

"I'll call him once I get a response from either of these two," Felix said with a nod. "There are only ten more days until graduation," he said as he looked down at Angela.

"I don't know that Eleazar will be able to help her any more than we have," Edward said in response to the man's thoughts, "but you're right. Maybe his experience will lend insight once he's able to see her use her gift."

"I'll get her home. I'll take care of her," Felix promised as he turned and left the room, nodding to Nurse Michaels when she held the door open for him.

"Thank you," Edward said, accepting the hall slip with a nod from the school nurse.

"I thought she was going to make it through the week," she said and Edward nodded.

"So did we," he said and drew in a breath.

_Edward,_ Alice's thoughts infiltrated his mind as he stepped into the hall. _We're going to have a few new visitors soon. Something's happening, something not connected to the army being created in Seattle._

Stepping into the hall and walking toward the classroom he shared with Alice and Bella, he locked eyes with his sister, knowing that she was pulling the questions he intended to ask her from her visions. She responded to him easily with her thoughts, but her answers didn't bring him any comfort. Whatever was happening wasn't clear yet. She knew that others would be coming, but she couldn't tell him when or why. She didn't recognize the faces of those who would be coming and what drove him to near insanity was that he didn't know their faces either. He didn't like waiting for answers and with Alice's talent he hadn't had to for the past fifty years.

"Is Angela alright?" Bella asked as the teacher turned on a video.

"She will be," Edward told her and brought her hand to his lips, kissing the back of her hand.

"Shrek?" Bella asked as she looked up at the screen when the familiar music began to play.

"Shrek," Edward affirmed with a chuckle.

**:::::**

Angela looked at Aro, studying his face as the lunchroom around her disappeared and his chambers came into focus. She wasn't quite certain what had happened, never having seen anyone appear to her before she had gone to them and waited for him to meet her eyes. When he didn't look up at her, she looked down at the woman lying in the bed that held his attention and gasped silently when she saw the emotional pain etched in the young woman's face.

"What happened?" she asked, meeting Aro's gaze when his head snapped to the side to look at her. "Aro?" she studied his face and looked down at the woman before repeating her question. "What happened?"

"You heard me?" he asked her and watched Angela tip her head in question.

"Heard you?" she shook her head. "No I just saw you. I guess, you came to me like I come to you. I don't know how all this works yet."

"Unfortunately, I don't have any answers for you either my dear. I've never encountered a talent like yours before. I don't know that anyone has." His attention turned back to the bed, her eyes following suit and he looked up at her once more when she sat down. "Her name is Corin," he told Angela as he reached out and brushed the woman's sandy blonde hair back from her face. "She is Sulpicia's daughter."

"Daughter?" Angela shook her head. "I thought you two couldn't have children."

"Not by birth, dear," he chuckled, the sound of his laughter soothing her. "Sulpicia is the one who changed her. She's held a very dear place in our hearts because of that, but someone very close to us betrayed us all. Corin was made to harm Sulpicia against her will; she never would have done it of her own free will."

"Aro? What's happened to Corin?" Sulpicia's voice sounded behind them, the ghostly image of his wife joining them on the bed as they surrounded the woman in question.

"Once you left," Aro told his wife slowly, "Chelsea's power stopped working on her."

"Chelsea," Sulpicia shook her head in confusion before her expression became one of horror and grief. "When she removed her talent from me, when she stopped coming to see me that was because of Chelsea?"

"Yes," he told her solemnly. "She would never willing hurt you on her own. We both know that."

"Yes, we do," Sulpicia nodded as her jaw became tight with anger. "I always wondered why the shift happened. Why my daughter turned against me so. I never thought it was Chelsea, why would she do this?"

"She has been working with Caius, taking cues from Athenadora," Aro said and looked back at Corin. "My love," he turned his eyes back to Sulpicia. "She was ready to walk into the fire pits in the great hall today. Had it not been for Renata guiding her into the gardens, I believe she would have done just that. I cannot get her to feed. She is trapped within her own grief over what she has done."

"What the – Angela?" Carlisle's voice sounded in the room and they each looked back to meet his golden gaze.

"Papa, can you help her?" Angela asked him and moved from the bed so that he could see Corin. "Can you make her better?"

"Thankfully I was only in my office," Carlisle thought aloud as he moved to the bedside. "How are you keeping this connection open?" he asked his daughter and watched her shrug.

"I have no idea how it works," Angela said and looked back at the bed. "Please, you're a doctor can't you make her better?"

"She's a vampire, Angela," Carlisle said gently as he sat next to Corin. "She doesn't need a doctor, she needs to feed."

"The problem is, she won't," Aro said.

"She wishes to die?" Carlisle asked with confusion. "I remember her being vibrant and inquisitive."

"Yes, she always was," Sulpicia said and looked at Carlisle. "She was betrayed as well. She needs a chance to heal and she won't get that here."

"Papa?"

Carlisle looked at Angela; saw the same question in her eyes that he had seen in Sulpicia's. Looking down at Corin, reaching out to touch her only to frown when his hand passed through her, he nodded and looked at Aro. He knew what both his daughter and Aro's wife were asking of him and he would grant his consent to their request. He knew that he would need to talk to Esme, explain things to her and looked back at Angela, his lips parting in concern for her when he found that he could lay his hand on Corin's cheek and feel her skin.

"Angela," he spoke her name with worry and met her gaze.

"I don't know how it works," she said with a shrug. "Sometimes I can move things and sometimes I pass through them. Papa, can we help her?"

"The question is," Carlisle turned his attention on Aro. "How will she get to us without her absence drawing attention?"

"Let me take care of that," Aro offered and grinned slightly. "Your suit and the accompanying gown are almost ready to be shipped."

Carlisle's lips pulled up at one side and he nodded silently. "Don't tell me you intend to ship her."

"Hopefully not, though if she remains unresponsive, it may be necessary. There are plans set in motion. I will send word once she is on her way," he assured Carlisle and looked to Angela. "You don't look tired," he commented and listened to her hum curiously. "The few other times you've come here and joined Sulpicia and I together, you've become tired after a few moments."

"No, I don't feel tired," Angela agreed softly, her expression curious. "Someone is with me," she said with authority. "My hand is cool, it feels like someone's holding it," she said as she looked down at her right hand. "I can feel their energy."

"Do you know who it is?" Carlisle asked her.

"No, but I think it's either Emmett or Felix. I just feel…completely protected, like an army could come charging through and none of them would ever touch me," she said and Sulpicia laughed.

"That's Felix alright," she said. "You're drawing on his energy?" she asked Angela.

"I don't know," Angela shook her head and frowned. "I guess so."

"How does it feel?" Sulpicia asked her and Angela bit her lip as she took in a deep breath.

"Like being connected to a battery," Angela chuckled as she searched for a way to explain it. "I feel like I have endless energy."

"What is it?" Aro asked when he saw her expression fall into one of concern.

"I was at school," she said with a frown. "Where am I now?"

"Angela," Carlisle called her attention to him. "Let us return, it is time for us to wake up. The rest of the planning can be done through a different means of communication."

Angela nodded softly, uncertain of how to break the connection, but as soon as she thought of Felix she could feel herself being drawn closer towards the energy filling her hand. The room around her disappeared, faded into darkness as her eyes closed and she hissed, whimpering as her migraine flared to a piecing burn inside her brain. Her eyes fluttered open slowly, her vision blurred as tears filled her eyes and a deep voice sounded softly next to her.

"Shh, it's alright, little one," Felix soothed Angela as he bent down and kissed her forehead. "You're safe, Sweetheart, I'm here with you. Where did you go?"

"Aro called for me," she told him softly, her voice rough with pain. "She's sick, Felix," she told him as he lifted her from the bed and carried her toward the bathroom, Alice already running a hot bath.

"Who's sick, Angela?" he asked as Sulpicia stepped into the hall to meet them.

"Corin. Corin is in a great deal of pain," Sulpicia said as she reached out and touched Angela's warm cheek. "Corin is coming to Forks."


	70. Chapter 68

Chapter 68

Her steps were slow and measured, her hands held fast at her sides as she fought against the anger coursing through her. She was remaining silent only by a sheer force of will, her fingers curling into fists only to slowly unfurl. The movement was repeated multiple times, the pattern of it steady and reminiscent of a heartbeat, if only she were human. There was food in the fridge now, an appliance that had never once been used previously. There were items in the bathroom now, things like toilet paper and toothpaste, even mouthwash.

Walking down the hall, unaware that she had begun to growl softly, she looked into the open bedroom. _His_ bedroom. She had protested his arrival, protested her sisters' agreement of taking him in, training him. He was over two hundred years old, she reasoned, he could damn well take care of himself. She had been overruled, silenced by her sisters with the same look they gave her anytime they thought her to be acting in a selfish manner. Carmen and Eleazar had agreed to foster him after meeting him only once and only because _she_ had asked them to.

_She_ was the problem that she had. Ever since her cousins had decided to take her in everything had changed. That human girl had come in and changed everything – _ruined everything_. _She_ had _befriended_ the Volturi, the same ones that had torn her mother into pieces and burned her remains. _She_ had been the one to force Laurent out of their home because _he_ needed some place to stay and a coven to teach him how to be a vampire. _She_ had been there the day Laurent was killed and maintained the lie that he had tried to attack Bella. It was only because of _her_ – that _human_ girl – that Eleazar and Carmen were once more on friendly terms with the Volturi.

Because of _her_ Aro's wife and the Volturi's most famous enforcer were living with the Cullens, sharing their home as though they were a welcomed part of the family. She stared at the bedroom with rage, her muscles trembling as she fought against the desire she held to rip the new bedspread apart. There was no need to change the bed sheets, they were vampires they didn't sweat or shed skin or any of the other disgusting human habits _she_ would have. Even still, the room had been touched up, soft feminine touches added here or there to make the room more inviting, more to _her _liking.

"Irina."

The sound of Tanya's voice behind her drew a low growl from her, her rage becoming stronger. She had resented each decision made since the moment she had been over ruled in her objection to Michael. He wouldn't come near her, wouldn't be alone with her and she didn't care. Part of her wanted him to approach her alone if only for the chance to destroy him. In her mind he was as guilty as _she_ was for Laurent's death.

"Alice called."

Tanya's voice sounded again behind her, but she didn't care enough to turn around or take her eyes away from the open room in front of her. The two new stuffed bears on the bed that were leaning against the pillows, those angered her the most. How had it become a tradition to make stuffed animal versions of themselves for _her_ benefit and why _in the hell_ had Eleazar and Carmen taken part in it? Turning around when Tanya gripped her shoulder in a firm gentle hold, she snarled nearly silently to see her sister holding two golden bears in her arm.

"Irina, the arrangements have already been made and Eleazar and Carmen have already left for Forks. Michael and Kate are out hunting now, making certain that they're well fed for when Angela arrives," Tanya said as she looked into her sister's dark eyes. "Irina, you should hunt too. Give me a few moments and I'll go with you."

"I don't need you to watch me!" Irina raged slapping Tanya's hand away from her shoulder.

"This time you do," Tanya insisted, ghosting to Michael's bed to set down the bears holding her and Kate's names before returning to Irina's side. "Alice's call, her vision," Tanya cautioned. "She saw you drinking human blood."

Irina's expression darkened further, her stance bordering on combative. She thought about saying something, defending her ability to abstain from human blood, but for the first time in a long time she craved it. She wanted the richer, sweeter human blood. She wanted to hear the fearful cries that only humans could make, the pitiful way they would beg for their lives. She needed to feel that power that control and before she gave it a second thought, Irina spun around and fled for the door.

"No!" Tanya shouted and ran after her sister. "Irina! No!"

Irina could hear her sister running after her, trying in vain to stop her, but her rage and hunger drove her to speeds she had never attained before. She darted to one side and then the other, evading Tanya at every turn at times spinning around and doubling back to confuse her. After all their centuries together though, Tanya knew her sister's evasive techniques, knew them because she had been the one to teach them to her. She turned swiftly, caught Irina with one hand wrapped around her sister's arm only to be thrown to the ground when Irina lashed out.

Tanya stared with wide eyes at the area her sister had disappeared to, her hand touching her cheek and feeling as the spider-web cracks healed and disappeared. Irina had never struck her before. Hearing the trilling of her cell phone as she returned to her feet, Tanya removed the device from her pocket and answered Alice's call. She was silent as she listened to Alice's warning, her recommendation for the outcome.

"No," Tanya stated firmly. "We promised your family that Angela would be safe with us and she will be. Kate and I will be deal with Irina. Angela is part of your family and as such part of ours, she is welcome here."

"I fear it's already too late," Alice warned her. "She's caught the scent of hikers in the valley below. She has no intention of stopping or controlling her thirst."

"Then I must go," Tanya said. "She will be safe with us, Alice. I promise you that."

Ending the call, Tanya tucked the phone in her pocket and stood for a moment with her eyes closed. Breathing in deeply, she caught the traces of her sister's scent on the wind, her movement fast enough to be unseen as she gave chase. Irina had always been a little more impulsive, a little quicker to anger than either herself or Kate, but Tanya had always blamed that on youth. Her sister was the youngest among them, the last their mother changed and physically younger as well.

She couldn't let Irina go through with it; she had to catch her sister before she bit a human. Her attention snapped to the side, her eyes drawn to Kate when she found that she was no longer running alone and she saw the concern in her sister's face. Tanya continued to push faster as she took in a breath and explained the situation to Kate. Her sister's growl stopped her short and she met Kate's angry gaze.

"This isn't Angela's fault," Tanya said only to be cut off by her sister.

"Of course it's not!" Kate growled and shook her head. "She never could see outside herself. I love Irina as much as you do, but she's always been too selfish. It's not like we weren't suffering our mother's death as much as she was, but all she could see was her own pain. Those first five years were hell and I was certain that she would bring them descending upon us again. It was sheer dumb luck that kept them from coming after us after she tore through that village."

"Kate, I need to know," Tanya began and Kate nodded.

"Times are different now. As the situation changes we have to change with it. No, I'm not mad at Angela nor do I hold any resentment or ill will because of her relationship with the Volturi." Kate chuckled softly with amused disbelief. "In fact, I find myself curious to meet Marcus now that she's healed him. It still seems impossible for a human to hold that kind of power."

"Eleazar and Carmen always have that same expression whenever they talk about her," Tanya chuckled and Kate smiled.

"Angela turned them into her aunt and uncle. She offers something that none of us can simply because she is human," Kate said and tipped her head, a growl drawing from her throat.

"Human blood," Tanya said.

The sisters turned as one, running to the edge of the cliff and leaping gracefully into the valley far below. They knew that they were too late to stop Irina from feeding on the human, but they hoped to stop her before she went any further. They raced through the thick forests, dashing in between the trees and vaulting off of them as they gave chase. They came to a stop as they neared her, their mouths falling open in shock as they stared at the ground and then locked eyes with their youngest sister.

"Irina," Tanya shook her head in horror and disbelief as she took in the scene.

"Even had we not changed our diet, you know that mother wouldn't have approved of this!" Kate shouted as she looked at the ground. "What the _hell_ were you thinking?!" she shouted.

"I'm a vampire," Irina snarled as she looked at them, angered by their reactions. "This is my natural diet."

"Human blood perhaps," Tanya said as her disbelief gave way to anger and disappointment. "But we changed our diet. You've never slipped before and this," she waved her arm at the ground. "You didn't just feed on one human, but an entire family and their infant as well! This wasn't a slip or a moment of weakness, this was a deliberate choice."

"Did you think we would tell them not to come if you fed on human blood?" Kate asked as she tried desperately to understand her sister's actions. "Did you think that we wouldn't try to stop you or that we would be ok with this?"

"I can't believe you!" Irina raged. "You're protecting _her again_!" she snarled and tried to push past them.

Kate caught her sister easily, sending a painful jolt of electricity ricocheting through her body and knocking her to the ground. Looking to Tanya, Kate watched as her elder sister nodded and reached out to Irina not liking what she was about to do, but knowing it was necessary. This wasn't the first time that she had been forced to take this action and Kate doubted it would be the last. Grabbing her sister's shoulders when she rose from the ground, Kate sent powerful wave after wave of electricity through Irina until she was too stunned to move.

"I hate doing this to you," Kate said as she and Tanya lifted Irina between them and took off toward their home, "but you've left me no choice. The last time you pulled a stunt like this you put us all in danger."

"Where's Michael?" Tanya asked as they sped toward their home.

"I knew something was wrong when you shot passed us, you didn't even know we were there. I told him to head back to the house and check to see if we had missed any messages," Kate said and nodded for Tanya to release her hold on their sister. "Irina, I'm going to give you a choice, return with us willingly up that cliff and back to our home or I will keep you immobile and drag you back myself."

She felt dangerously out of control. She wanted to rage, wanted to attack both of her sisters and more than anything else, wanted more human blood. She was sated, she didn't need to feed, but she _wanted_ to. She desired the feel of it, the smell of the blood and the taste of the fear. She wanted that power back and instead of frightening her, it enticed her. Jerking in Kate's hold as a snarl ripped from her throat, she was deaf to the sound of her sister's heavy and disappointed sigh.

Closing her eyes and letting the electricity cascade through her whole body and not just her hands, Kate listened to her sister's guttural cries of pain. Feeling Irina spasm with the energy and pain she was inflicting, Kate waited until Irina fell still and silent. Tossing her sister of her shoulder in a fireman's carry, Kate nodded to Tanya before they once more resumed their journey home. It wasn't long before the house came in sight and Kate frowned to see the worry etched into the lines on Michael's face.

"What can I do?" Michael asked, backing away with wide eyes when Irina bucked and hissed at him.

"I'm sorry, Michael," Tanya said and wrapped her arms around him. "Irina is out of control. This won't be pleasant."

"Family stays together," he said repeating the same three words that she and Kate had often said to him. "You stayed by me throughout everything."

"You've always known, haven't you?" Tanya asked as she studied his eyes. "It's why you have never wanted to be alone with Irina."

"I know that she is not fond of me," he said slowly and nodded with his eyes downcast.

"Please know that Kate and I do not feel the same," Tanya told him and hugged him tightly. "We will understand if you would like to leave while we speak with her."

"No, Ma'am," Michael shook his head. "It's like you said, we're a family."

"You're a good man, Michael," Kate said as she half laid-half tossed Irina down to the couch. "Angela's a lucky girl."

"Angela," Irina spoke the girl's name mockingly. "Everyone caters to Angela."

"You'd do well not to speak ill of her, ma'am," Michael said and Tanya watched the stiff set of his posture as he became increasingly polite. "Angela is a good woman and has done nothing to deserve your anger."

"Nothing?" Irina asked as she rolled to her feet and stalked toward him. "_Nothing?!_ If it weren't for _her_ Laurent would be _here_ with _me_! If it weren't for _her_ he wouldn't be _dead_!"

"You could as easily blame those same things on me," Michael said, unwilling to back down from her.

"Of course I blame _you_!" Irina laughed. "_She_ is the reason that _you_ are here and he is not! _She_ is the reason that those _murderers_ are friendly with our families!"

"Irina!" Tanya shouted.

"We all deserve second chances, even them," Michael said as he held her gaze. "I trust Angela and she trusts them that's good enough for me. Your sisters, your family is willing to give them the benefit of a doubt, they're willing to get to know who they are now. Shouldn't that be good enough for you?"

"Good enough for me?" Irina repeated as she stared at him. "Good enough for me?! Good enough would have been not losing my mother. Good enough would have been staying with Laurent. _Good enough_ would have been having what _I_ wanted rather than what was best for everyone!"

"She was our mother too!" Tanya shouted. "Do you think that Kate and I never felt her loss? That we don't still feel her loss?!"

"You never cared!" Irina raged.

"The hell we didn't!" Kate snarled as sparks of electricity jumped between her fingers, her temper flaring. "We were in just as much pain as you were but we didn't have the time to grieve! You wouldn't allow us that! Instead _you_ flew into one rage after the next and it was all we could do to keep you from being hunted and killed like she was!"

"Not to interrupt your fight here," Alice's voice sounded in the house and Tanya spun around in confusion, "but could one of you pick up the phone please, preferably before the machine stops recording."

"Alice?" Kate moved the cordless house phone and turned on the speaker function. "Since when do you call the house phone?"

"Since my visions told me that none of you would answer your cell phones. I'm not staying on long, I just wanted to say this: work your shit out," Alice said, the usual perkiness gone from her voice, tight anger sounding instead. "Work it out before they come back with Angela. It's barely Friday now and that leaves you three days. Get it together."

The line cut out a second later, the call disconnecting as a dial tone sounded in her wake. It wasn't often that Alice cursed, though Tanya knew that the girl had a mouth like a sailor, but rarely did she use such language with her family. In fact, Tanya looked at the phone; she could count the number of times that she had heard Alice curse on one hand. At least at a direct person, she mused; she had heard the girl go off on hideous creations of fashion designers several times.

Turning her attention back to look at Irina, Tanya looked at Michael and watched as he remained motionless. His eyes were focused solely Irina, his sentiment clear in his stance – he would allow no one to harm or threaten Angela. They had all heard the story and seen the look on his face when Angela was brought up in conversation, but until that moment Tanya had not seen the fierce protectiveness that came with a bonded pair. She saw that now as she looked at Michael and knew that he would fight to the death to protect Angela, even if that fight was against Irina. She only hoped that it never came to that.

**:::::**

Esme smiled and glanced at Carlisle as they stepped outside the front door. Looking up at her husband from where she stood wrapped in his arm and tucked against his side, Esme kissed his cheek and chuckled softly. Turning his eyes on her, Carlisle smiled brightly, the amusement he felt clear in his gaze. It was just after midnight, barely able to be considered Friday and Esme smiled to see their friends walking up the path to their house. They had heard their car pull into the drive, surprised that they had arrived so early only find amusement in the answer obtained from Edward's review of their thoughts.

"The ceremony isn't until tomorrow," Esme teased watching as Carmen grinned and tipped her head toward her husband.

"Someone couldn't wait," Carmen teased Eleazar with a chuckle.

Eleazar and Carlisle greeted each other as brothers, watching as their wives embraced as well. Eleazar shook his head and chuckled as he watched Carmen and Esme share a look and a smile. For all of his years as an immortal and all the years spent married to his beautiful wife, he still didn't know anything more about women than he had when he was human. Carlisle's chuckle drew his attention and he lifted a brow in question as he looked at the blond man.

"She's upstairs," Carlisle grinned knowingly at Eleazar. "She finally fell asleep about a half hour ago."

"Her migraines are getting worse?" Eleazar asked as he walked inside with Carlisle and nodded in greeting at Felix and the others in turn.

"Yes," Carlisle said softly with a heavy sigh. "She's been practicing with her talents, trying to understand them better. It's easier for her to travel to someone else now, but she doesn't seem to have any greater control over it than before. She collapsed at school."

"When?" Eleazar asked with wide eyes.

"Last Wednesday," Carlisle told him. "Others are able to reach her, to call her to them, at least that is what we understand to have happened. She said that she saw Aro appear like a ghost seconds before she collapsed. She joined myself and Sulpicia in her communication with Aro. It seemed…effortless for her, but the migraine she suffered when she woke lasted for the next three days and no medicine was able to even take the edge off."

"Jasper's ability to put up a barrier around her pain?" he asked as he moved with Carlisle toward the stairs.

"Her migraines are nearly beyond my ability to assist with now," Jasper said as he came to the top landing and descended the stairs slowly. "Emmett and Rosalie left to go hunting just after she fell asleep. I need to go too."

"I think this is the first time I've seen you go so long without hunting," Eleazar said and Jasper lifted a brow in curiosity. "Your eyes are completely black."

"They were gold this morning," Alice said as she joined Jasper on the stairs, stepping past Eleazar and Carlisle. "It takes a lot out of him to help her. She's sleeping, but not deeply. We'll be back soon."

"I think that's my cue," Eleazar said and smiled as moved up the stairs. "It's time for me to see my niece."

Carmen chuckled silently as she watched her husband disappear up the stairs and shook her head at the look on Carlisle's face. She doubted that either man would've have thought they could form such bonds with a human before Angela had entered their lives. She had changed everything. Eleazar took in a deep breath as he came to a stop outside Angela's bedroom, the door open by a few inches. Lifting his hand to the wood and pushing the door open slowly, he frowned when he saw that her eyes were open though she didn't seem to be aware of his presence. Moving closer to the bed as he studied her face, his concern grew and he sat down beside her on the bed before gently touching her cheek.

"Angela, sweetheart, are you awake?" Eleazar asked thinking that perhaps she had fallen asleep with her eyes open.

"Uncle Merlin?" Angela asked softly and he smiled at the familiar nickname. "Where are you?"

"I'm right here beside you, little one," he told her and cupped her cheek in his palm. "You can't see me, can you? Do you want me to turn on the light?"

"No, it's not that," Angela said and scooted over somewhat, giving him room to lie down next to her. "My migraines… sometimes they make me blind."

"How often?" he asked, his voice heavy with worry as he toed out of his shoes before laying back on the pillows next to her.

"Lately all the time," Angela said quietly as she curled against his side and pillowed her cheek on his chest. "I haven't been able to see for a few days now. My vision will come back, it always does, it's just gone right now."

"You go to sleep, sweetheart," Eleazar said as he wrapped her in his arms and petted her hair in long slow strokes. "I'll take care of you," he promised and kissed her head.

Angela hummed softly, her lips curling up at the corners in a gentle smile as her eyes closed slowly. Her hand fisted in his shirt, bringing a smile to his face and Eleazar hugged her close as he brought the blankets up around her shoulders. He had missed this, he thought as he held her. That time spent with her after she had been attacked and again when Aro and Marcus had been visiting didn't seem like nearly enough. He knew that once he returned to Denali with her she would most likely spend her time sleeping in Michael's embrace and so he treasured these moments with her.

Had anyone ever told him that he would find comfort from holding a human while they slept he would have called them insane. Angela shifted slightly, curling more toward him and he chuckled silently when she sighed as her arm slipped to the side to drape over his waist. Rubbing his hand over her shoulder, Eleazar kissed her hair and looked up as Carmen stepped into the open doorway, blocking the light from the hall. A soft smile was drawn across her face, the affection she felt clear in her expression and she stepped into the room slowly, slipping out of her heels as she moved toward the bed.

"Esme told me that she's blind right now, has been for the past few days," Carmen said with worry as she sat down on the bed behind Angela and turned to curl against the girl's back.

"Angela told me as much herself," Eleazar said as Carmen wrapped her arm around Angela and kissed the sleeping girl's cheek.

"I've missed this," Carmen mused softly. "We're not going to get these moments when we take her back with us."

"No," Eleazar chuckled softly. "I'm fairly certain she'll be sleeping in Michael's embrace."

Carmen chuckled. "You know, we call them our cousins, but they've given us a niece," she said as she brushed Angela's hair back over the girl's shoulder and touched her cheek.

"We know without any doubt that Michael is her mate, that much is already clear," he added finding comfort in the beat of Angela's heart.

"We're not really two covens anymore, are we?" she asked with a smile.

"No, not so much," Eleazar said. "We've been united."

Esme glanced up at Carlisle briefly, standing within the circle of his arms as they stood in the open door of Angela's bedroom, before their attentions turned to the bed. The sight of their friends lying with Angela and holding her in much the same way as they had several times over was endearing. Placing her hand over Carlisle's heart as she looked up at him, Esme smiled and welcomed his kiss. Laying her cheek against his chest as they returned their attention to the occupants of the bed, Esme smiled as she watched her daughter sleep, wondering what it was that she was dreaming about.

**:::::**

Angela blinked tiredly as she leaned against the bookcase, her attention drawn to the man sitting in the chair. She smiled softly as she stepped away from her place by the wall and walked toward the overstuffed arm chair next to him. Sitting down slowly and tucking her feet beneath her, she leaned against the side, crossing her arms over the arm of the chair and laying her head down upon them. She smiled as she watched him move, his arm pulling back and pushing forward in an almost lazy sawing motion, the music of the cello he played slow and melancholic.

"You sound sad," Angela said softly lifting her head slightly from the cradle of her arms when he stilled in surprise.

"_You_ look tired," Marcus replied as he studied her and laid the bow down across his lap. "You should not be here, Angela. You're growing weaker every time you visit us like this and you've been visiting a lot recently."

"It's not like I'm actively trying to come here," Angela said and watched as he moved to put away the cello. "When I close my eyes and fall asleep I wake up here."

"You need restful sleep," Marcus told her with a pointed stare as he lifted her from the chair. "Two weeks ago I wouldn't have been able to carry you around, but now your form is solid as though you are physically here. It worries us."

"Where are you taking me?" Angela asked, leaning her head against his shoulder as her eyes fell closed.

"To the reason that I believe you are continuously drawn here," he soothed her and turned around, pressing his back against the rotating wall that led into a passage only him, Aro, and Sulpicia knew of. "If I put you on your feet right now, you wouldn't be able to walk, would you?"

Angela hummed her reply, the sound barely more than sigh as she curled against his chest. Marcus frowned, holding her closer as he carried her down the darkened stone hallway that only his vampire eyes could see through. She murmured softly, whimpered once and he whispered to her, gently soothing her with his voice as he turned and once again pressed his back against a rotating wall. Instead of pushing through the wall as he had done in his own quarters he lifted his foot and kicked back against the low corner of the wall three times. Stepping away from the wall, he turned around and faced it, waiting for Aro to release the lock on the other side and open it.

"You haven't used this passage in a while," Aro commented through the heavy stone door as he turned the simple latch lock and opened it. "Why are you using it…Angela? You can carry her now?" he asked Marcus with wide eyes.

"Yes," Marcus nodded. "It is as though she is here physically. The stronger she grows here…"

"The weaker she grows there," Aro finished for him. "Come, lay her down," Aro said and stood aside for his friend to enter.

Marcus followed Aro silently into his chambers, carrying Angela through the main living quarters until they reached the bedroom. She was barely awake in his arms, unable to move very much in her exhaustion and it concerned him how much it was taking out of her to use her talent. Seeing Corin lying in Aro's bed, he looked at his ancient brother with concern.

"Has she moved at all in the past week?" Marcus asked as he laid Angela down gently on the bed beside Corin.

"No, not once," Aro said as he watched Angela curl in to the vampire's side and chuckled softly. "She's not afraid of us in the least, is she?"

Marcus chuckled softly as he bent down and kissed Angela's cheek.

"How is it that Felix put it? Ah yes, we are her immortal teddy bears," Marcus said with a grin and Aro smiled as he nodded.

"I spoke to Carlisle only a few days ago," Aro said as he approached Angela's side and touched her cheek. "He doesn't have a way of keeping her from using her talents. It's too effortless now, too easy for her to slip away when she's sleeping. He told me that more often than not, she is blind now when she is awake."

"I don't like the pain this is causing her anymore than you do, but I believe that we both know why she is traveling here so often recently," Marcus said and nodded at Corin.

"Aside from you and I, she has no ties to Corin," Aro said with confusion as he met Marcus' gaze.

"Before I left Volterra, when Angela was coming to me inside my mind," Marcus began as he thought back on their initial meetings, "she told me that she could feel my pain. She told me that she cried because I could not. I believe that she may have been drawn to me because of that, though I don't know if she realized it or not."

"She can feel the pain of our kind?" Aro asked Marcus, his attention locked on the girl in question.

"I believe so, yes, though as I said I don't think she's aware of it," Marcus said and looked at Angela when she whimpered in her sleep. "Hush, little one," Marcus soothed her gently. "We must a find a way to get Corin to her soon or she will not stop coming here like this and it is only making her weaker."

"What would you suggest?" Aro asked as he stared at Sulpicia's daughter. "I have not been able to think of a way to get her out of the castle let alone out of the country without raising suspicions."

"No one would dare question us," Marcus said darkly and Aro shook his head.

"That's not the issue," he denied and nodded to Corin. "Look at her, my friend. She is immobile, she has not fed in months and she is completely unresponsive. She is little more than a statue now."

"Then ship her like one," Marcus said and met Aro's gaze. "I know that it is not the desired solution, but as our kind do not need to breathe or eat and will not decay, she would be able to pass for a work of art if set properly."

"Are we actually talking about this?" Aro asked as he stared at Marcus.

"What options are left?" Marcus asked him. "The only person that you or I would trust to take her out of here is already in Forks with your wife. Is there another that you would trust to take her away from Volterra, to ensure her safe delivery to Forks without bringing any undue harm or attention to those we wish to protect?"

"There is one," Aro said after a moment. "Stay here, I will return shortly."

Marcus followed Aro with his eyes as the man left the room and moved to the chair by the window. Bringing the armchair to the side of the bed, Marcus sat and studied the two resting upon it. He remembered the times that Angela came to him in his mental hideaway and slept in his arms. She was too exhausted in those times for him to feel the healing warmth of her talent; he was comforted instead by her presence and scent. Reaching out to her slowly, he petted her hair back from her face and whispered to her softly when she whimpered.

"You're safe, little one," Marcus soothed Angela gently.

"M'cus," she whimpered his name brokenly, unable to sleep deeply.

"I'm right here, sweetheart," he promised her and looked back over his shoulder when Aro entered the room followed by Renata. "I see you have found a solution."

"I believe so, yes," Aro said as he came up to the foot of the bed and looked down at the women lying in it.

"Who is the girl?" Renata thought aloud as she looked at Angela. "She's human, isn't she? I can almost hear a heartbeat."

"You're not as familiar with her yet as we are, my dear," Aro said with a touch of amusement. "Little one," he called to Angela as he gently shook her ankle. "I want you to meet someone," he told her when she blinked up at him tiredly. "Renata dear, come closer," he called to her and smiled gently as he turned his attention back to his personal guard. "Renata, this is Angela."

"Angela?" she breathed the girl's name out with confusion. "How did you get here?"

"The same way I always do," Angela said with confusion as she sat up and looked down at Aro's hand that she held with a frown. "You can't hear me?" she finally asked aloud.

"No, little one, I can't. Not here like this," sitting down on the end of the bed he leaned close and kissed her forehead. "Don't fret so, my dear we will see each other again soon."

"Can you see me?" Angela asked of Renata as she sat next to Aro and leaned heavily against his side, taking comfort from the arm he had wrapped around her.

"Yes, I can," Renata said and studied her with concern. "Forgive me for saying so, but you do not look well."

"She isn't," Aro answered and turned his attention down to Angela. "Rest now, little one. All will be taken care of," he said and watched as she blinked heavily until her eyes remained closed. "Renata," he turned his attention back to the woman who had served him loyally as his personal guard. "I need you to do something for me. What I will be asking of you is great and I need to know that you are willing to take on this task."

"Whatever you ask of me, Master, I will do," she promised sincerely.

"Sit down, my dear," Aro said and nodded to the corner of the bed on the opposite side of Angela. "What I am going to tell you does not go beyond this room. No one else is to know."

Renata nodded quietly as she turned her attention on Angela, watching the girl sleep against Aro's side as she listened to him speak. His story was surprising, but it was his actions that revealed the true importance of what he was asking her. She wondered if he was aware that he was absently stroking Angela's hair, turning his head just enough to touch his cheek to her brow whenever she stirred. The way he was treating Angela, his movements that she was certain were unconsciously made as he was always so cautious not to show any kind of favoritism, displayed to her the depths of his affections for the girl.

"Renata," Aro called her name to draw her attention back to him. "You've become distracted. Have you heard what I said?"

"Yes, Master," Renata nodded. "I am to take Corin to Carlisle and no one is to know that we are leaving Volterra. No one is to know that they are there," she said as her attention slipped back to Angela. "Master, is she fading?" Renata asked as she studied Angela's form through narrowed eyes.

"Yes," Aro nodded without needing to look down at the girl in question. "Renata, you need to move quickly. Giuseppe, my personal tailor," the expression on his face was telling her that he was waiting for her understanding and she nodded quietly. "I have made arrangements with him to have some items sent to Carlisle. You will go with me to see him tomorrow."

"And Corin?" Renata asked as she studied her vampire sibling.

"She will be brought with us," Aro said and nodded to a corner of his room that neither she nor Marcus had given any attention to earlier.

"A crate?" Renata shook her head. "You intend to ship her?"

"It's the only way to get her out of the castle unseen. Carrying her would be too conspicuous. Renata, I am curious," Aro said and tipped his head when she offered a sad breathy chuckle.

"I never liked her, not from the moment I met her," she confessed her feelings for Chelsea. "I've always done my best to stay away from Chelsea. I can't quite put my finger on why, but she rubs me the wrong way."

Aro nodded silently as he processed her words. It had been those subtle nuances that he hadn't taken the time to pay attention to before everything had been brought to light. Those subtle things that Renata had picked up on that made her steer clear of Chelsea, the same subtleties that had made Angela afraid of her on sight. He cursed himself for not having taken the time before, but knew that because of all that had been revealed he would be far more diligent in the future.

"Master," Aro looked up at the sound of Renata's voice. "My Uncle Luca used to say that sometimes you can't see the forest for the trees until someone cuts one down."

Aro chuckled silently and nodded. "Yes… Renata, about your Uncle Luca…"

"No," she interrupted him, her gaze kind yet determined and unbreakable.

"No?" Aro questioned. "You do not know yet know what I will say."

"Oh yes I do," she said with a knowing grin. "I can see it in your eyes. Once Corin has been safely delivered to Carlisle – to Angela, I will return here and protect you both. I may not have wanted to join this family in the beginning and did so only to protect my own family, but after all these centuries I have grown quite attached."

"Because of Chelsea," he interjected and she shook her head.

"No, not because of her. I knew when she was using her talent on me, when she was trying to force a relationship upon me. I have always known when someone is trying to manipulate me, my aunt when I was human was quite gifted at manipulation and I learned quickly how to recognize it, no matter what form it took. I stayed away from her; I won't allow her to use her talent on me. My affections for you, Lady Sulpicia, and Marcus have developed over time and are true, not fabricated by her."

"And Corin?" he asked and Renata laughed softly.

"She was the first true friend I made here when I returned with all of you. She and I would talk often…or we did," Renata said her voice holding a note of regret.

"Did?" Marcus asked her and she turned to look at him, shocked to find none of his pain etched on his face or in his eyes.

"About five years ago there was this…change," Renata frowned and shook her head as she tried to explain. "It seemed that every time I would see her Chelsea wouldn't be far behind. Corin would…she would turn away from me, her words did not sound like her. I used to think that it was my own dislike of Chelsea, linking her in my thoughts to Corin's behavior, but now I'm not so sure. It felt as though she had been turned against me, the close friendship we shared turned into hate. What I don't understand is why she would do that. Why turn Corin against me? I hold no power here aside from being your personal guard, why turn her against me? What would that bring her?"

"Separation," Marcus said and Renata turned her eyes on him with a confused frown. "After taking into account your observations as well as Sulpicia's, I believe that Chelsea's intentions were not to take power away from you, but instead make Corin hers to control. Severing all her ties to anyone else, making Corin loyal only to her would make her easier to control. The problem is that just as with the bond between mates, the bonds formed of true friendship and familial affections are harder to break. I have watched her work when she has been forced to break those bonds. She cannot simply undo the bonds of love; she has to turn them into hate."

"So then the few times she's tried to use her talent on me…" Renata's voice trailed off as she glanced back at Corin.

"She was wanting to break your bonds with us, but she couldn't afford to be obvious about it," Marcus said as he watched Angela fade away completely. "Aro?"

"She is gone now. Either she has been woken or she grew too weak here to keep the connection open," he said and turned his attention on Renata. "My dear, the information you have learned and the request I have made of you, are you willing to carry this out?"

"More than willing," Renata said with determination. "If doing this will bring our family peace once more and help that young girl," she smiled softly as she thought of Angela, "then I will do whatever I can to protect them."

"Then we will begin the planning," Aro said as he stood from the bed. "I need to make a few calls, let Carlisle know that you are coming. Renata, stay close to the two of us until you leave. In fact, make yourself at home here," he said nodding to his quarters. "Until you are out of this country, you must be protected as well."

"You believe she would harm me?" Renata asked with concern and looked between Aro and Marcus.

"I do not wish to take the chance," Aro said. "Jane has already harmed you more than once," he told her and arched a brow at her look of surprise. "Yes, I know about the incident with the bird and Angela's protection of you. She encouraged you to tell me, I would like to know why you didn't."

"What could be done?" Renata asked after a moment, the fear she held of Jane showing in her eyes. "My gift doesn't work on her, not to deflect her talent. I've never been able to stop…" Renata grew silent when she realized what she was about to reveal.

"How often?" Marcus asked, his voice hard and angry.

"A lot," Renata said after a moment, her voice unsteady. "I stopped counting."

"Why did you never say anything?" Aro asked her and Renata slipped her hand into his.

Aro growled low as the memory she wished to share with him played through his mind. Through her thoughts, Aro knew this memory to be at least three hundred years old. He was walking with Renata by his side, exiting the court room. Jane was standing at the end of the corridor; the distance between them so great that he had not paid any attention to her and neither had Renata. She was ready to tell him, needing to speak with someone about the constant attacks she had suffered from Jane's talent, but the very moment she opened her mouth she was filled with pain. The memory repeated in different locations at different times, but always she was silenced by Jane's demonstration of her power.

Removing his hand from Renata's and cupping her face in his palms, Aro met her crimson gaze. Leaning close he placed a kiss upon her brow.

"She will not harm you again," he promised her as he let his hands fall from her face. "Go gather whatever items you need in order to travel and then return here."

"Yes, Master," Renata nodded before standing. "Master, about Jane…"

"Do not worry, my dear, she will be dealt with," Aro promised and watched her nod. "Jane and Alec will be the hardest ones to deal with, I fear," he told Marcus after Renata had left.

"Then we shall leave them for last," Marcus said wisely and grinned. "I cannot wait for the moment when they realize it is their end."

"Yes," Aro's expression turned delighted if not a touch dark. "The final battle will be one for the ages."


	71. Chapter 69

Chapter 69

He rubbed her back as he held her close and called to her softly. He spoke her name, soothed her gently, all while encouraging her to return to him. There was a change in her that he could feel, the way her weight rested against his body heavier than before, and he knew that she was using her talent. He coaxed her gently, continued to speak to her as his wife stroked her hair and touched her cheek. Their voices were gentle, but insistent providing for her a tether with which to find her way home. She began to whimper, the sounds born of pain and exhaustion. She was coming back to them slowly, her spirit trapped between where her body was and where her talent had taken her to.

"Come on, sweetheart," Carmen encouraged as she smoothed her hand down over Angela's hair. "You're almost back, you're almost here. Come back to us."

"Corin," Angela spoke the name softly, her voice little more than a whisper.

"Did she just say…?" Carmen looked up at her husband as Carlisle stepped into the open doorway. "Angela? Honey, come back to us."

"Little One, it's time to wake up. It's time to come back to us," Eleazar encouraged Angela as he cupped her face in his hand and chaffed the curve of her cheek with his thumb.

"Corin," Angela whispered her name again as she fought to stay with the woman.

"Thank you, my friend," Carlisle said into his phone as he stepped into the room. "They're trying to wake her now, are you certain that she is no longer there with you?"

"Yes," Aro's voice sounded from the device and Carlisle met Eleazar's eyes when his friend looked at him. "I no longer feel her presence at all."

"Alright," Carlisle nodded as he studied his daughter's sleeping form tucked between Eleazar and Carmen. "Do you know approximately when they'll be arriving?" he asked as he watched Angela's eyes flutter open only to fall closed once more.

"No, not exactly," Aro said. "The hardest part will be getting them out unseen. Corin is…she is immobile and unresponsive. She has not moved or responded once since the time that Angela brought you to see her. Marcus believes that to be the reason Angela is continually drawn to us."

"Because of Corin?" Carlisle asked as he looked at Eleazar before glancing at Angela.

"She's sleeping, truly sleeping and not using her talent any longer," Eleazar said and Carlisle nodded.

"Eleazar is there?" Aro asked and Carlisle grinned softly before putting the call on speaker.

"Yes, Aro, Eleazar and Carmen are both here," Carlisle said with a touch of amusement. "Corin and Renata will be welcomed and protected here," he promised his friend.

"That would explain the two women I don't recognize," Alice said as she appeared in through the open window. "I've been seeing two women coming to us for awhile now. Is Angela drawing them here?"

"In a sense, I suppose she is," Aro answered, his disembodied voice rousing Angela slightly. "Her talent for healing our kind also enables her to feel their pain."

"Aro," Angela mumbled his name tiredly, her eyes barely open as she moved her hand to find him.

"He's on the phone," Carlisle said, chuckling softly when Eleazar reached out for the device and brought it closer to Angela.

She called his name once more, curling closer against Eleazar when he let the device rest on his chest. Smiling softly when the ancient vampire spoke her name, Angela sighed as she returned to a light slumber. Chuckling lightly as he soothed her with his voice, Aro listened as her breathing changed and deepened. He talked to her for a moment longer, waited for her heartbeat to fall back into the slow steady rhythm that came with deep sleep. Eleazar confirmed her return to sleep as he held her closer and handed Carlisle's phone back to him.

"Is Sulpicia there?" Aro asked. "I tried to reach her earlier, but she didn't answer her phone."

"She left it here when she went to hunt with Felix," Esme said as she stepped into the room. "That was Felix on the phone," she said as she tucked the device into her pocket. "They should be home soon. Sulpicia insisted that they stop off by the store on their way home."

"The store?" Aro questioned and Carlisle chuckled at the expression on his wife's face.

"It seems that you, Marcus, Sulpicia and Felix have all been made part of Angela's tradition," Esme said with a soft laugh.

"Tradition?" Aro questioned before chuckling. "She's had bears made."

"Yes," Esme confirmed. "She picked them up tonight."

"Perhaps she will stop visiting so often if she has our totems," Marcus' voice sounded from the background of Aro's call and Carlisle smiled.

"I doubt that she will," Carlisle said and looked at his daughter. "Once they are en route…"

"I will call with flight numbers and arrival information," Aro finished. "I cannot send them on our private jet. They will be coming with Giuseppe. Renata will be delivering the clothing he made as well as Corin. Carlisle, with her condition being the way it is…She has not fed in months. Take caution."

"Worry not, my friend. All preparations will be made," Carlisle assured and smiled softly. "I must go. Do us all a favor, Aro and call Angela in a few hours. The more frequent your and Marcus' phone calls with her are, the less she travels through her talent." Carlisle paused as he studied his sleeping daughter's face. "She's growing weaker as I'm sure you've noticed. It won't be long now. Just a few more months, enough time that the college year would start and her absence won't be questioned."

"And if you all stay in Forks?" Marcus questioned from the background.

"I don't know," Carlisle said softly. "We'll cross that bridge when we get to it."

Angela moaned softly, nuzzling her face into Eleazar's chest as her eyes blinked open slowly. She was too tired to think clearly, the only thought in her mind revolving around Marcus' voice. She thought about calling out to him, her eyes blinking slowly and tiredly as she focused her exhausted mind on the ancient vampire. She heard his voice respond, heard him call her name and smiled softly as her eyes fluttered closed. She felt a cool touch against her cheek, fingers brushing over her skin as Marcus' voice came closer to her, Carlisle's voice speaking softly. She couldn't understand their words, her tired mind not allowing her to comprehend what they were saying, but the familiar tones brought her comfort.

"She's speaking to me in my mind, Carlisle," Marcus said. "I can hear her clearly."

"She's awake," Carlisle said with a touch of confusion as he looked at Angela. "I'm looking at her right now, Marcus. She is awake."

"That does not negate the fact that she is still speaking to me inside my mind. She is growing more powerful, Carlisle. Give her to me," he encouraged. "Put the call on speaker and set the phone next to her."

"Alright," Carlisle said a few seconds later. "You're next to her now, Marcus," Carlisle said as he handed the phone to Eleazar and watched as his friend set the device on his chest near Angela's face. "Talk to her, Marcus. The only way to help decrease her pain is to get her to stop using her talents. The problem is she doesn't know she's using them," he said and brushed the backs of his fingers over Angela's cheek.

"Take my phone," Esme grinned and kissed Carlisle when he stepped away from the bed. "We'll see you in the morning when you get off."

"Take care of her," Carlisle said softly and hugged Esme.

"We will," she promised. "Once they're done talking I'll forward your calls to my phone."

Nodding quietly, Carlisle kissed Esme one last time before slipping away from her and out the open door of Angela's bedroom. Watching as he disappeared down the hall, Esme turned her eyes back to the bed and smiled at the sight of her friends holding her daughter. Looking back over her shoulder when she heard footsteps in the hall, Esme smiled and stepped out to greet her son and Bella.

"Hey sweetie," Esme said as she hugged Bella close. "How's Charlie?"

"He's great," Bella smiled as she stood tucked under Edward's arm and looked at Esme. "He keeps…coordinating with Renee but neither one of them will tell me what they're coordinating about," she rolled her eyes and gave a soft huff of amusement.

"It's a parent's prerogative," Esme chuckled. "It's late, Bella, you must be tired."

"A bit, yeah," Bella nodded and glanced up at Edward before looking back at Esme. "It feels strange to not be worrying about going to school tomorrow, to be graduating Saturday."

"You'll get used to it," Edward chuckled and nodded at Esme, frowning as he read his mother's thoughts. "I don't know that we can help her. It took me almost a decade to learn how to control my talent and it's nothing compared to hers. If Carlisle hadn't figured out that I was answering his thoughts, I may not have known for awhile."

Frowning thoughtfully as she nodded, Bella blushed when she yawned and Edward chuckled softly. Letting him guide her with his arm around her shoulders, Bella followed him to his bedroom and smiled her thanks when he pulled the door closed to give her privacy as she changed into sleep clothes. Edward remained still as he stood in the hall, his attention focused on Esme's thoughts and the conversation with Carlisle that she hadn't told him or the rest of their family about. They all knew that Angela's condition was worsening, that much was obvious, but what none of them knew were Carlisle's suspicions after reviewing her latest set of MRI and CAT scans.

Grinding his teeth together as he reviewed the conversation that was still heavy in Esme's mind, he began to understand why nothing had been said to the rest of them. After Carlisle's time spent in New York with the other patients suffering similar to Angela, he had seen what had happened to them and how their last moments were. Angela was growing closer, her scans becoming nearer to those patients that spent their last days under Carlisle's care. Soon, perhaps in four months or less, Angela would slip into a coma. Once that happened, she would have days, perhaps a week at most before she died. Edward looked down at the floor before turning his eyes on Bella when she opened his bedroom door and invited him inside.

He knew his own thoughts and emotions. With the knowledge of the conversation, he was willing to turn Angela himself without caring to wait for the time to be right. He knew that with Rosalie's attachment to Angela, and even the strong bond his other siblings had with her, none of them would be willing to wait. Waiting as Bella slipped beneath the blankets on his bed, Edward moved to lie next to her, enfolding his love in his arms as she drifted off to sleep. He was ready, Edward thought, in that moment as he lay next to Bella he was ready to turn Angela himself and knew that the rest of his siblings would be as well if they were privy to the knowledge he held.

_Edward, I know I'm close enough for you to hear my thoughts,_ Alice's voice sounded in his mind cutting through his preoccupation. _My vision hasn't changed. Believe me, I know as much about that conversation as you do. My vision hasn't changed. She will make it, she will be one us and she will be human at yours and Bella's wedding. It will be alright. _

Closing his eyes and letting Bella's heartbeat soothe him into stillness, Edward sighed. He had always trusted in his sister's visions, but now he felt as though he couldn't. Angela's future was too unpredictable, her migraines too severe. She was constantly in pain, more often than not blinded by her migraines and left so exhausted by them that it was a fight to simply stay awake. Worse than that was the knowledge that they were slowly killing her. How could he, in good faith, not change her now?

"You can't," Alice said as she alighted in his open French door window and stepped further into his room. "Edward you cannot change her now, nor can any of the others. It's too soon. There are too many other things set in motion. If and that's a big _if_ it came to it, Carlisle and Esme would travel to Denali and change her there. But that is not going to happen. It doesn't need to."

"You're asking me to have faith, Alice. Faith in what?" Edward hissed, keeping his voice low so as not to alert Bella to their conversation.

"Faith in Angela," Alice said calmly. "She's stronger than any of you give her credit for. She's strong enough to hold out. If you have in nothing else, have faith in her. I do." Looking down at Bella, Alice shook her head and laughed softly. "She's going to be sick soon. Tell her next time to check the food herself before letting Charlie reheat leftovers. Don't worry," she grinned at Edward's expression. "She'll be fine as soon as she empties her stomach. I swear, sometimes I don't know how that man survived without her."

"He let the diner cook for him," Edward chuckled quietly and watched Alice walk out of his bedroom and into the hall.

**:::::**

"It almost looks like a coffin," Renata commented as she looked at the inside of the crate Corin was to be put inside of. "Stuffed silk lining, heavy padding with decorated seaming."

"Perhaps so," Aro chuckled as he moved to his bed and lifted Corin's limp body into his arms. "Undo the straps," he instructed as he carried Corin to the crate and laid her gently inside. "She should be secure in here during your travel," he said as he secured the Velcro straps around Corin's neck, chest and abdomen.

Nodding quietly, Renata looked to the door of Aro's suite as Marcus stepped inside and felt her eyes widen as the ancient man smiled at her. She was still getting used to seeing him now, the way the pain was lost from his eyes and he truly seemed to be alive. Watching him move across the room, the grace to his steps that was not seen out of these private moments, she couldn't help but think of him as being vibrant. Gasping, her mouth falling open wide in shock, Renata listened to him chuckle as she straightened her hair.

"Careful, brother," Aro chuckled. "You're going to drive poor Renata into shock."

"I couldn't resist," Marcus said with humor. "She was staring at me in much the same way that Angela did the few days after I arrived in Forks."

"What is she like, in person?" Renata asked and watched as the expression on both of the ancients' faces became somehow wistful.

"I don't know that she can truly be defined," Aro said as he laid the wooden lid over the crate, hiding Corin away and securing the locks that held it closed. "Even with all that I have read from her, Angela is someone who must be experienced to truly be understood. When you are in her presence, my dear, you feel her warmth infuse you. Do not be surprised if you find yourself feeling very protective of her."

"Or if you feel the desire to not leave her," Marcus grinned. "She is not afraid of our kind in the least and will most likely embrace you upon meeting you."

"I think she has before," Renata said with a frown, her eyes losing focus as she reviewed her memories. "Back before I could see her."

Marcus chuckled as he looked at her, "Trust me, Renata; it is much different in person."

"Alright," Aro said and stood as he tilted the box up to stand erect. "She is secured and Giuseppe is waiting for us. Renata?" Aro turned when he heard her startled gasp. "Angela?" he questioned the girl's ghostly image as she stood before Renata without seeming to acknowledge any of them.

Angela's image faded a moment later and Aro frowned as he turned his attention on Marcus. His brother shook his head, the fleeting image of Angela appearing before them confusing him as well. He had become accustomed to her visiting them and interacting with them, but this time it seemed as though she hadn't been aware she was traveling to them. Looking toward the small table by the window when he heard the chime of his email, Aro gave his laptop a curious glance before stepping toward it.

"Is it from Angela?" Marcus asked as he made certain the handles on either side of the crate were secure.

"No, from Carlisle," Aro said as he read through the message. "Well that explains it. He sent us a video recording of her graduation ceremony. It just ended and I'm fairly certain her thought to have us there was only half-formed."

"Half-formed?" Renata asked as she looked between them. "You're saying that her traveling to us as she has been isn't taking directed concentration?"

"No, it doesn't," Marcus said with a sigh and worried frown. "That is what has made it so difficult to help her learn about and control her talent. Her use of it is effortless. It's as easy and transient as a thought."

"Oh," Renata breathed the word, her eyes wide.

"Marcus," Aro spoke his brother's name as he stepped up to the crate holding Corin and gripped one of the handles.

Nodding only once as he closed his eyes and allowed the mask he had been wearing since returning to Volterra slip into place, Marcus gripped the other handle and opened his eyes. Renata found herself truly troubled to see how dead and lifeless he looked, the grief consuming his gaze causing her to stare at the ancient man in concern. Chuckling softly and encouraging her to follow them, Aro and Marcus carried Corin from the room.

Renata followed behind the Masters, the use of her talent constant as she deflected those they passed in the halls from coming too close to them. She knew that they wouldn't truly understand that she was the reason they were moving away until they had long since parted ways, but she refused to take any chances that a member of their family would question them. Breathing out a sigh of relief as she watched Aro and Marcus load Corin's crate into a sleek and stylish black van, she nodded her thanks to Marcus when he held open the side door of the vehicle for her.

"Giuseppe will be waiting for us at his private air strip," Aro said as he glanced at Renata in the rearview mirror. "He will have the clothing you are to deliver waiting for you, my dear, however he will not be flying with you."

"He won't?" Renata said, her voice betraying her surprise.

"Worry not, my dear," Aro assured her. "The human men on the flight will be assisting with loading and unloading Corin. Surprisingly, our dear Giuseppe has managed to keep the humans working for him in the dark about what he is, so they will not expect you to have the strength to lift such a crate and certainly not on your own."

"And the sunlight?" She asked looking outside as the sun began to crest over the mountains.

"Your cloak, of course," Aro chuckled as he directed the car toward the main road leading out of Volterra and toward Rome. "The windows in the cabin have been tinted dark as it is a well known fact among his employees that Giuseppe is photosensitive and unable to tolerate sunlight," he said with a grin. "You'll be just fine. You will arrive in the Seattle-Tacoma airport. Carlisle and Felix will be waiting for you there."

"You will not have a problem with the sun once you reach Seattle or Forks," Marcus advised her as he watched the road ahead of them. "The Pacific Northwest is surprisingly under a near constant cover of cloud and rain."

"Master Aro," Renata spoke his name her voice fading into silence seconds after as she struggled to voice her thoughts.

"Speak your thoughts, my dear," Aro said as he glanced at her from the rearview mirror and saw the near anguish in her expression. "Renata, what is it?"

"I – I'm sorry that I wasn't able to protect her," she said, her thoughts consumed by Sulpicia. "I tried when I found out what was happening to mother, but…"

Aro sighed heavily. "Yes, I know you did," he told her and clenched his jaw for a moment. "I also know what Jane did to you for attempting to interfere," he said as he met her gaze in the mirror. "You tried several times to tell me and each time you were silenced by Jane," he said before turning his eyes back to the road. "I saw everything when you allowed me to read you, my dear. I know what you saw, what you tried to do and what happened to you as a result. I hold no ill will against you for your inability to protect her. We will not speak of this again," he said gently.

"Yes, Master," she nodded solemnly, her thoughts still heavy with regret.

"You will find Sulpicia is far different from what you remember," Aro assured her with a smile. "Angela," he said simply when Renata's surprised gaze met his in the reflective glass. "Stay with them for a while. A week or two," Aro commanded her and glanced at Marcus with a knowing grin. "Angela will be good for you."

"Master, what about…" Aro's chuckle interrupted her question.

"We will be fine, my dear. Marcus and I have a few things to take care of ourselves. Worry not," he assured her with a smile as he pulled onto the packed dirt road leading to the private airstrip.

The jet that was waiting for them was small and sleek, just enough to hold five passengers along with a good sized cargo bay. Pulling the van up to a stop near the aircraft, Marcus nodded to the human men as they came to the side of the vehicle and opened the door to remove the crate. Stepping out of the van and moving toward the passenger side rear door, Marcus opened the door for Renata as Aro spoke with Giuseppe.

"Marcus?" Renata asked quietly when he embraced her and kissed her cheek, her arms wrapping around his back.

"Giuseppe told the humans that you are my daughter as we have the closest physical resemblance," he answered her and touched her cheek. "You will be well guarded by them," he teased and watched her roll her eyes in humor. "Be well," he said softly as he walked with her to the plane, "and call us once you arrive, hm?"

"Yes…father," Renata stumbled over the familial term and Marcus laughed.

"Go," he chuckled and watched her ascend the stairs slowly before disappearing into the cabin on the jet. "Giuseppe is going with them?" he asked curiously as he watched the man board the plane.

"Yes; though I couldn't gain a clear answer as to why he made the change. It will be interesting to greet her once she returns," Aro said as he joined Marcus and watched as the stair-door of the jet was pulled closed. "I must say that I am intrigued to see the changes in her once Angela has worked her talent."

"As Angela would say 'what talent?'" Marcus teased. "Traveling to us and others she is beginning to recognize, her gift to heal our kind though is still a complete mystery to her."

Releasing a soft chuckle and nodding, Aro led the way back to the van and slipped behind the driver's seat as Marcus slipped into the passenger seat. They watched as the jet departed and waited a few moments longer before leaving the airstrip. Marcus frowned as Aro turned onto the main road, his attention held by a sensation he couldn't quite identify. Something felt off, wrong in some manner, but no matter how hard he focused Marcus could not find what specifically was troubling him.

"Marcus!"

"There is no need to shout, brother," Marcus said with confusion.

"Considering that that is the fifth time I have called your name," Aro intoned dryly. "What has you so distracted? I touched you, but your thoughts told me nothing."

"I can't identify it," Marcus said as his gaze lost focus once more. "Something just feels…off."

"Off how?" Aro asked as he drove through the streets giving no care to his speed.

"I don't know," Marcus shook his head. "All I know is that something doesn't feel right. It only started a few moments ago, I'm not sure why."

Aro remained quiet as he glanced at Marcus. There was nothing he could say. There was no sense in offering his brother solace from concerns that couldn't be identified. Pulling the van up the private drive that led to the castle, Aro growled low as he began to feel it too. Something was definitely wrong, but just as with Marcus, he was unable to pinpoint exactly what the trouble was. Pulling into the building they used as a garage, he parked the van and exited the vehicle, Marcus at his side. They moved as one, returning inside the castle and to the throne room in seconds. The very moment Aro looked at Caius he knew what had happened, his growl low and dangerous.

"You have defied my order?" Aro asked slowly, not needing to touch Caius to know the truth of what he saw in the blond man's eyes.

"We are _all_ Masters here, dear brother," Caius sneered as he stood from his seat. "Someone is creating an army and they are growing more dangerous each day. I simply did what needed to be done."

"Who did you send?" Marcus asked, being careful to keep his expression disinterested even as felt his heart filled with rage.

"Jane, Alec, Demetri, and Santiago," he listed off casually as he walked toward the doors. "After all, Felix still has not returned from his vacation," he said mockingly. "Then again, neither has your wife. Perhaps they ran away together. Is that it, Aro? Is that why you are so unsettled?"

"Talk about my wife again," Aro threatened, each word spoken slower and darker than the last.

Offering a sound of amusement as a smile curved his lips, Caius watched Aro for another moment before stepping into the hall and greeting his wife. He kissed her deeply, the show of affection a mocking reminder from him to Aro that he had a wife and his brother did not. He would have growled at Caius' clear show of defiance had it not been for the flood of warmth that infused his being and settled against his side. Glancing down, the movement of his eyes too quick to be notice, Aro found that Angela couldn't be seen not even by him. It was simply her ghostly presence that was resting against his side.

_What's wrong?_ Angela's exhausted and pain-filled voice whispered in his mind.

_Nothing is wrong, little one,_ Aro thought to her as he watched Caius disappear from sight. _Go back to sleep, Angela. All is well._

_No, it's not,_ she answered back, her warmth growing stronger against his side as her presence began to take form.

"Marcus, shut the doors," Aro commanded, his voice too soft to be heard by anyone but his brother.

"What's wrong?" Angela asked again as her form solidified and smiled softly as Aro lifted her into his arms. "I can feel your upset," she told him slowly, the sound of her voice making it clear that it was becoming difficult for her to speak her thoughts.

"You need to warn your father," Aro said as he sat upon his throne and held her in his lap. "Can you remember this for me?"

"I can r'mber," Angela mumbled as her eyes closed of their own accord and smiled when Marcus touched her hair.

"Jane, Alec, Demetri and Santiago," Aro said the names slowly. "Repeat them back to me."

"Jane…Alec…D'm'tri and Santa," she mumbled and Marcus laughed softly.

"Santiago," Marcus corrected her gently.

"S'ntiago," she slurred the name and moaned softly.

"You need to tell those names to Carlisle or Felix," Aro told her. "Let them know that they are coming."

"But what about C'rin and Ren?" she asked as it became more difficult for her to stay awake.

"No, my dear," Aro kissed her brow. "The names I gave you are not friends, they are coming to destroy," he warned her.

"When will they arrive?"

Aro looked up sharply at the sound of Carlisle's voice to see his old friend standing in the throne room though his figure was transparent.

"It doesn't take much for her to connect others anymore," Carlisle said as he looked upon his daughter cradled in Aro's lap. "All it takes is a mere suggestion and she is able to pull us together."

"I don't know," Aro said with marked displeasure. "Marcus and I had just returned from seeing Corin and Renata off when we found Caius had sent them. They left perhaps two hours ago at most."

"We will prepare," Carlisle assured him with a curt nod. "Angela," he called his daughter's name and waited for her to open her eyes. "You need to wake up now. You must break this connection."

"'s hard to wake up," she slurred the words. "It's like I…like I can't find my way back.

"Jasper," Carlisle said as he looked to the side, his eyes catching Marcus' curious frown. "The connection she makes is no longer as strong as it was the first few times. Now it is as though I am in two places at once," he explained to his ancient friends before his gaze slipped to the side again. "Jasper can you draw her back?"

Aro looked down at Angela when he felt her move and watched as she turned her face to the side as though she were searching for something. A soft smile appeared on her face as first Carlisle's image disappeared and then soon so did hers. Releasing a breath he wasn't aware he been holding Marcus nodded to himself. It would seem that Jasper's talent for projecting and manipulating emotions allowed him to call to Angela in a way no one else could.

**:::::**

Jasper stood at the end of the bed, his attention focused solely on Angela as he projected to her, the emotions he used signaling his desire to have her close. He had used the same emotions of longing and nostalgia to pull Alice closer to him when they had been separated during hunting trips. His brow furrowed, the muscle in his jaw ticking, as he focused harder on Angela projecting to her as strong as his talent would allow until he felt her begin to answer him back. He relaxed then, his shoulders beginning to lose the tense hold he had as the feel of her emotions answering his grew stronger.

"That's it, baby girl," Jasper encouraged her softly as he looked down at her. "Easy," he soothed as he moved closer and sat beside her when she uttered a sound that was equal parts pain and distress. "I'm right here, honey. You're safe; you found your way back."

She spoke his name then, the sound broken and whispered as her eyes fluttered open. Edward breathed in as he stared down at her, responding to her thoughts as he assured her that she was indeed awake. He cast his gaze to the side, responding to Carlisle's thoughts as he nodded and informed those gathered in her room that she was still blinded by her migraine. Watching as Rosalie stepped forward, his sister helping Angela up from the bed, he followed them as they moved slowly from the room.

"Thankfully her graduation ceremony passed without her migraines interfering, but they have been constant ever since," Carlisle said with a worried frown and looked to Eleazar. "Do what you can to keep her from slipping away," he instructed his friend and nodded as Rosalie stepped back into the room.

"She's taking a bath or will be," the blonde said as she tipped her head when the water began to sound.

"Rose," Esme cautioned and Rosalie shook her head.

"I'm listening for her," Rose said as she moved toward the dresser and closet to grab clothes. "Angela's an adult – perhaps a bit of a child to us because she's still human – but an adult nonetheless. Her migraines have robbed her of most of her independence lately because of how exhausted they've left her. She might be blind right now," Rosalie said with a slightly hard edge to her voice, "but we can't hover over her all the time. We have to trust that she can still do some things for herself."

"_Rosalie,"_ Angela's voice sounded from the bathroom and the blonde turned with the clothes in her arms.

"Carmen, Eleazar," Rosalie looked back to the couple and met their gazes in turn. "You can't hover. She'll never say it, but she hates that she can't do much for herself anymore. Don't do things for her, give her time and let her tell you what she needs." Turning toward the door, she was almost in the hall when she turned back and looked at Eleazar. "She still loves to be held."

Carmen smiled, her expression both amused and concerned. She could certainly understand Rosalie's position. Turning her gaze up to her husband, she chuckled softly at the look of endearment on his face. Once Angela was done with her bath and had something to eat they would be on the road. She knew from Alice's visions and what had been said that the battle would be happening soon and neither she nor Eleazar wanted to be caught up in it as they tried to protect Angela.

"I already have a bag packed for her," Esme said as she stepped into the walk-in closet in Angela's room and reappeared with a small travel bag. "There are enough outfits for one week. I didn't think she would need more than that, but let us know if she wishes to stay longer and we'll make arrangements to bring more things for her."

"Bring more?" Carmen teased with a grin. "The sisters – well Kate and Tanya, wish to take her shopping. Whatever she needs we will gather for her. An outing will be fun and the fresh Denali air will be good for her."

"She will be well guarded, my friends," Eleazar promised and followed Carlisle out into the hall. "Carlisle, about her migraines," he began and watched as his friend nodded slowly.

"You wish to know how to set up the IV drip if it's needed," Carlisle stated and Eleazar nodded. "It is a bit easier for our kind to start an I.V. simply because our eyes and hands can see and feel what a mortal's cannot. Let me speak with Angela, if she's alright with you being taught how to administer one then I'll guide you in beginning one as she would need it for at least an hour before you travel tonight. If not, I'll set up a line in her hand that will be semi permanent."

"Medically, Carlisle how is she?" Eleazar asked and nodded slowly to himself when he saw his friend tense. "That bad?"

"She's fading slowly," Carlisle said as he nodded to his office door and waited for the Spanish vampire to close it. "The other patients in New York who suffered migraines similar to hers slipped into comas before they died. Some lasted months before finally dying and some only days. There is no telling when or even if she will slip into a coma, but it's becoming harder and harder to pull her back when she uses her talent."

"And it's becoming easier for her to slip away," Eleazar finished with a nod. "I've noticed that using that particular talent is almost like breathing for her now. She doesn't have to think about what she's doing anymore, it simply happens."

Carlisle nodded slowly as he leaned back against his desk and crossed his arms. "Watch her carefully, make certain she eats. She loves the feel of the sun on her skin so when it's not too cold, lay a blanket out on the grass for her and encourage her to rest outside. She's grown quite used to being read to by myself, Emmett or Jasper. Hold her while you read to her, even if she doesn't seem to be tired. If you haven't noticed by now, she's also brought comfort by the sound of our growls, especially when she's suffering a powerful migraine."

"Carlisle," Eleazar stopped him before the man could continue further. "I promise you she will be well taken care of. She will want for nothing."

Nodding once as he straightened, Carlisle moved to the door. His words were unspoken, but the expression on his face made his thoughts clear. Angela was his little girl, his human daughter and the only one of his children he had taken into his family before they were turned. She was infinitely precious and fragile and he demanded her protection. Stepping to the door and moving out into the hall, Carlisle smiled as he watched Angela step closer to him with Carmen's guiding help, her wet hair loosely folded into two braids.

"Hello, sweetheart," he greeted her and wrapped his arms around her when she stepped up to him. "Still tired?" he asked when she snuggled against him and chuckled when she nodded against his shoulder. "How about we get you some food, hm?" he asked as he stood holding her in the circle of his arms. "Bella brought some of the clam chowder you like from diner and Esme purchased the ingredients to make you the shrimp and lobster Alfredo you like."

"That sounds really good," Angela approved her voice youthful in her exhaustion.

"Good," Carlisle chuckled and kissed her damp hair. "How is your migraine?" he asked and watched her scrunch her nose. "Tell me."

"It sounds weird to say, but it's kind of so bad that I'm almost numb," she said and Carlisle nodded though she was blind to the gesture.

"Alright, let's get the I.V. started while Esme prepares you dinner," he suggested and chuckled at her expression. "I know it's not fun, but I try to be as gentle as I can."

"It's not the needle I have a problem with," Angela said as she was led into his office and guided to one of the leather chairs. "I barely even feel it when you insert it; it's the tape I don't like. It feels odd."

"Odd how?" Carlisle asked and nodded for Eleazar to come closer. "Angela, would you mind if I instructed Eleazar how to start the drip this time?"

"No, he'll need to know it, won't he? Forks and Denali aren't exactly down the street from each other," she said and lifted her brow at the feel of a tentative touch on her arm.

"The tape?" Carlisle prompted her and she nodded.

"It's kind of like wearing loose gloves. I know it's there, I can see it and I can feel it, but it's like my hand is telling me that it shouldn't be there. It just feels…weird," she offered her explanation and listened to them chuckle.

"Careful," Carlisle cautioned Eleazar and Angela smiled.

"Papa, he won't hurt me," Angela said, her voice holding no doubt at all. "Uncle Merlin," she called to Eleazar not noticing her use of the nickname. "You can't be scared, just believe that you can do this and you will."

"How did you know I was nervous?" Eleazar asked her, his voice curious.

"You mean aside from the task that you'll be performing?" she asked and he hummed his response. "I don't know," she said and frowned in thought before her brow smoothed out in wonder. "I guess…I could feel it," Angela allowed as she turned the question over in her mind and asked herself the same question.

"You could feel it?" Eleazar asked and she nodded even as she still appeared to be somewhat uncertain. "Tell me, my dear, can you feel what Bella feels?"

Sitting still, her expression one of deep thought, Angela finally shook her head no. She felt Eleazar take her arm, her trust in him unfailing as he followed Carlisle's quiet instructions and carefully inserted the needle into her arm. Tipping her head to the side as the tape was attached to her skin, holding the cannula and I.V. tubing in place, she smiled when he brushed her cheek to let her know he had finished. He called her attention to him once more when she seemed to be lost in thought and asked what she was thinking about.

"Marcus," she admitted with an affectionate smile. "I remember…" her voice trailed off as she sought for a way to make her thoughts make sense. "Back when you told me about him that very first night, I could…I could feel him. I felt drawn to him."

"You never told me that before," Carlisle said and Angela breathed in deeply, smiling as she felt soothed by Emmett's presence. "Hey, Em," she greeted him and Carlisle watched as Eleazar's gaze swiftly moved between her and the empty hallway. "Why'd everyone get so quiet?"

"Angela, where do you think Emmett is?" Eleazar asked her and watched her expression change to one of humor.

"He just stepped in the room, of course," she said unable to understand why he had asked such a thing.

"Actually," Emmett's voice sounded from the hall as he came closer to the doorway. "I just stepped into the house. I was outside."

"You were?" Angela asked with confusion as she turned her head in the direction of his voice. "But I felt you."

"Can you describe it?" Eleazar asked as he sought for an understanding of her talent.

Angela frowned and shook her head, unable to put her thoughts into words. Closing her eyes as she searched for a way to make what she felt make sense in words, she hated how hard it was for her to explain it to others. A welcoming warmth fell over her, the sensation transient and soothing, bringing a smile to her face as she began to relax. Taking in a deep breath and turning her face in the direction that she felt the energy emanating from, her smile widened when a hand came to rest on her shoulder.

"Jasper can't always explain his gift either," Edward told her as he turned his eyes on Eleazar. "Although Jasper is able to project emotions and let others feel what he's reading, but you don't have that advantage."

Edward looked down to her then when he heard her thoughts welcome Alice and knew that his sister wasn't in the room or anywhere near the house at the current moment, having left with Jasper just after Angela had woken. He listened to her thoughts, his mind working quickly as he read all he could from her before looking up at Carlisle with wide eyes. He explained then what Angela was unable to. The same way each of them was able to feel her when she was thinking about them and wanting them near, was the same way she was able to feel each of them. When one of his family was thinking about Angela, their energy would brush against her spirit, the touch fleeting and warm.

"Angela," Edward called her attention to him, lifting his voice for her to hear and explained to her what he had to those in the room.

"Huh," Angela gave a soft pout as she thought over the new information before tipping her head to the side. "Is that why I keep going to Marcus and Aro? I don't actively try to," she hastened to explain and was comforted by Eleazar.

"I fear it will be very difficult for you to gain any semblance of control over this particular part of your talent while you are human," Eleazar told her and watched as Carlisle took her wrist to monitor her pulse. "Tired?" he asked as he watched her eyes fall closed and smiled when she nodded. "Why don't you rest then," he suggested. "Carmen and Esme will let you know when your food is ready."

"She isn't lasting very long anymore," Emmett said with concern as he moved to crouch in front of the chair Angela was sleeping in. "We're lucky if she's able to stay awake for four or five hours at a time lately."

"Her migraines have grown to a severity now that her body isn't recognizing the pain anymore," Carlisle said as he gently removed the I.V and covered her with a soft blanket. "It's draining her strength rapidly simply to be awake, interacting with others and even simply walking are taking her concentrated effort."

"How much longer does she have?" Emmett asked Carlisle, the expression on his face making it clear he wouldn't accept anything less than the honest truth.

"Alice said that she would be human for Bella's wedding," Carlisle said with a frown as he watched Angela sleep. "Her vision of Angela as one of us hasn't changed, but she doesn't know exactly when she will be changed."

Watching silently as Emmett lifted Angela from the chair and sat down to cradle her in his lap, Carlisle understood the protectiveness his son felt for her. Shifting slightly and making a soft sound, Angela stirred without waking and turned to curl closer to Emmett in her sleep. Wrapping the blanket closer around her shoulders, Emmett turned his attention back to Carlisle as he sought for some kind of answer that would bring him comfort, but knew his father had none to offer. Angela was dying. The closer she grew to the end of her mortal life, the weaker she would become. He knew that there was more Carlisle wasn't saying, something that he believed Edward to know the answer to, but he could tell by their expressions that neither one would reveal what they were hiding.

"Emmett, each of us will do what we can to protect her," Carlisle assured him as he watched his son guard Angela even as she slept peacefully in his arms.

"Angela?" Esme appeared in the doorway and looked down on her daughter with a soft sigh. "Her dinner's ready," she told Emmett and watched his expression change from loving care to an almost stubborn defiance. "Emmett, I know you hate to wake her, but she needs to eat. She hasn't been on a steady diet for a week now because of her exhaustion. She needs to eat now, before they all travel."

He hated the thought of waking her, hated having to pull her from the one place where she seemed to be almost pain free, but he knew that Esme was right. Holding her closer as he called her name and stroked her hair, Emmett waited for Angela to awaken and soothed her gently when she whimpered. He told her of the food that had been made, knowing how fleeting her memory had become in the recent weeks and stood from the chair. Cradling her in his arms as he walked behind Esme, he carried her to the kitchen and set her down carefully in a chair at the table.

It was hard for her to do much on her own anymore. The times between her good days were getting longer and the weakness she suffered on a normal day was only getting worse. He watched as she ate, recognized the subtle signs and halted movements that bespoke her blindness turning into heavily blurred vision. Helping her when she needed it, he stayed with her as she ate and felt helpless that there was little more he could do. She had barely gotten through a quarter of the food on her plate when it became increasingly difficult for her to stay awake and Esme nodded to Emmett silently as she took the plate from Angela.

Encouraging her to rest as he moved her from her chair into his lap, Emmett held her and spoke to her softy until she returned to a gentle slumber in his arms. Carlisle watched Emmett with Angela, knew that as hard as it was for everyone else to send her away for her safety, it was even more so for Emmett. He had found her first, she had been Emmett's long before she had been anyone else's and Carlisle understood that his son felt far more protective over her because of that.

"The car is packed, everything's ready to go," Carmen said as she stepped inside the kitchen and tucked herself against her husband's side. "I know it's hard to see her like this, Emmett, but we will take care of her. I promise you that."

"She's hella strong," Emmett said as he looked down on Angela, the girl asleep in his arms, "and tough. She just can't really take care of herself right now."

"Isn't that what family's for?" Carmen asked as Eleazar smiled and slipped away from her to move toward Emmett. "We will protect her."

Standing up slowly, Emmett gently laid her in the Spanish vampire's arms. Everything was telling him to say no, to take her back and protect her himself, but he knew he couldn't do that. A vampire army was coming their way and the only way they had of protecting her was to send her away with their cousins from Denali. She whimpered softly at the change, stirred slightly and called out his name, the sound muffled and broken. Hushing her gently as he touched her cheek, Emmett looked up at Eleazar and Carmen in turn.

"She doesn't like to admit to being in pain. She'll try to tough out her migraines, but you can't let her do that and not just because it causes her more pain. The longer she tries to tough it out, the greater the chance she has of bleeding from her nose or eyes. Even the slightest hint that she's in pain and…"

"Emmett," Carmen cut in and stepped forward to touch his arm. "We know what to look out for. We'll take care of her."

"Don't you let anything happen to my sister," he said as he looked upon her, the seventeen-year old girl barely holding the strength of a newborn kitten.

"We won't," Eleazar assured. "She will be well guarded, my friend."

"Eleazar, we need to go or you won't make it back in time for your afternoon class on Monday," Carmen reminded him and watched as he nodded.

"As soon as you send word that it's safe, we'll bring her back," Eleazar said and met Carlisle's gaze. _In all my years, _Eleazar thought as he looked down on Angela, _I have read about mirrors but I have never met one with such a steadfast army surrounding her._

"Mirrors?" Edward asked with a shake of his head as he looked at Eleazar.

"That is what one with her talents is called," the man explained. "A mirror. Where you might have a shield or a weapon, Angela is both. She is able to heal and destroy with equal strength. In time, she may develop other talents that are an evolution of what she currently has, but because of the duality of her talents, she is known as mirror."

"Where stands one, you see two," Esme said as she recalled the words her mother used to quote.

"Precisely," Eleazar nodded. "We will talk soon, my friend," he said and watched Carlisle nod at him.

Carmen and Eleazar walked through the house, followed closely by the vampires Angela had come to call family. They stood watching on the front steps as she was tucked away into the backseat of the car, Carmen moving to cover Angela with the blanket Esme had given her earlier. Nodding once more to their friends before slipping into the front seats and adjusting the heater for the sleeping human they were transporting, Eleazar and Carmen pulled out of the drive. Waving to their friends as they paused in the street, Eleazar waited for Emmett's nod before he drove out of sight.

Although he didn't know how long she would sleep, Eleazar secretly hoped that Angela would remain asleep until they returned to his home in Denali. She was constantly exhausted, her body unable to handle the continuous pressure and debilitating side effects of her migraines. Turning the heater up a little higher when he thought he saw her shiver, Eleazar watched as Carmen turned around in her seat to gently guide Angela from her seated position into a relaxed pose where she was mostly lying stretched out along the back seats. Though neither one of them slept or grew tired, Carmen knew that they had a long drive ahead of them and only wished to make the human girl as comfortable as possible for the journey.

Pulling the blanket up higher to tuck the thick softness of the quilt underneath her chin, Carmen smoothed the backs of her fingers against Angela's cheek before turning around and readjusting her seatbelt. With each moment that passed she felt as though she could understand Carlisle's reluctance and Emmett's fierce protectiveness a bit more. There was no doubting or denying that the girl was an adult, her age and maturity proof enough of that. But it was these moments of weakness in which she could do very little for herself that reminded them all of how delicate and fragile she truly was. Taking her husband's hand as he drove through the night, Carmen soothed herself with the knowledge that soon Angela would be safely tucked away in the arms of her mate.

Closing her eyes for a one long, silent moment, Carmen gave her thanks for all that they had together. This one gentle girl who had slipped so quietly into all of their lives had brought with her so much. Where once it had seemed that darkness was encroaching upon them, Angela came in and brought with her the brilliance of the sun.


	72. Chapter 70

Chapter 70

Alice stilled, her gaze losing focus as a vision took hold. Concern filled her as she watched Irina moving about in the forests outside the Denali's estate. She didn't know what to make of the woman's anger or how far she would take her misplaced rage. It wasn't Angela or Bella's fault that Laurent had been killed by the wolves, nor was it the pack's fault either. The blame lied entirely with Laurent, for even when he promised the Denali coven he would stay away from Forks, he had still done Victoria's bidding. Blinking as her vision faded away as transient as the early morning mist, she found Jasper to be sitting in front of her on their bed, his brow furrowed in concern.

"What is it?" he asked her and watched as she shook her head. "Is it Irina again? The army? What is it, Alice?"

"She's just watching," Alice said softly, a frown bending her lips. "I don't know what she plans to do, but she just keeps watching."

"Irina," Jasper sighed with displeasure and Alice nodded. "Will Angela be safe there?"

"I don't know," Alice shook her head. "I haven't seen anything that tells me she won't be, but Irina feels unpredictable. I've watched her run off into the woods. She keeps bouncing back and forth between drinking human blood when she finds hikers on the trail and feeding on animals. It's like a part of her wants to unleash the rage, but maybe not all of her."

"You think she's restraining herself?" Jasper asked as he wrapped his arms around Alice and drew her into his lap.

"I don't know," she shook her head and turned her eyes up to him. "She's so angry."

Jasper kissed her temple as he held her wrapped in his arms and wrapped his talent around her, soothing her upset gently as he rested his chin on top of her head. He felt concern as well, they all did. The only reason Carlisle hadn't asked Carmen and Eleazar to stay in Forks with Angela once he had been told of the issues with Irina was because Alice had promised him that nothing in her visions had shown any danger to Angela. She didn't want to be wrong; she hadn't seen Irina attacking Angela, but that didn't mean her visions couldn't change.

"What do you want to do, Ali?" Jasper asked as he held her close. "Do we call them back?"

"No," Alice shook her head as she searched her visions and smiled. "I need to make a call."

"A call?" Jasper asked with a shake of his head as she slipped from his lap. "Who?"

"They're about halfway through British Columbia, roughly an hour away from that hotel," she grinned as she looked back over her shoulder at Jasper. "You remember the one…the stone walls, large beds…the hot tub," she winked as he rose from the bed.

"The one we bought so that we would always have our rooms?" he asked and saw her smile.

"They're going to be stopping soon and Carmen has no intention of letting Angela stay anywhere but the very best of places. I'm going to call Marcelle and make the arrangements. Two days should be enough time to suss out what Irina is doing and give Angela enough time to fully enjoy the relaxation of the hot tub."

Laughing as Jasper grabbed her around the waist, Alice giggled when he carried her back to their bed. Settling on top of her as she made the phone call, he teased her with his nibbling kisses as she made the arrangements. The very second that she ended the call, he claimed her mouth with his and growled softly when she slipped her hands inside the waistband of his pants to run her nails over the tight skin of his rear.

**:::::**

"Eleazar," Carmen spoke her husband's name softly as her gaze remained fixed on the reflection in the mirror. "We should stop."

His brows furrowed for a moment as he looked at his wife before glancing into the same mirror that she was staring at. His confusion left him slowly as concern and affection took its place. They had been driving for nearly twenty hours straight and while his kind may not have the need to stop, feed or rest, the young woman sleeping in the backseat did. Angela hadn't woken once since being tucked into the car, but he also knew that the position couldn't be comfortable for her after so many hours of travel. Returning his attention to the road as he nodded at his wife, he smiled to see that she had already pulled up a listing of nearby hotels on the built-in GPS navigation system.

"There's a hotel about thirty miles out, just off the exit after this next one," Carmen told him as she set the navigation system to plan their trip to the place.

"This next exit doesn't have any hotels?" Eleazar asked and raised a brow at the sound that came from his wife.

"This coming exit has _motels_," she said the word with a touch of disdain. "My niece is not staying somewhere cheap. She will have a soft bed and fine food."

Eleazar chuckled as he nodded; his amusement dying away as he caught sight of the soft wince around Angela's eyes. If her pain was such that she was wincing in her sleep then he would need to set up the morphine drip as soon as they got her settled into a bed. He was thankful once again that Carlisle had taught him how to perform the medical task. He had been worried about inserting the needle into Angela's arm, not wanting to hurt her, but her complete faith in him when he had done so gave him strength. The medicine took away enough of her pain to at least make her somewhat comfortable. If he could give her that then it would be enough to overcome his worry of hurting her.

Slipping her phone from her pocket, Carmen texted Tanya to let her know they would more than likely be another day longer than expected. She received her sister's reply a short moment later and chuckled at the words. Michael was nervous it seemed and had been keeping himself busy cleaning the house and making certain that everything would be perfect for Angela. He was rightfully concerned for her health, but even more so for her comfort. The credit card he had been given by Kate a few weeks ago had finally had its first use and now the closet in his bedroom was nearly filled with fluffy pillows and overstuffed comforters. Sighing softly at the last line of the reply, Carmen turned her attention on her husband.

"Irina is refusing to accept Angela in our home. She refuses to be there and still blames her for Laurent's death," Carmen said sadly as she shook her head.

"Will she cause trouble?" Eleazar asked as his hands tightened around the steering wheel in a punishing grip.

"I don't know," Carmen pursed her lips as she typed a short reply to Tanya and asked for more details. "She's run off. Kate was following her for awhile but lost her trail yesterday afternoon. The sisters don't know where she is now, or what she plans to do. I do not like the thought that we may have to stand against her. Irina is family."

"So is Angela," Eleazar said, his voice tense. "I won't let her bring any harm to my niece nor will I allow Angela to be put into a situation that would cause her undue stress. She has enough to deal with right now. I promised Carlisle that she would be safe. I will not break that promise."

The girl in question moaned softly, her breath hitching as she began to fall forward, her hands coming up to press against her temples as she whimpered. Her movements were slow enough, clumsy enough that they recognized her to still be asleep. Clenching his jaw as he only barely kept from growling at the eighteen-wheeler in front of them, Eleazar sighed with relief when he was able to break from behind the massive truck to pull off onto the exit they needed. He followed the directions on the lighted screen and smiled at the sight of the hotel.

The building was large, the architecture elegant and old. Made of white stone and polished metal, the hotel was built in the fashion of a castle. There was no lighted sign out front, no plastic or glass sign on the building itself to tell of its name. No, this hotel was the kind that royalty or celebrities may have stayed in. It needed no tacky introductions, no signs for conventions or announcing vacancy. A place like this would be known only to those looking for it and not someone simply searching a bed in the night. Pulling up under the stone overhang, he was met by a valet dressed in a suit with tails and white gloves.

"I guess we leave the car here," Carmen smiled softly as she watched Eleazar step out of the car.

"The bag Carlisle prepared is in the trunk," he told his wife as he carefully gathered Angela in his arms and lifted her from the backseat. "Gather it and her bag please."

"Already done," Carmen said as she appeared next to him and nodded to the young human man as he slipped behind the wheel and moved the car to park it.

"Ah, Mademoiselle and Monsieur Denali," a blonde woman greeted them as they stepped through the lobby, her French Canadian accent light and musical. "Miss Alice already made the reservations for you and said that you would be staying for two nights. All the preparations have been made and your suite is waiting for you." Turning to Carmen she smiled softly. "Your room keys, Madam."

"Merci beaucoup," Carmen thanked her with a smile as she took the electronic keycards. "Will you be needing our card for the payment."

"No, Madam!" the woman said softly with surprise. "Everything has been taken care of and paid for by Miss Alice. You will be staying in the suite she and Monsieur Jasper have on permanent reserve."

"Jas…per," Angela whispered her vampire brother's name quietly as her eyes opened only to fall closed again.

"Shh, hush, Little One," Eleazar soothed her gently and watched her face as she drifted back to sleep in the cradle of his arms.

"The top floor," the woman directed them quietly. "The suite at the end of the west wing."

Nodding quietly, Carmen followed Eleazar as he led the way upstairs. Her eyes widened as they came to the room in question and she shook her head in amusement at Alice. Some suite indeed, she thought as she opened the door. The bedroom may have been at the end of the west wing, but the _suite_ of rooms happened to be the entire top floor of the west wing. Silently thanking Alice for having called ahead the reservations, she chuckled softly when she heard the familiar sound of the visionary girl's ringtone. Setting Angela's travel bag on the couch as she took the phone from her pocket, she followed Eleazar into the room and answered the call.

"Hello, Alice," Carmen greeted.

"I didn't think you would mind having a room waiting for you," Alice said with a bit of amusement and Carmen chuckled. "How is she?"

Sighing softly as she pursed her lips, Carmen watched as her husband began the preparations for the morphine drip.

"She hasn't truly woken since we left your house, though in the last twenty minutes her pain seems to have increased greatly. Eleazar's starting the drip now," she said and moved to sit beside Angela, touching her cheek gently.

Alice made a soft sound before speaking. "To the left of the bathroom, back near the large balcony, is another room with what looks like a keypad lock on it. It's actually a temperature setting. Inside the room is a large hot tub. In the morning or when she wakes, let her soak in that for a few hours. The heat of the water will relax her muscles and should help reduce some of her pain."

"How high should I set the temperature?" Carmen asked as she watched Eleazar place the strip of medical tape along the back of Angela's hand to hold the tubing in place.

"Carlisle says no higher than one hundred twelve degrees," Alice told her. "In the cabinet below the towels are salts and oils that can be added to the water as well as incense. Sandalwood and cedar are her favorite incense. Add lavender and rose oils to the water along with the eucalyptus and jasmine salts. That should work best for her."

Smiling softly as she bent low and kissed Angela's forehead, Carmen asked the question that had been nagging at her since they were greeted by the woman downstairs. Alice giggled softly and told them that the two day stay would be needed to give Angela the time she needed to truly benefit from the therapeutic efforts of the hot tub. Speaking with her softly for a few moments longer, she promised to have Angela call when she woke next before disconnecting the call and moving to lie down next to the sleeping girl.

"I'll call Tanya and let her know that we will be longer than expected," Eleazar said as he looked upon his wife. "She needs to eat," he said sadly with worry as he studied Angela's thin arm.

"Esme said that she wasn't able to get Angela to eat much of anything heavy, just fruits and maybe fish or rice depending on how awake she is."

She could feel the pricking behind her eyes, the stinging sensation that would never develop into tears. It was difficult to see Angela in this state. The once vibrant girl, so full of curiosity and life, now spent most of her days unconscious. Her body had grown slimmer than what it already was; the constant state of exhaustion and unending pain from her migraines more often than not robbed her of her appetite completely. Carmen's mind drifted back to the night when she and her husband first met Angela, her eyes closing as she relived those first few moments that seemed to her to be a lifetime ago.

Eleazar glanced back at his wife, holding his phone in his hand, the call he needed to make forgotten for the moment. Moving to sit behind Carmen on the bed, he reached out and touched her shoulder, his hand offering her comfort and strength. He watched as she turned her head to look up at him, saw the pain and sadness filling her eyes. Leaning down as his hand moved to cup her cheek, he brought his lips to hers and kissed her slowly, deeply. There were no words that he could say to ease his wife's aching heart, but he knew that in his kiss he could offer her everything his voice could not.

Breaking the kiss and smiling softly as she turned toward him, Eleazar rested his brow against Carmen's, his golden eyes locked with hers. He closed his eyes, breathing in deeply as he captured his wife's changing scent. He growled softly as her fingertips slipped against his skin, her hands framing his face as she pulled his mouth back to hers. He moved carefully, turning his body as his lips remained joined with hers and lifted his wife from the bed. Stepping out of the room he carried her to the other bedroom across the main suite. It was love that carried them through, love that bound them together and it was love that gave them the family they had. It was love that would save them now, heal their hearts and bring them hope once more.

**:::::**

She couldn't hide the amusement she felt as she watched him move about. The entire house had been cleaned by herself and her sister, but still Michael had insisted on going over it again. They all knew that Angela was in a fragile state and Tanya knew that Michael feared what would happen to her. He never spoke of his worries aloud, but she could see his thoughts in his actions. The constant way in which he carefully dusted and cleaned any dirt, or rather perceived dirt, from every surface. He had replaced the throws they kept downstairs, the blankets little more than decoration as their kind truly had no need for the warmth.

She watched him still, his posture straightening as he stood from his crouched position on the floor and met his eyes when he slowly turned to look at her. The expression on his face was both curious and guarded, telling her that he was still afraid he was making the wrong move or would be blamed for the rift that was steadily growing between her family and Irina. Sighing softly as Tanya stepped closer, she held her hand out for the cloth he had been working with, the once white towel covered in cleaning solution.

"Miss Tanya, I – " Michael's voice faded into silence when she shook her head.

"None of what is happening is your fault, Michael. And it certainly isn't Angela's either. The only person who is causing this problem is Irina." Sighing softly as she wrapped her arm around his shoulders, she led him from the front room and to the front porch outside. "You are part of this family now, Michael. You are welcome here, Irina…" her voice trailed off as she fell silent.

Turning his attention out to the forest darkened by night, Michael stared at the lines of shimmering silver parting through the trees. The wisps of light were as delicate and untouchable as breath, too soft he was certain for humans to see, but to him they seemed to be offering him a sense of comfort, a promise of hope. Standing from the wooden chair, Michael stepped out into the yard, his movements graceful and silent. If not for his talent turned instinct, he may not have noticed the one charging at him, her movements silent and impossibly fast.

He spun out of the way quickly, his arm flashing out to the side as he flipped her to the ground. Tanya and Kate appeared by him within seconds, both pushing him behind them to guard the newest member of their family against their enraged sister. She tried to evade them, go around them, her eyes crimson instead of gold. It was clear to Tanya then that Irina was not even making an effort to control herself any longer. She didn't like the decision she had made, but as the eldest sister and leader of their coven, it was her responsibility. Stepping forward slowly, and watching Kate tense as she defended Michael against her sister, Tanya spoke.

"Irina, I will not have this," she spoke the words slowly, her commands clear and tone unquestioning. "Leave now. Until such a time that you are able to control yourself and have returned to a diet of animal blood, you will not be welcomed here. I will not allow you to be a threat to Michael or Angela or anyone else. Leave."

Irina stilled, her sister's words echoing through her mind as her expression grew cold and hateful. Laurent was her mate and it was because of these abominations that he had been killed. Perhaps Michael hadn't been there, and maybe she hadn't known of his existence at the time that Laurent was killed, but she still blamed him. He was bound to Angela; he was her mate and if not for that human filth than Laurent would not be dead. He was as much to blame as she was and now her own sister was banishing her because of him?

All of this, everything that had happened was Angela's fault and as her mate, Michael shared in that blame equally. She felt her anger growing, her rage cold and feral. She wanted him dead; she wanted to feel his body rip apart in her hands. She wanted…Irina's gaze lost focus as a growl rolled in her throat and brought forth the answering protective chorus of growls from her sisters and Michael. She wanted Angela's blood. She wanted the girl dead. Every problem she had from the Volturi to the Wolves to the loss of Laurent, it was all – every bit of it – linked directly to that wretched worthless human. All she needed was a reason, one valid reason and she would see to Angela's demise.

Kate snarled low as she watched the expression on her sister's face, understood the cold calculation in her crimson eyes and stepped forward slowly. Lines of electricity sparked and danced between her fingers, her talent called forth stronger by the need to protect her family and her anger over her sister's behavior. She didn't recognize this creature in front of her, she thought. Who had Irina become? How had she become this beast? Her eyes snapped to the side, her gaze following as Irina shot off into the forest and disappeared from sight. Standing to her full height as she closed her eyes and calmed, she lowered her hands as she suppressed her talent.

Releasing a sigh as she turned around and met her sister's eyes, Kate glanced at Michael and saw the expression on his face. He was clearly blaming himself for the rift between them and Irina, but she could also see the steadfast determination he held to protect Angela. It had taken quite a while for him to become comfortable with the idea of fighting, but once Eleazar and Jasper had begun training him, Michael had learned quickly. She knew that he would no longer back down from a fight or any perceived threat, but his talent also allowed him to always know the quickest route to safety. She wondered how much more formidable he would be because of it.

"It's not your fault," Kate said and watched as Michael's attention snapped to her. "Irina was the youngest of us. We haven't told you much of our past, but she, Tanya and I shared the same immortal mother. We were as sisters, a family. Irina was the last our mother chose and perhaps because of that, we have let her get away with more than we should."

"This isn't the first time she has thrown a fit over something," Tanya said, picking up where her sister left off as they led Michael back inside their home. "We didn't pay much attention at first this time because of Laurent being killed by the wolves, but I fear that even if they had never met, she would still be angry and spiteful. It was the Volturi who killed our mother and it is Angela who has brought them back into our lives."

"Are you upset with her?" Michael asked cautiously and saw both women smile softly and chuckle.

"No," Kate answered. "Intrigued, fascinated, yes. But we are not upset with her in the least. She has not shared our past or our experiences. To blame her for losing our mother would be…"

"Ridiculous and unfair," Tanya finished her thought as she looked up from her phone. "Alice texted me, Carmen and Eleazar won't be arriving for another two days."

"Two days?" Michael repeated with alarm. "What has happened? Is Angela –"

"She's alright," Tanya was quick to soothe his worry. "They stopped in a hotel to allow her to rest comfortably. There are some things there that Alice believes will help her feel a bit better. They would call us if anything was truly wrong."

"I should make certain the room is ready for her," Michael said before disappearing up the stairs.

Kate laughed and shook her head. "By the time they arrive with Angela, he will have scrubbed the walls free of paint and plaster."

"He loves her," Tanya defended his worried actions though she was chuckling as well.

"He truly does," Kate said with a smile and nodded before her expression grew serious and concerned. "What do we do about Irina?"

Tanya sighed heavily as she shook her head and fell to sit on the arm of the couch. It was true that their sister had thrown similar fits in the past, but not once had she had an actual target for her frustrations before as she did now. What did they do? What could they do? She had promised Carlisle that Angela would be safe in their home, promised the entire family that she was welcomed, but now… She fully intended to keep that promise but was equally afraid of what Irina may try to do. She knew that Alice would have already seen what had happened between them outside, but was unsure of whether she should call Carlisle directly.

"Alice," Tanya closed her eyes as she pulled her ringing phone from her pocket. "Hello," she greeted Carlisle's daughter.

"I know what happened and so does Edward," Alice said without preamble. "For now we leave it at that, we have enough to deal with here and no one else needs their attentions divided… But Tanya," Alice paused as her voice grew softer in volume yet hard as stone. "If she makes herself a threat to Angela, I won't be able to stop Emmett or Jasper from coming after her. Those two have guarded her from day one, they won't stand for anyone threatening her and they certainly will not allow anyone to harm her."

Tanya nodded quietly, "I understand, Alice."

"I hope you do," Alice said as her voice grew gentle. "We don't want a conflict with your family anymore than you want one with ours. Angela is precious to every single one of us and it took convincing for Carlisle and Esme to be comfortable with her being taken to your home instead of just having Carmen and Eleazar stay in our house. Please make certain she is safe."

"I will," Tanya said, her voice resolute. "We all will."

**:::::**

Her hair hung loose down her back, the wet strands dripping water onto the thick plush robe she wore, the garment compliments of the hotel. Stepping into the open doorway of Angela's room, she smiled down on the girl as she watched her sleep. It was hard sometimes, Carmen admitted to herself, to look upon Angela and not feel the desire to change her. They had all been promised that she would make it, that she would survive this trial of her human form until the time when she could be changed, but this pain she was in… Stepping further into the room and moving to sit by her side, Carmen gently touched her cheek. How was she, or anyone else, supposed to accept that she had to suffer like this? How were they supposed to be alright with this?

"C'r'men?" Angela mumbled quietly, her exhausted voice slurring the name together into one syllable.

"Hello, Sweetheart," she greeted Angela as she bent low to kiss her forehead. "How do you feel?"

Angela moaned softly as she tried to speak, her eyes blinking slowly. It was strange to her; she had known that Carmen was the one sitting next to her before she said her name, but she still couldn't see. Her brows furrowed as she tried to think, tried to focus her mind to understand how she had known it was Carmen and how she knew the layout of the room. It didn't make any sense to her. How could she see these things? How did she know all of this without having her sight?

"Angela, what is it?" Carmen asked as the girl's breathing became labored, her heartbeat gaining speed. "Sweetheart? Talk to me."

Eleazar slipped into the room quietly, moving to sit on the bed opposite his wife and touched his hand to Angela's cheek. He watched as she turned her face to him and sighed softly when he saw the fear in her eyes. A part of him had always known that she feared her talents that they scared her, but Angela had always been careful to hide the truth of it around her family. Leaning down over her, he kissed her brow and nodded to Carmen, watching as his wife carefully closed off the valve of the IV and slid the cannula out of the back of Angela's hand. Grinning at his wife when she wet her finger on her tongue, he watched as she rubbed the trace venom over Angela's hand instead of placing a bandage on the puncture wound, the delicate human skin healing in seconds.

The minute trace of the venom wouldn't be enough to do more than heal the tiny mark made by the needle, but he understood the gesture. It was Carmen's silent promise to her, to them all, that one day Angela's pain would end and she would be unbreakable, untouchable. One day the girl lying between them would be strong and immortal. Speaking to her softly, he bid her to pull back, to relax her mind and let the fear slip away. He knew it was difficult, knew that she feared she was only making her condition worse and in turn increasing the pain Jasper would feel from her.

"You've never told them, have you?" Eleazar asked Angela softly as she sat up slowly.

"What?" Angela asked with a confused shake of her head.

"Your talents frighten you," he watched the surprise and shame flit across her face. "Oh Sweetheart…it is nothing to be ashamed of. I can help you, at least I can try."

Angela's voice was quiet when she spoke, fear and helplessness coloring her words. "They've tried to help me. Papa and Felix and Jasper and everyone…they've all tried to help me recognize how I'm using my talents, how I'm…" her voice fell away as tears gathered in her eyes and slipped down her cheeks. "Last week I got angry, really angry, I don't even know at what and my window exploded! What if I hurt them?!"

Eleazar sighed softly as he reached out and pulled her into his arms. He held her close as she cried, petted her hair as he tried his best to soothe her. Carlisle hadn't told him that her powers had grown to this extent. It certainly explained why she would go days without waking and be utterly exhausted when she did wake. Her power was constantly growing and seeking any way out that it could get, but her human form bound them, her migraines the evidence that soon her own talent would either kill her or make her the most unimaginably powerful immortal ever created.

"I will help you as much as I can, Angela," he promised her, his chin resting on top of her bowed head. "I will do what I can to help you understand your gifts, if you'll let me."

She sniffled and pulled back, "I don't want to hurt my family. I don't want to hurt anyone," she told him and he nodded.

"I'll show you what I can," he said as he held her face in his hands and smoothed away her tears with the pads of his thumbs.

Choking back a sob as she surged forward, he wrapped his arms around her when she hugged his neck and buried her tear dampened face in the side of his throat. Chuckling softly when she thanked him and called him Uncle Merlin, he grinned and turned his head to kiss her cheek.

"You're quite welcome, my little Pendragon."

Angela laughed somewhat soggily at the nickname, but he could tell from her tone that she liked it. Kissing her cheek once more, he continued to hold her until she pulled away. Asking if she would like a bath or something to eat, he chuckled when she appeared to brighten at the mention of a bath. It amused him that both Angela and his wife seemed to have to same fondness for finding relaxation in a long soak and he watched as Carmen helped her up from the bed. Moving from his seat on the bed, his fixed the blankets and covers, smoothing out any wrinkles before clearing the medical supplies from on and around the bedside table.

Stepping out of the room, he lifted the elegantly styled courtesy phone in the suite and called down to the restaurant for room service. Asking simply for light foods, including fruits, vegetables and seafood, he asked also for a few desserts that would compliment a lighter meal. He wasn't sure what Angela would feel up to eating, but wanted to be certain she was offered a variety of things to choose from. Looking up when Carmen stepped out of the large bathroom, he smiled at the look upon her face.

"How is Angela?" Eleazar asked as he stepped forward to wrap his wife in his arms.

"Enjoying the hot tub and the incense." Leaning up to kiss his lips, she smiled. "I think she's quite fond of that little nickname you gave her."

"Pendragon?" Eleazar asked with a chuckle.

"Well it was King Arthur's last name and she does call you Uncle Merlin," Carmen teased. "She'll probably be in there for a couple of hours. The water in the hot tub has its own heat source so she doesn't have to worry about it growing cold."

"I called down to room service for food for her," Eleazar said as he walked backwards toward to the plush eighteenth century style couch. "They quoted me forty-five minutes," he told her as he fell to sit on the couch and pulled her down to straddle his lap.

"Why Senor Eleazar," Carmen teased with a husky laugh as she settled herself in his lap. "You wouldn't be trying to seduce a married woman, now would you?"

Laughing as he cupped her face in his hands and brought her close for a kiss, Eleazar grinned and rubbed his nose against hers.

"Don't tell your husband," he teased back and kissed her chastely. "I've been told he's a jealous man."

"Mm," she nodded as her lips remained against his. "Very jealous."

Carmen grinned as she slid her hands over his shoulders, twining her arms behind his neck as she kissed him. Her eyes fell closed, a gasp sounding from her parted lips when his hands moved to grip her bare thighs only to end in a moan as his tongue slipped inside her mouth. She had no need to breathe, but still her breath came in panted gasps, her body trembling as Eleazar slid his hands up under her robe. His questing hands loosed the fabric belt of her robe before moving back down to the juncture of her thighs and he delighted in the sound of her whimper when he slid his finger over her nether lips.

Calling his name softly, begging him for more, Carmen pulled away with a half sob when he slid two fingers inside of her slick channel. She needed more, wanted more and cried out when his other hand slid up to cover her breast. He rubbed his thumb over her nipple, teasing it to a hard peak before leaning close to take it in his mouth. Her hands pressed his head closer, his teeth and tongue working her into a frenzied state as she rocked against his hand. Growling low when he felt her hand slip between them, Eleazar smiled against her breast when he felt her working the ties to his pants.

Slipping his fingers from within her fluttering walls, they both hissed when Carmen lifted herself up on her knees only to slide back down as she took his hard length inside her. Dropping her mouth to her husband's neck, she let the growl of pleasure rumble from her throat as she rose and fell upon him again; creating a rhythm that was both perfect and maddening. She knew they didn't have long, certainly not if room service arrived earlier than quoted, but she wanted to take her time. The time they spent together earlier was not enough and she wanted more.

He trembled beneath her, pulsed inside of her, and dragged his short blunt nails over the skin of her thighs as he whispered to her. She turned to him, meeting his lips with hers and rocked against him, increasing the friction between them even as she seemed to slow their pace. Eleazar growled his frustration when she stilled and used her muscles to grip him tight within her walls. She continued to hold him tight as she rose slowly and he groaned when she stopped. Only the head of him remained inside her and as he waited for her to drop back down, he realized what she was waiting for and grinned.

Gripping her around the waist, he flipped them over until she was pressed into the couch beneath him. Thrusting back into her slowly as she released her iron grip on his manhood, the pace he set was furious and steady. He lowered his mouth to her chest, taking one pale rose nipple into his mouth as he drove into her, her ankles locked behind his back as she met him thrust for thrust. He knew she was close, could feel her muscles spasming and felt the rumbling growl building within his throat as they came together.

Resting his face in the side of his wife's throat, Eleazar chuckled as the bell to their suite rang and laughed when Carmen rolled him onto the floor. Tying her robe as she stepped toward the door, Carmen grinned back at him and chuckled as he rearranged his clothing. Answering the door, she nodded her thanks to the young man dressed in black and stood aside so that he could wheel in the silver cart of food and drink. Slipping a hundred dollar bill into the man's hand, Eleazar waited until the door was once again closed before drawing Carmen into his arms for a heated kiss.

"We have to stop," she laughed softly. "Angela needs to eat and we need to get dressed."

"Spoil my fun," he teased with a sigh and grinned when she laughed. "Do you think she's done with her bath yet?"

"I don't know," she said as she moved toward the wooden and brass door. "Why don't you straighten up while I check on her?" she suggested and nodded toward the throw pillows and light blanket that had been thrown from the couch in their play.

Knocking on the door lightly before slipping into the bathroom, Carmen stepped silently over to the hot tub on bare feet and looked down at Angela. The human girl appeared to be sleeping, her eyes closed and face relaxed. Moving to her side and sitting on the edge of the raised tub, Carmen reached out and brushed the backs of her fingers over Angela's smooth cheek. Watching as her eyes fluttered open slowly, she asked the girl how she was doing and frowned in concern when Angela's expression grew sad.

"Sweetheart, what is it?" Carmen asked again as she studied the emotions on Angela's face.

"It's been almost a week since the last time I could see…" Angela said her voice trailing off. "I know…I know I shouldn't complain, but I just want to see again," she said unable to hide the fear in her voice.

"Oh sweetheart," Carmen soothed gently and bent down to kiss her brow. "You have every right to complain. I know Carlisle and Esme think you're handling all of this really well, but you're not, are you?"

She watched as Angela's chin trembled before the girl covered her face with her hands and seconds later the scent of salt filled the air. She knew the water would hide the scent from going beyond the room, but hated to see her niece cry. With a soft sigh, Carmen slipped from her seat on the edge of the tub and knelt beside it to enfold Angela in her arms. The hug was awkward but welcomed and Carmen held the girl closer when she felt her tremble and heard the first soft sob.

"I'm scared," Angela admitted in a frightened whisper. "What if my vision never returns? What if I'm always blind?"

The water sloshed from the tub and onto Carmen's robe when Angela turned toward her a bit more and, pulling back as she shook her head, Angela gave voice to the fears that plagued her. She knew that Carlisle and Esme would make her immortal, they had whispered their promise to her time and time again, but what if her vision didn't return? What if she was blind even after being changed? A vampire that couldn't see was useless and she feared she would be even more of a burden on those around her than she already was.

Closing her eyes as she hugged Angela close once more, Carmen did her best to soothe her worry and calm her fears. She was certain the venom would heal her sight just as it would end her migraines, but knew that Angela's fear would remain in place until she was able to see once again in her human form. This was the longest time she had spent blind and while she did her best to make her family think that she was ok, she knew that Jasper and Edward had always known the truth of her fears. Until now, Angela had never spoken of the thoughts that plagued her, the fear that haunted her and Carmen pursed her lips as she held her closer.

"Why don't you come eat something, alright?" Carmen said softly and helped Angela from the tub. "We'll be staying here for a little while longer and you can always soak again later, ok?"

Nodding quietly and letting Carmen help her dry and dress, she followed her out into the main area of the suite. Smiling softly when Eleazar spoke of the different foods they had gathered for her, she made her request for the seasoned rice, seafood and berries. Brows quirking in amusement as she tasted the liquid in her glass, Angela tipped her head and stated her curiosity over the wine. Smiling when she was told that they felt like spoiling her, Eleazar assured her that it wouldn't be harmful to have one glass.

"So Alice really set all of this up for us?" Angela asked as she finished her meal and set the cloth napkin down on the empty plate.

"She did," Carmen laughed. "That will be one thing you'll have to get used to," she grinned, "Alice anticipating your every move."

"That's the part I'm looking forward to," Angela confessed with a soft laugh. "She can't see me because of my migraines. I can't wait until she can."

"Tired?" Eleazar asked when he watched her eyes droop and smiled when she nodded. "I've got the second book with me, would you like for me to read to you?"

"More about Merlin?" Angela asked with a smile and rested her head against his shoulder when he lifted her from the couch.

"More about Merlin," he repeated with a smile as Carmen followed him into the bedroom.

Watching as her husband held back the covers and helped Angela into bed, she waited until the girl had settled against Eleazar's side before climbing onto the bed next to her. Smiling and kissing Angela's temple as the human girl closed her eyes; she listened to the sound of her heartbeat as Eleazar began to read. It didn't take long for Angela to fall asleep and Carmen smiled softly as she propped her cheek on her hand and met her husband's gaze.

He loved these moments as much as Carlisle did, she could see it in his face and smiled as she knew that she found the same comfort Esme did. Smiling softly as she slipped from the bed, she moved to her purse and took out her phone. Stepping out of the room and calling Tanya, she let her sister know of the delay and to also let Michael and Kate know that Angela was blind. She didn't know how long it would last, but informed her of how long she had been without her sight so far.

"Do we need to move anything in the house?" Tanya asked. "The furniture or the rugs?"

"No," Carmen assured her softly, "I just wanted to be certain you knew. It frightens her and she tries her best to hide that so don't make a big deal out of it. She may sleep for most of the time; she's very weak right now."

"A package arrived a few days ago for Eleazar," Tanya told her. "It's from a medical supply company."

"It's for Angela, to help us take care of her. Every now and then Eleazar will need to set up a morphine drip for her. Tell Michael not to worry if you could," Carmen asked and chuckled at the sound of Tanya's soft snort.

"He's cleaning the house," Tanya said with a roll of her eyes.

"Again?" Carmen asked with disbelief.

"More like still," Kate's voice sounded from the background. "Alright, we'll be back soon."

"Where is she going?" Carmen asked Tanya curiously.

"Forcing Michael to hunt before you arrive with Angela. She wants to make certain that he's well fed when you all come home as we're both certain that he will refuse to leave her side even for a moment. Alice called a few hours ago," Tanya said with a soft sigh. "She said that we will need to watch out for Irina… Alice is concerned because Irina is not staying on one course, her decisions keep changing and it's making it difficult for Alice to predict what she will do."

Carmen sighed, "Tanya, she's your sister. Do you believe that she could be dangerous to Angela?"

"Before all that happened with Laurent, I would have said no," Tanya fell silent as she weighed the question. "But now, I don't know for sure. She's not the Irina I knew. She's angry and careless and… I know that the loss of one's mate is devastating, but it feels like she is holding onto her anger so that she won't have to grieve."

They spoke for a few moments longer before ending the call and Carmen looked back toward the bedroom as she thought of Angela. She had every intention of keeping her promise to Carlisle and making certain that Angela was safe, but she couldn't help the fear that darkened her heart. If it came to it, could they fight against Irina? Could they stop her from harming Angela or would such an event cause an irreparable rift between their families?

**:::::**

He stood on the front porch, his eyes closing as he stretched his senses and listened to the sounds of the road. It was a private drive that led from the main highway up to their house, hidden away in the Denali countryside. The turnoff for the private drive was nearly hidden by the trees and nature, but he had studied the pathway well, walked it back and forth several times over the past three days as he waited anxiously for his love to arrive with Carmen and Eleazar. While he understood why the extra three days spent waiting for them to return was for Angela's benefit, it made him more nervous to be without her, more frightened of how she would look when she did arrive.

He knew that she had migraines, had been warned that she was in a fragile state, but no one had been willing to tell him anything specific. Stepping off the porch and walking down to the edge of the thickly grassed, green front yard, he again closed his eyes as he focused all his energy on listening for the car. Tanya had been called almost two hours ago by Carmen to announce their impending arrival, but they had never said how close they were or when they expected to be home. An impatient growl rumbled from his throat, the sound born of worry and frustration. He needed her to be with him, to hold her in his arms, breathe in the scent upon her skin and know that she was safe.

"Finally," he whispered in relief, standing impatient as the sound of the car grew louder as it neared.

He watched as their car came closer and fisted his hands against the need to yell at them to drive faster. After all of the upset and tension caused by Irina's growing madness and his own fear over Angela's failing health, she was finally here with him and it was torture waiting for the familiar car to pull into the drive. He needed to feel her warmth, touch her skin. He needed to know that she was safe. It was almost impossible to remain still as he waited for the car to come to a stop and the engine to turn off. He stepped up to the rear driver's side door before Eleazar or Carmen had a chance to open theirs and felt a sigh of relief leave him as he looked upon Angela's sleeping face.

Opening the door carefully, Michael leaned inside and knelt on the edge of the leather seat. Smoothing the backs of his fingers down her warm cheek, he smiled when her eyes fluttered open only to frown in concern when they closed again soon after. Unbuckling her seatbelt, he lifted her from the car and cradled her against his chest as he carried her up to the house. She moaned softly and he shushed her gently, whispering to her promises that he was there. She curled closer to him as he carried her, her warm face tucked into the side of his neck and he breathed in deeply, memorizing her welcomed scent.

"I'm right here, Miss Angela," he soothed her gently as he carried her into his room and nodded his thanks to Kate when she pulled back the covers.

She murmured softly as he laid her down in the bed and he smiled as he covered her with the plush blankets. Finally she was home with him where she belonged. He felt the stress of the last week melt away as he stared down into her face and reached out his hand to touch her cheek from where he sat beside her. A peaceful warmth infused his being and he closed his eyes as he remembered all the times they spent together in her mental landscape. It was different now that she was physically here with him. Her scent surrounded him, her heartbeat was music to his ears and the sound of her breathing calmed him as nothing else had.

"You are home with me, love," he whispered as he slid down to lie beside her, enfolding her in his arms. "You are home."

She could feel him next to her, the sound of his voice soothing her even as she floated just below the conscious world. She wasn't able to wake, not completely and so in her sleep she turned toward him. He smiled when she moved, rubbed the back of her hand that now rested on his chest and turned his head to kiss her brow as he gathered her closer to himself. Resting his palm on her cheek, his fingers covered by her hair, he breathed in deeply of her scent and closed his eyes. This was peace, he thought, this was what he had been waiting for all his life.

Pulling in her scent as he held her, his eyes remained closed as his senses were all locked on her. The feel of her in his arms, the warmth of her body lying against his, the steady slow thrum her heartbeat brought him comfort. He felt her shift, chuckled softly when she seemed to be pressing closer to him and moved her gently so that she was lying on top of him. She sighed softly then, the sound full of drowsy pleasure and he smiled as she fell into a deeper sleep. His arms remained wrapped around her, his hands resting on her back and side. He had never felt as complete as he did now and he couldn't wait for the moment that she woke in his arms.

"I don't think I've ever seen him look so happy," Tanya whispered from the hall as she stood watching Michael through the open doorway.

"Come on," Carmen chuckled softly as she and Eleazar led the sisters away and pulled the bedroom door closed. "You can meet her later, but let's leave them alone for now."

"Spoil all my fun," Kate teased and Michael rolled his eyes as he stared at the closed wooden door.

He had to admit amusement at their watching of him. They were right, he supposed. He had been tense from the first moment he arrived at their home and though he was more comfortable around them all now, he hadn't truly been peaceful until Angela arrived. He felt her move slightly and smiled when her hand moved to rest over his silent heart. His hand slid over her hair as he petted her dark locks slowly, the movement stilling as he cupped the back of her head to hold her close. The girl in his arms was precious. She held him bound, heart, mind and soul and he vowed to never let anyone bring harm upon her.

His thoughts turned to Irina and he growled softly before he realized he had let the sound loose. Angela moved again and just as he opened his mouth to offer her soothing comforts, he listened to her sigh happily as her hand resting over his heart slid to rest near his throat. He chuckled softly and gave into his curiosity. Letting the growl rumble again he grinned and rolled his eyes in amusement when she moved her hand closer to his throat.

"My little human likes to hear me growl," Michael chuckled and smoothed his hand down over her hair.

"Mm…mine," Angela mumbled in her sleep and he laughed as he kissed her.

"Yes, I suppose I am." Sighing softly as he gathered the blankets closer around her, he felt the soft tugs as her other hand gently twined in his hair. "You know, your father's probably going to kill me one of these days. I saw the look on his face when I asked for his blessing to court you. I think I might also have your brothers to worry about, especially the big one."

"Teddy bear," she mumbled and bounced slightly on his chest when he laughed.

"Yeah, he may be your teddy bear," Michael told her softly, his voice thick with humor. "Somehow, I doubt he'll be mine."

He fell silent as he held her, took comfort in the warm puffs of breath against his skin and moved carefully when she began tugging at the blankets. Her breath hitched, the tickling feel of her eyelashes against his skin telling him that her eyes were fluttering but not quite open. She tugged again, the motion weak but insistent and he soon realized what it was that she wanted. Sighing softly as he toed off his shoes, he gently rolled so that he could lay her back down on the pillows.

"Shh," he soothed and kissed her forehead when she moaned her displeasure. "Give me a minute, my love."

Disentangling her fingers from his shirt, he chuckled as he kissed her cheek and only barely kept himself from touching his lips to hers as he desired to. Looking back over his shoulder at her as he moved to his closet, he slipped inside the open door and changed his rough denim jeans out for the softer cotton lounge pants. He heard her mumble his name and stepped back to the bed as he tied the drawstring. Lifting the blankets as he returned to her side, he slipped into the bed next to her and smiled when she immediately moved to sprawl across his chest again.

"I try and offer you comfort by keeping the blankets between us and you refused it," he told her with amusement. "Aren't you supposed to prefer warmth?" he asked the sleeping girl and smiled when she snuggled closer to him. "Alright," he mused softly and pulled the blankets up over her shoulders, a lopsided grin pulling at his lips when she turned her head and tucked her face into his neck. "I'll let you sleep."

She sighed softly, her warm breath fanning over his skin and drawing a silent gasp from him as he felt his body respond to the feel and scent of her. Closing his eyes as he held her close, he allowed the stillness that was natural to his kind to take over. Her warmth surrounded him, her scent soothed him, and the feel of her steady heartbeat brought him a sense of serenity he had never known before.

**:::::**

Tanya settled back in her chair and closed her eyes for a moment as she gave into the odd sensation of warmth that seemed to be slowly filling the house. Shaking her head as she stood, she stepped over to the wall and looked at the thermostat. The heat wasn't turned on. Frowning in confusion as she walked through the house, she looked at the windows and stone fireplaces. There were no lit fires, no scent of burning wood. The windows were open, the temperate air allowed inside to fill the spaces with the scents of flowers and forest. Still she felt warm.

"Is everything alright?" Carmen asked as she stepped up beside Tanya and looked out the window. "You look unsettled."

"Do you feel that?" Tanya asked her as she checked the stove to make certain it wasn't on.

"Feel what?" Carmen asked with a shake of her head.

"Warm," Tanya said and looked back when she heard Carmen chuckle. "What?"

"You're searching for a heat source?" she asked with amusement.

"Yes," she said with a slight shake of her head, the expression on her face making it clear that she didn't understand Carmen's amusement.

"Stop looking for a heat source," Carmen chuckled and led Tanya out onto the porch. "Come on, follow me," she coaxed her sister as she led the way over to the forest line. "Now tell me, do you still feel it?"

Opening her mouth and intending to tell Carmen that she was foolish for asking such a question, convinced that the heat was only within the house, Tanya stilled and remained quiet. Her mouth slowly closed as she realized that she did indeed still feel the same warmth surrounding her and infusing her being. Inside the house she had been certain that the warmth was external, but out here, removed from the house she felt it touching her heart. Looking at the house with wide eyes before meeting Carmen's gaze, Tanya shook her head in silent request of an explanation.

"_That_," Carmen nodded toward the house, "is Angela. It's her innate talent, the one that she holds no knowledge of whatsoever. When she is happy and relaxed as she is now," she paused and smiled, "I'm fairly certain she knows exactly whose arms she's sleeping in, the warmth and peace of her spirit spreads through the hearts of those around her. What does it feel like to you now?"

"Like the heater has been turned on," Tanya said as they walked back to the house.

Carmen's smile widened as she looked at her. "So just a gentle warm breeze then?"

"That would be the best description, yes," Tanya nodded slowly.

Carmen chuckled softly. "I can't wait until she's awake and you actually meet her."

"Why?" Tanya shook her head only to look to the side when Eleazar laughed. "What?"

"It is truly only something that can be experienced," he said and looked to Kate. "Do you not feel it?"

"Oh, I feel it," Kate smiled. "You forget, Esme and I are actually very close. She told me about Angela's warmth so I wasn't surprised to feel it. I am curious though, in all of our conversations Esme made Angela's warmth sound less…subtle."

"It is only such a whisper of sensation now because you haven't met her yet," Carmen smiled. "When we were first with her we could feel the smallest traces of her warmth and then later when she was fully conscious and we had been able to sit and spend time with her the feeling grew. Now, it doesn't seem to matter where we are or how far apart we are from her, we can still feel the same burning warmth."

"The same is true for her fear as well," Eleazar said his expression somber. "When she was trapped in her nightmares all those months ago, this power she holds of filling us with warmth was turned into a desperate cry for protection instead. The difference between them is staggering." Pausing as he turned his attention toward the ceiling above them, Eleazar smiled. "It sounds like someone might be waking up soon," he said in reference to the sound of Angela's heartbeat.

**:::::**

She felt heavy, weighted down by the deep sleep she had been in. Breathing in deeply as she lifted a lead-weighted hand from the cool chest beneath her, it fell back to the person she was lying on seconds later as a soft chuckle sounded close to her. Cool lips pressed a kiss to her temple, fingers smoothing against her cheek and forehead as her hair was brushed back from her face. She felt the person beneath her wrap their arms tighter around her and smiled at the elastic feel of the connection between them, knowing instantly who was with her.

"Michael?" Angela whispered his name as her eyes fluttered open and she pushed herself up slightly.

"I am right here with you, my love," Michael assured her softly as he watched her unseeing eyes search for him. "Still no sight?" he asked as he touched her cheek gently.

"No," she admitted sadly and bit her lip when she heard the soft rumble sound, feeling his growl vibrate beneath her. "What is it?"

"I – I think I should leave, Miss Angela," Michael said nervously as he met her unseeing eyes.

"What? Why?" Angela asked wishing fervently that she could see his eyes as she pushed herself up, her position from lying half on top of him making her straddle his hips.

Closing his eyes as the muscle in his jaw ticked, Michael inhaled deeply, her scent filling his senses. He had kissed her so many times before, but only in her mental sanctuary. He had never kissed her here in the physical world and he wanted to now. His eyes snapped open when he felt the heat of her palm smoothing against his cheek and his breath stilled when he saw how close her face was to his. He whispered her name, uncertain if he meant to warn her away or call her closer.

"Kiss me?" she requested, her voice just as soft as his and he was powerless to resist her request.

Lifting his hand up to her face, his fingers slid across her delicate warm skin until he was cupping her cheek in his palm, his long digits combed into her hair. He brought her down to him as he leaned up, her warm moist breath fanning over his lips mere seconds before he claimed her mouth with his. Her heartbeat thudded loudly in his ears, the rhythm gaining speed as her breaths became short. He groaned softly, pulling her closer as she pressed against him to deepen the kiss and cradled her in his arms when he turned them to lay her back on the pillows.

His lips moved over hers as her hands tangled in his hair, pulling him closer and welcoming him in as he covered her body with his and continued to kiss her. She pulled him closer, one arm moving to wrap around his neck as they kissed, her breath fading away only to come back in hurried gasps when he moved to place nibbling kisses upon her jaw line. She could feel her skin heating up, the fever his loving induced burning through her and making her feel somehow weightless.

She whispered his name fervently as he began to nibble on her neck, the sensation stronger without her sight, maddening as she felt spellbound to him. She groaned, whimpered as he dragged the flat of his tongue up over the throbbing vein in her neck only to take her earlobe in his mouth. She trembled beneath him, her hands grasping his shoulders tightly as she held onto him. A new sensation took hold of her as he moved back to claim her lips and the world around her stilled. She felt cold for a single moment before a burning warmth pulsed from her so strongly that she felt as if she was on fire. She needed him; she needed more of him and delighted in the sound of his growl when she tugged at his shirt.

"_Angela_," his whispered voice was rough as he pulled back, his eyes falling closed as he hissed when she spread her legs wider beneath him and lifted one to twine around his hip.

He growled again as he tried to fight his growing desire, feeling as though he was fighting a losing battle when her hands slipped beneath his shirt, her palms fire-hot against his cold skin. He meant to warn her away, he knew that he needed to leave her before things went too far, but his will was broken the very second she moved her hips. The motion was innocent, but still he felt the barest whisper of a brush when her hot center rubbed against his throbbing erection. They were both covered by clothes though his enhanced senses, made even more powerful by the scent and feel of her desire, had him on the brink.

She gasped when he rocked against her, moaned with need as she pulled him back down to kiss her and whimpered when his hand slid over her hip and up under her shirt. It was too much, but it wasn't nearly enough and Angela pulled him closer as she wrapped her legs around his trim hips. She need him, needed something, but didn't know exactly what and nearly sobbed when she felt the brush of his thumb against the curve beneath her breast. Her nails scraped over his impenetrable flesh as the feeling of fire consumed her and gave her power. She heard the voices sounding from outside the room, but ignored them as she fisted her hands in his hair to pull him closer.

**:::::**

Kate chuckled softly as she tipped her head to the side and grinned at Carmen when the woman slapped her shoulder with the back of her hand. Laughing when she was told to stop listening to the couple upstairs, she couldn't help the grin that spread across her face when she heard Angela beg Michael for a kiss. Laughing and playfully zapping her sister with her talent, the strength of it turned down to little more than a buzz, she stepped toward the window and stilled.

"I don't remember there being flowers in the yard a few minutes ago," Kate said and looked to her side when Tanya stepped up to her.

Frowning as she looked outside the window, Tanya looked back to where Eleazar and Carmen had been sitting on the couch only to stare in surprised amusement. The Spanish vampires were wrapped around each other, kissing and petting as though they were newly mated. Her attention turned back to the window and she shook her head in disbelief and wonder at the sight of the wildflowers that had sprouted from nothing to color the yard in ribbons of vibrant color. Her eyes widened as she saw the space between the flowers fill with more colors, more flowers and plush grasses. What was this? Where was this coming from and how was it happening?

"Carmen, Carmen my love," Tanya turned back at the sound of Eleazar's voice and watched him gently set his wife aside. "I know," he kissed her again before gently setting her back from where she had climbed into his lap.

"Eleazar," Carmen reached for him again, feeling the desperate need to have him closer, to have him love her. "Why are you pulling away?"

Chuckling softly as he moved to kneel on the couch, Eleazar combed his fingers into Carmen's hair and pulled her close for a heated kiss as he stood. Breaking the kiss as he moved away, he watched her gaze follow him hungrily and knew that as soon as things were calmed down they would need time alone. He had always known that Angela's base talents, the power she wielded without thought or knowledge was tied to her emotions, but he honestly hadn't been expecting this.

Joy, happiness, the peaceful warmth of familial love brought her power out to wrap those that she was near in a soothing burn that allowed them to feel warm from the inside out. It healed their hurt, brought them peace and made any fractures in their immortal souls whole once more. Fear, terror changed her gentle call into a maddening cry for protection. Those that knew her, those of his kind that guarded her were enraged by the feeling of her cry and brought closer to stand in protection of her. She was shielded, guarded and once someone knew her, distance became meaningless.

Her anger was harder to control. When she was truly angered, enraged, her talent shifted from being comforting to being cold. He hadn't felt it himself, but he had spoken with Felix and the man had described it as the disturbing calm of cold rage when one is standing in the defense of another. Her anger became powerful, a sword that directed her talent to destroy. Right now, being that she was untrained with her talents, her anger was able to shatter glass and throw the danger away, but he knew that once trained or if angered enough, she had the possibility of destroying his kind just as easily.

But now her power was not coming out because of familial love, fear or even anger. Right now her power was given strength because of the passionate love she felt for Michael. His presence, his desire was feeding her own and in turn it was bringing her talent out in unimaginable waves. Stepping over to the window where Tanya and Kate stood, he looked outside. This was the power of her love, of the burning desire between lovers, mates. He watched as an iris came up from the earth near the window, green leaves surrounding the bloom as it broke through the grass and soil only to fan out as is it lifted and blossomed. The strength of her love for Michael brought forth creation and the burn of her desire for his physical love strengthened and drew forth the desire Eleazar held for his mate.

Sighing softly as he felt the heat of desire storm through him again, Eleazar knew that he would have to stop them. There was no telling what her power could do and being that she was still human he couldn't take any risk. Her human form was already fragile enough, with her love granting her power the ability to create; there was no telling what could come of their mating while she was human. A roar sounded behind him, the rush of noise bringing heat with it and he turned to see a fire burning in the stone hearth. The fire rose high, the color of the flames a brilliant dark rose-red with only a tinge of orange. This wasn't the color of fire; he thought as he stared at the flames, this was the color of love.

Stepping away from the window and turning to his wife, he accepted the kiss she bestowed upon him before moving to the stairs. As much as he could hear them, the sound of her heart beating the song of their soft moans and her whimpers, he knew he had to keep them from going further. Shaking his head as he jogged up the stairs, Kate behind him, he knew that this would be uncomfortable for them both. Over the decades of his life he had broken apart more than one mating couple when the situation called for it, but this time he was intruding upon a girl he considered his niece. He knew that were he human he would be blushing with the thought of what he was about to do.

"Let me," Kate said with a chuckle and stepped past him. "Michael, Angela," she called their names through the door only to receive no response.

"I don't think either one of them will hear us right now," Eleazar told her as he thumped his fist against the door to gain the attention of the couple hidden inside.

Gripping the doorknob and turning it, Kate stepped into the room and shook her head. Michael's shirt was almost off, the material scrunched around his shoulders and neck. She could only see Angela's face and hands, the girl lost in the passion of her lover's embrace. Looking back at Eleazar and seeing how uncomfortable he looked as he stepped into the room behind her, Kate grinned and turned her attention back to the bed. Lifting her hand and touching Michael's lower back she let her talent pass through her fingertips to shock the vampire with just enough voltage to draw his attention.

"Oh what the hell?!" Michael pulled back from Angela with a growl as he responded to the shocks twitching through his muscles. "Lady Kate," he said with wide eyes and a startled expression.

Rolling her eyes in amusement, Kate grinned. "How many times have I told you, it's just Kate. Hate to interrupt," she said with amusement.

"Michael?" Angela didn't understand why there was another woman in the room, her brow furrowing as the first strands of light began to break through the darkness. "Do that again," she said suddenly, having felt the barest traces of the electrical shock. "Whatever you did just now, do it again," she demanded as she sat up with Michael's help and felt him wrap the bed sheet around her.

"You want me to shock him again?" Kate asked with wide eyes as she looked at Angela.

"No, not him, me," Angela said and reached out a hand.

"Are you crazy?" Kate asked as she stared at her wondering why Angela wasn't looking directly at her.

"Just do it!" Angela commanded and shook her hand for Kate to take. "Whatever you did, do it again!"

"Okay," Kate said slowly, stretching out the word with uncertainty as she took Angela's hand and restrained her talent as much as possible.

She could hear the crackle of the electricity, feel the buzz against her skin that was little more than a vibration, but the wisps of light that had barely broken through the darkness grew brighter. She demanded Kate to do it again, to make the power stronger or make it last longer. She wasn't certain which she needed only that the electricity was taking her blindness away. She gripped the woman's hand as tightly as she could when it seemed that Kate was trying to pull away.

"Don't stop, do it again," Angela demanded of her. "Stop holding back."

"You've got to be joking," Kate said as she moved to pull her hand from Angela's grip.

"Kate," Eleazar cautioned her, "Angela would let you know if you were hurting her. Just do as she asks."

She whipped her head around to look at Eleazar, her belief that he was insane written upon her face. To use her talent on a human seemed reckless and unwise. She could be causing damage or hurting her. Turning back to Angela when the girl again demanded that she use her talent on her, Kate folded her lips in over her teeth and let her talent flow through her fingertips. The current was continuous, the voltage as low as she could make it, but still Angela demanded her to strengthen it if only just a little. Looking to Eleazar and seeing his silent nod, she did as Angela commanded, her breath held in worry and anticipation.

Angela stilled as the current passed through her, a smile slowly forming upon her lips as the strands of light grew stronger until it filled her vision. Commanding Kate to once again increase the voltage, she laughed as the dark of her blindness was chased away completely and she was able to see once more. It had been almost six days that she been blinded by her migraines without a break from the darkness and it was Kate's talent that granted her sight once more. Her gaze snapped up to meet Kate's eyes as she practically leapt from the bed to hug the vampire close, laughing with joy as she did so.

"Angela?" Carmen asked with confusion. "What happened? Why did you want Kate to shock you?"

"I can see," Angela laughed. "I can finally see again."

**:::::**

Stepping over to his desk, Carlisle sat down and opened top drawer on the right hand side. Pulling Angela's medical journal from within, he opened it to the last four entries he had made and felt fear and worry constrict his heart as he read over the words he had written within. He could see the progression there, his observations and thoughts clearly showing how much more devastating her pain had become. Her migraines had advanced to the point where Angela described the pain as so intense she could no longer clearly feel it. Pursing his lips as he read over the words he had written from Angela's own statements and closed his eyes.

_The pain is still there, but it's not so bad anymore. It doesn't hurt so much as it feels like pressure is closing in. My head throbs a bit, but now I'm just constantly tired. All I want to do is sleep and more often than not it's hard to see. My body aches like I have a bad flu, but sometimes it's not so bad. Hot baths help and when Rosalie sings to me, her voice seems to make some of the pressure go away. _

Opening his eyes and looking up from the journal in his hands when he heard his cell phone ring, he stood from his desk and moved out toward the coat rack standing in the far corner. He had left the device in the pocket of his dark wool coat after returning home from his shift at the hospital. Retrieving it on the second ring and answering the call, he smiled at the sound of Angela's voice in the background. Blinking as he refocused his attention on Eleazar, he asked the man to repeat what he had said.

"Angela's vision has returned," Eleazar told him and Carlisle smiled as he returned to sit behind his desk.

"So, her migraine has abated then?" he asked as he picked up his pen and flipped to an empty page in the journal.

"No, she hasn't said that the pain is gone, but her vision is definitely back. Kate shocked her and.."

"Kate _shocked _my daughter?!" Carlisle asked his voice louder than he had intended as alarm filled his tone.

"Calm down my friend," Eleazar chuckled. "She did not do so maliciously. In fact she didn't want to at all, but Angela insisted."

"How would she know about Kate's talent?" he asked as he closed his eyes and fought to remain calm.

"Um…that…"

"Carlisle," Alice appeared in the doorway with amusement filling her eyes and a bright smile upon her face. "Trust me when I say that you don't want an answer to that one."

"And why wouldn't I?" he asked his daughter and arched a brow when she chuckled.

"Because you still think of Angela as your baby girl," Alice grinned and watched as his expression changed from worry to realization.

Part of him wanted to be angry at Michael, the thought of his daughter being mated when she was in such a fragile state making him irritated. He had to admit though, Angela was an adult, she was well old enough to make her own decisions about such things. Sighing and rolling his eyes when Alice laughed at him, he watched as she twirled out of his office.

"Alright, so tell me exactly what happened."

"Are you certain you want to know the details?" Eleazar asked and made a sound of amusement when Kate took the phone from his hand.

"You men are so squeamish about these things," Kate said with false annoyance and chuckled. "Did you know that your daughter can make Eleazar and Carmen act like a couple of teenagers?" she asked with laugh.

"Come again?" Carlisle asked and heard Tanya's laugh in the background.

Kate stepped up to the window and looked outside at the flowers still blanketing the yard. Watching as Angela and Michael sat underneath the tree, she began to tell Carlisle about the powers that had come forth when the young couple had began their passionate play. She described the flowers that had sprouted from the earth, the affect their passion seemed to have on Carmen and Eleazar as well as the resulting fire that burst inside the stone hearth.

"The logs were untouched, completely cold and nothing applied to them to ignite a flame. It was her," Kate said with wonder and disbelief. "We've heard the stories from Eleazar and Carmen, but not one of us ever thought that anything like what happened today was even possible. He feared what would happen if they were allowed to mate while she was human."

Carlisle sighed quietly, "And so you broke them apart."

"Yes," Kate confirmed. "But my touch was only on Michael. Somehow she felt it too and then she demanded that I do it again. Your Angela is quite forceful," she said and Carlisle laughed.

"She certainly can be. What do you remember specifically?" he asked her as he paused in his writing, the pen in his hand poised over the page.

"I had my electricity as low as I could, barely more than a buzz or a tickle. She kept demanding that I make it stronger, I think…I think by the end it was enough for her to feel the crack of it, but not be hurt by it," Kate paused as she stared out of the window. "She kept getting more and more excited and then she said she could see again. Somehow, my electricity brought back her vision. How is that possible?"

"I don't know," Carlisle said as he made the last of his notes and set the pen down in the trench between the pages. "There is still much about both her migraines and her growing talents that even I do not know. It's possible that your talent forced hers back or that the voltage of your electricity balanced the pulse of her migraine enough to allow her optical nerves to accept signals from her brain once more." Sighing softly as he met Esme's eyes when she stepped into the room, he held out his hand for her to take. "I don't have a definitive answer. For whatever reason, it worked. How is she now?" he asked, smiling as Esme sat on his lap.

"Enjoying the afternoon sun with Michael," Kate told him with a soft chuckle. "The flowers are still there. Part of me expected that they would disappear once her power was quieted, but they didn't."

"They won't," Eleazar said as he stepped up to the window. "The flowers aren't an illusion. They're actual living plants. She gave them life."

"How?" Carlisle asked and Eleazar chuckled when Kate looked to him to continue as she lowered the phone from her ear to hold between them.

"How is she able to heal our kind or call for us when she's frightened? I have no more an answer for you than she does," the Spanish vampire said as he watched Angela curl against Michael's chest and close her eyes. "There is so much about her talent that is unknown. It was her love for him that brought forth her ability to give life. I fear what may happen if she were to be allowed to mate with him while human."

"What do you think would happen?" Carlisle asked with concern as he looked at Esme.

"That's just it, I don't know. But I'm not willing to take the risk," Eleazar said and Carlisle nodded silently.

"I wouldn't be either." Smiling when Esme smoothed her hand over his hair, he tipped his head up to look at her and closed his eyes when she kissed his brow. "Will you be alright having her there?"

Eleazar chuckled. "Oh we'll be fine. I do think your daughter's a bit frustrated by Michael at the moment. Once we broke them apart, he became a proper eighteenth century gentleman again. He'll sit and talk with her, hold her while she slumbers against him, but he's only kissed the back of her hand or her cheek."

"Oh yes, she'd be irritated with that," Esme chuckled and laughed harder at the look on Carlisle's face. "We all know that he's her mate, and she even admitted that to me. It's not as though the thought of it was a surprise," she told him wisely, her eyes sparkling with silent laughter.

"Wife," Carlisle growled playfully and she giggled.

"Husband," she teased back and slid off his lap.

"If you two are going to play, I really don't need to hear it," Eleazar said seconds before the call disconnected and Esme laughed.

"We could play," she teased as Carlisle set his phone down on the desk and she closed his office door.

"The children are home," he told her with a smile and chuckled when she sauntered closer.

"Since when has that stopped us before?" Esme asked and pushed her hands against his chest, backing him up until he fell to sit on the couch.

"True," he relented with a smile as she climbed onto his lap. "But Bella is upstairs with Edward and you know what happens to Jasper anytime one of us…" he was silenced by her kiss. "Takes to mating," he said against her lips as she framed his face with her hands and kissed him again.

Sighing against his mouth, Esme sat back on his knees. "Are you telling me we have to be responsible?" she asked with a frown, though her eyes were still sparkling.

Nodding only to laugh when his wife growled low, Carlisle groaned when she stood from his lap and walked to the door. He wanted to make love to her just as much as she did, but didn't feel that it was fair to Jasper, considering his son's talent and all that he had been through recently with Angela's migraines. Standing from the couch and following her out of his office, he saw Jasper sitting on the couch as they passed through the living room and bit back a laugh when his son shifted uncomfortably.

"Next time either mate or warn me so I can leave," Jasper grumbled without looking up from his book and Carlisle watched as Alice appeared by his side.

"Come on, Jas," Alice purred as she tugged him to his feet. "I'll help you out with that."

"Right," Esme said with a touch of jealousy and nodded as she watched them leave and disappear upstairs. "Well, we are training with the wolves tomorrow. Hopefully that will help."

Giving a breathy chuckle as he followed Esme through the house, he caught her around the waist from behind as they entered the kitchen and kissed her neck. He heard her groan in delight and smiled when she tipped her head to the side to offer him more access to her throat as he nibbled and kissed her smooth flesh. The sound of a soft surprised gasp drew his attention and Carlisle opened his eyes, watching as Bella disappeared from sight with a dark blush staining her cheeks. Unable to help himself, his soft chuckles against Esme's neck turned into rolling laughter and he shook his head.

"We need a weekend away," Esme chuckled and watched as he nodded.

"Once the army has been dealt with," he promised her and cupped her cheeks in his hands as he rubbed his nose against hers. "I will take you away and never let you leave our bed."

Narrowing her eyes as she kissed him, Esme turned away with a teasing grin.

"Promises, promises."


	73. Chapter 71

Chapter 71

She walked up the stairs slowly, her lips bent into a soft sad smile. Moving down the hall she came to a stop in front of the empty room and pushed the door open slowly as she leaned against the wooden frame. Tipping her head to the side, she rested her temple against the cool smooth wood and breathed in deeply of the scent that was beginning to fade. Had it truly only been a week? It felt like so much longer and she closed her eyes as she let the presence lingering in the room wash over her. Sighing softly at the feel of her husband's arms slipping under hers to wrap around her waist from behind, she leaned back against his shoulder and opened her eyes to the empty room in front of her.

Lifting her hands, she wrapped her arms over his and rolled her head to tuck her forehead into the curve of his throat. Their house felt different without her here. Their family felt different without her here and although they could all still feel the whispers of warmth that connected them to her, it was absolutely nothing in comparison to having her close. Closing her eyes again as she turned in his arms, she wrapped her arms around his back and held him close as his hand stroked down over her hair. He turned his head, kissing her cheek and tipped his head to rest his cheek against her hair.

"I miss her, too," he said softly as he continued to hold her close and let his eyes stare at the spot on the floor by the window. "Every morning I would find her lying in front of that window. Do you remember the look on her face when she came home from school to find that floor pillow there?"

She chuckled softly and turned around to look at the dark forest green satin floor pillow in question, the same one in fact that the nearly eight-month old grey kitten was sleeping on. Smiling as she remembered the look on the girl's face, she recalled how delighted Angela had been to find the massive pillow and even more so to discover how plush it was. The stuffing was firm, but also soft enough to give her support and comfort. They had found her asleep lying on that same pillow with a book that first night and as much as he had wanted to move her to her bed, his wife had been the one to convince him to leave her on the floor.

"The next morning when she woke in time to watch the sunrise…" her voice trailed off as she smiled nostalgically. "The feel of her warmth…she was so happy," she laughed softly and tipped her head as she met her husband's eyes. "Then when she learned that you two share that same pastime…"

"She started joining me outside," he smiled as he remembered that first morning watching the sunrise with Angela tucked against his side.

"Until it was too cold for her to be outside," she said with amusement. "She'd open her door and you'd sit with her in front of that window."

"These past few months she'd fall asleep sometimes. She was always so peaceful and relaxed that I didn't always notice at first," he pressed his lips together as he frowned. "She never complained, even when the pain was enough that she was robbed of her sight, she never complained."

"Have you figured out yet how Kate's electricity is allowing her to see again?" Esme asked as she turned around in her husband's arms. "Carmen says that she seems to have more energy as well."

Carlisle frowned and shook his head. "I've looked through medical journals and even current studies being done in Europe, but there doesn't seem to be any medical explanation for it. The only thing I can think is that it's related to her talent. Perhaps Kate's electricity offers her some kind of balance that she doesn't have without it."

"Carlisle," they both turned at the sound of Alice's voice behind them. "Everyone's ready. You didn't forget about the fight training with the wolves today, did you?" she asked at their quizzical glances.

"No, of course not," Carlisle said as his arms fell from Esme and they turned to step into the hall. "Is Sulpicia going to be with us?"

"Yes," Alice giggled. "She actually seems fairly excited. A lot of the things we take for granted here she was never allowed before."

"Yes, somehow I can't see Aro being overly enthused to have allowed the wives to receive fight training before," Carlisle said as he caught sight of Felix coming down the hall toward them.

"He wouldn't have been," Felix chuckled. "He's actually still a bit nervous, but Sulpicia's talking with him now."

"Soothing his worries?" Esme asked with a grin, her brow arching curiously at Felix's laughter.

"Telling him off actually," Felix corrected with a chuckle. "Well, as close as she ever gets to telling him off. It's kind of adorable. She reminds me of that kitten."

"Will you have any problem training with us and the wolves today?" Carlisle asked his brows furrowed in concern.

"None," Felix promised as he looked at Esme and Carlisle.

If he'd thought it once, he'd thought it a million times. Things were different here; the leadership shared between Carlisle and Esme was comfortable and easy. There were no demands for power or control, it was a welcomed sort of command, one that was built from love and understanding. It wasn't the first time he had wondered how different the Volturi would be if their command had been structured like Carlisle's was. He knew that such things wouldn't be possible; the differences in personalities and diets, but that didn't keep him from imaging how different a world it could have been.

Nodding at Carlisle and Esme, he retreated back down the stairs and smiled to find Sulpicia ending her phone call with Aro. The expression on her face was both frustrated and affectionate drawing an amused chuckle from him. She turned to look at him, laying her cell phone down on top of Edward's piano before breathing in deeply and releasing a heavy sigh. Arching a brow as he stepped closer, Felix grinned when she stepped forward and adjusted the collar of his leather jacket.

"Songbird?" Felix asked when she remained silent.

"Apparently learning how to fight is one thing, but Aro doesn't want me anywhere near the battle," she said with an exasperated sigh.

"He's worried about you," Felix said as he touched her shoulders. "This won't be a normal sparring session; it's going to be a war. Lives will be lost and he doesn't want you among the casualties."

"Then you agree with him?" she asked, her tone telling him that she was not amused at this bit of knowledge.

"I agree with keeping you safe, whether that means teaching you how to fight or asking you to stay behind. I don't want to see anything happen to you either, Songbird," Felix said. "I'm still a guard under his command."

"I thought it would be different here!" she hissed and shrugged out of his hold.

"It _is_ different here, you are granted far more freedom than ever before," Felix insisted as he watched her pace the room.

"He still doesn't trust me," she said and shook her head. "I thought he trusted me."

"Songbird," Felix watched her as she stood in front of the bay window looking out on the forest. "All it would take would be one misstep, one moment for the other guy to get a good move in and you'd be gone," he offered trying to explain Aro's concern.

"I'll be learning how to fight," she said as she whirled around, her eyes a beautiful mix between red and gold flashing with fire. "He doesn't trust me to be able to use that knowledge, to protect myself. I refuse to be some China doll sitting on a shelf gathering dust. I am here, I'm gone from the castle and I am free. I won't be chained again."

"It's that important to you?" Felix asked and watched her nod. "I'll call him when we get back from fight training then."

"Thank you," she said softly and looked to the door when she saw Rosalie standing silent. "What?"

"You really need to learn to just tell him to fuck off," Rose said with a pointed glare. "Emmett may always protect me, the same as Jasper does with Alice and Carlisle with Esme, but none of them would ever even think of taking our freedom from us. Mate or not, don't let him cower you into a corner."

"This is the way it has always been," Sulpicia defended as Felix remained silent but interested in the conversation at hand.

Lifting a single perfect brow, Rosalie's stare turned to ice. "I thought you had already learned this lesson, but apparently no one pointed it out to you. If you want something to change then _you_ need to be the one to change it. If you keep letting him command you like a child then he always will."

"And what are you suggesting?" Sulpicia asked as she felt her temper begin to rise.

"As I heard it said once, learn how to rock your inner bitch," Rosalie replied with a grin. "You've got the fire, I can see it, but you're afraid to use it. Why?" Narrowing her eyes as the ancient woman remained quiet; Rosalie felt disbelief fall over her as realization dawned. "You don't feel equal to him," she spoke softly in surprise. "Do you truly believe that he thinks less of you? You're his wife."

"Perhaps," Sulpicia allowed. "But for more than a thousand years, I've been his prisoner as well."

Rosalie nodded quietly as she regarded the woman in front of her. Sulpicia may be an ancient vampire and part of a very power family, but she had never felt any of that power for herself. Nodding to the door and telling her that it was time to head out for training, Rose remained quiet as she thought over this new bit of information. If Sulpicia didn't feel strong or confident in her relationship with Aro than it was more than likely the reason her fear had left her silent over all that had happened to her. Though she knew that Angela had healed the woman of her pain, it was still those lingering doubts that would hold her restrained until she and Aro were able to truly talk about everything.

The first step though, was to make her feel more confident in herself. Smiling as she regarded Sulpicia's wardrobe before looking at Alice, she watched her visionary sister smile and nod. It seemed that a full on girl's day would be in the works soon, but today… Rose grinned to herself as she watched Sulpicia with a hunter's stare. Today she would be the one to spar with Sulpicia and she would work on growing the woman's confidence.

**:::::**

Smiling as he listened to the subtle changes in the rhythm of her heartbeat and breathing, he rose up on his elbow and set his chin in his hand. He wondered if he would ever tire of watching her sleep or greeting her when her eyes opened as she woke. She sighed softly as she moved beneath the blankets and he grinned when her leg brushed against his. Her lips bent up in a smile as her eyes fluttered open and he found himself unable to pull away when she reached up to bring him down for a kiss. After a week of careful touches and only kissing her hand he felt that he had enough control to kiss her chastely in the morning.

Angela held him just shy of touching her lips for a moment as she looked into his eyes. It seemed impossible to her that he was here with her that she had found someone who completed her the way that he did. Tears glistened in her eyes as she tipped her head and met his lips with hers, the love she felt pouring through the kiss. Her hands cupped his face as she kissed him and Michael pulled back just enough to look into her eyes when he felt her tears slip down her cheeks to touch his face. He brushed the backs of his fingers against her skin, smoothing away her tears as he looked into her eyes and found nothing but happiness and love filling her mahogany depths.

"I love you, too," he whispered to her and kissed her forehead. "What do you want to do today?" he asked and thought of how she seemed to still tire easily. "We could always just stay in bed," he offered without thinking of how the words would sound.

Angela's lips parted, her cheeks heating at the offer he made and she felt her entire body tingle with the thoughts of what they would be doing. Her hand slipped around the back of his neck as she pulled him down for another kiss and moved slowly to sit astride his hips as he fell back on the pillows. He mumbled her name against her mouth as her kisses grew heated and groaned when he caught the scent of her arousal darkening the air. His hands moved up over her shoulders, sliding down her back as he kissed her and tried to understand where her sudden spark of lust had come from.

"An-gela," he spoke her name around their kiss as he gently pushed her back. "Not that I'm complaining, but…where did this come from?" he asked as he took in her pink cheeks and lust filled eyes.

"What?" she asked breathlessly as she sat back on his waist. "What do you mean? You said…" her eyes widened with confusion and a touch of hurt.

"Yes, I said…oh," his eyes widened as he chuckled softly and reached up to cup her face in his hands. "I didn't mean it like that. I'm sorry, my love."

Her brow furrowed as she studied his eyes. She nodded quietly as her gaze dropped to his chest and she moved to get off of him. His hands caught her quickly around the waist and he stilled her movements, groaning when she settled back on his hips, but lower than before. Her bottom was resting on her heels, but her hot wet center was so close to his erection that the feel of her heat burned him even as their bodies remained a hairsbreadth apart. She met his gaze with confusion, her bottom lip caught between her teeth, and he fought for control as he reached up to sweep her hair back over her shoulder.

"I want to," he soothed her doubt, "I just want you stronger first."

"Stronger?" she repeated. "You don't want me as a human?"

Propping himself up on his elbows, Michael brought her close for a kiss only to groan when she fell to sit on his lap. She gasped at the feel of him and whimpered softly when he broke the kiss and buried his face in the curve of her shoulder as fought for control. He looked up at her a moment later, tucking her hair behind her ear as he kissed her chastely and wrapped his arms around her back to hold her close.

"I want you," he told her chuckling softly when he caught sight of her blush. "But I don't want you like this – in pain, fighting against your exhaustion just to keep your eyes open. I don't want to rush us either." Tipping his head to the side as he regarded her silently, Michael frowned as he studied her expression, his thoughts turning slowly to worried suspicion. "Angela, are you afraid that you won't be changed?" he asked softly.

Her brows drew together as she tried to put into words what she was feeling, what held her so desperate to be with him now. She knew that Carlisle and Esme wanted to change her, they had told her so themselves and answered the questions she had about it, but still she felt that she was running out of time. Each day she grew weaker, each day felt like she was walking closer to the edge and she couldn't see any light waiting for her.

"What if…what if they can't?" she asked her voice little more than a whisper.

"What do you mean?" Michael asked as he helped her move to sit astride his lap as he sat back against the headboard.

Leaning against his chest, Angela felt tears prick behind her eyes. "What if there isn't time? I'm…I'm fading, I can feel myself fading…" she was quiet for a moment as she struggled for the words. "Papa said that my heart has to keep beating for the venom to make its way through, but…what if it stops? What if my migraines are more powerful than his venom?"

"Oh my love," Michael sighed softly as he held her closer. "Have you talked with him about this?"

"No," her voice trembled when she spoke, one hand playing idly with his shirt as she took comfort in his embrace. "I just…they have so much to deal with and Papa's been great about everything, they all have, but…"

"But what?" he prodded gently as he petted her hair.

"I know it upsets them," she said slowly, her voice quiet. "They have to wait. Because of everything that's happened, they have to wait for a time when it won't be suspicious for me to be gone. We can't take the chance of someone asking too many questions."

Michael kissed her temple as he held her in the circle of his arms. Resting his chin on the top of her head, he rubbed her arm as he tried to offer her comfort, but knew that there was very little he could say to soothe her fears. Looking to the side, he smiled sadly to see her cell phone lying on the end table and reached for it. Grasping the device in his hand he brought it to Angela and held it out to her.

"Call him, love," he told her softly. "Call your Papa."

Angela looked up at Michael for a brief moment, meeting his eyes before taking her phone from his hand. She didn't want him to leave her, even if she ended up only leaving a voice mail; she felt the need for Michael to be with her. He smiled softly and kissed her hair as he encouraged her to make the call. He wasn't sure what it was that allowed him such an easy understanding of her, but perhaps this is how it was meant to be between mates. He felt it more and more each day, the belief that their souls spoke to each other and allowed him to understand her when she didn't speak at all. Leaning against his chest, Angela opened the contacts on her phone and pulled up Carlisle's cell phone number, waiting a brief moment before pressing the send button.

**:::::**

Taking his hand off the wheel and holding it out for Esme, Carlisle smiled when she placed her hand in his and brought it up to his lips. Kissing the back of her hand as he parked the car, he breathed in deeply before stepping out of the vehicle. He knew that they could have all run here to the field they chose to use for the training, but driving made the journey a bit slower and gave him time to think. He smiled when Esme met him in front of the car, stepping into the circle of his arms and he accepted her kiss happily.

"I love you," she whispered to him and he smiled as he tucked her hair behind her ears.

"I love you," he returned and kissed her again.

"I think your phone's ringing," Esme chuckled at the vibrations she could feel coming from his pocket.

"Right you are," he grinned and pulled the device from his pocket, answering the call immediately when he saw his daughter's name on the screen. "Hello sweetheart."

"Hi Papa," Angela returned his greeting and he frowned at the tone of her voice.

"Angela, is everything alright?" he asked as he held Esme to his side, rubbing her arm when she leaned her head against his shoulder.

She was quiet, his concern only growing the longer it took her to speak and he looked at Esme when he heard the tremble in her voice that he knew she was trying to hide. Looking to the side as he held his phone to his ear, Carlisle watched as Emmett was thrown through the air, Jasper standing steady as he watched. His mouth pulled up in a lopsided grin when he saw the carefully controlled excitement written on Felix's face and glanced at Esme. It wasn't the first time they had both thought of how similar Felix and Emmett were in personality. Turning his attention back to the phone, he frowned at the soft half starts he could hear and knew that Angela most likely was unaware she was making any sound at all.

"Do you have time to talk?" Angela asked quietly and Carlisle looked to the side at the sound of Emmett's borrowed Jeep pulling up, watching as Edward and Bella stepped out.

"Not for very long, I'm afraid," he told her with regret. "Could I call you in a little bit?"

"O-of course…"

"Baby girl," he cut in before she could ramble off the apology he could hear in her voice. "I am always here for you, never worry about the time when you call, ok? I'll talk to you in a few hours," he offered and could hear her heartbeat calm.

"Ok, Papa," Angela agreed softly. "I love you."

"I love you too, Sweetheart."

He waited until he heard the call disconnect before he lowered his phone and tucked the silent device back into his pocket. He squeezed his arm around Esme's shoulders and gave her a soft comforting smile. Whatever had their daughter worried he would talk with her about it and do what he could to offer her comfort. He had to admit that it felt strange to be without her, their house seemed a touch emptier; the usual burning warmth filling every space was gone. They each still felt the peaceful feeling of Angela's spirit from a distance and when she thought about them in turn, they felt the warmth stronger, but it was a pale comparison to what they were used to.

"The wolves are here," Edward said as he came up to them and they walked further into the field. "They don't trust us enough to be in their human forms," he said as the giant wolves crested over the hill of trees and boulders toward them.

"They came, that's what matters," Carlisle said and kissed Esme's temple before dropping his arm from around her shoulders. "Will you translate?"

Edward nodded silently, kissing the back of Bella's hand before stepping forward with Carlisle. His father remained two steps ahead of him and Edward watched as he looked upon each wolf in turn before his eyes came back to rest on Sam. Carefully hiding his grin when he read Seth's mind, Edward listened to the young wolf as he regarded Sulpicia and Esme with the same protective thoughts. Turning his attention back to Carlisle, he listened as his father spoke, monitoring the wolves' thoughts as they listened.

"They want to know how newborns differ from us," Edward spoke their thoughts and watched Seth fidget slightly.

The young wolf's thoughts were centered around Sulpicia and as Edward attuned himself to Seth fully he understood why. Sulpicia seemed to be a bit unsettled and Seth, forever a guardian in disguise, wanted to go to her. There were still times that it amazed him how comfortable the wolf was around his family, how blind he was to the separation of species, the laws of natural enemies. He didn't see vampire or human, he saw friend or foe. The only distinction Seth ever made was whether someone was dangerous or not. Stepping back with Carlisle, he watched as Jasper took their father's place and began his instruction, issuing the warnings to those who had never encountered a newborn vampire.

Emmett grinned as Jasper called him forward to demonstrate, scraping his booted feet in the ground for purchase as he prepared to launch at his brother. It was no secret that they both loved to fight, though they refrained for the most part as they knew Esme didn't like to see the violence. His lips curled up to the side when his brother told him not to hold back and Emmett's eyes sparkled with anticipation and delight.

"Not in my nature," Emmett said with a smile before taking off at a dead run toward Jasper.

His brother was shorter than him by a few inches, leaner as well, but was still able to toss Emmett around with relative ease. The sound of the vampires crashing into one another as they fought was as terrifying as it was exhilarating and Bella watched with wide eyes as she kept close to Jacob. She glanced up at him then, watching as his bronze eye turned to regard her for a short moment before looking back ahead at her sparring vampire family. She opened her mouth, tried to talk to him, but her lips closed again as she realized that she had no idea what to say.

The silence between them was awkward, painful almost and when she lifted her hand to pet him, she nearly cried when he turned away. Biting her lip as she fought back the tears stinging behind her eyes she bowed her head and took in a breath before looking up at him with wide eyes. Jacob's ears were folded back, his eyes looking down as he offered her a soft whimper of apology and Bella sobbed once as she wrapped her arms around his thick neck. Her friend was back, she didn't know why there had been the separation between them, but finally he had stopped being mad at her.

_About damn time_.

Jasper's thoughts broke through Edward's concentration and he glanced at his brother before looking over at Bella. He watched her hold onto Jacob and read the wolf's thoughts as he studied them. It seemed that Jacob had finally gotten past whatever prejudices he had held, Edward nodded when the wolf looked in his direction. Watching as Alice bounced over to Bella, he smiled as he watched his sister talk with her for a few seconds before escorting her back to him. Breathing in her scent as he wrapped his arms around Bella, Edward kissed her forehead and smoothed away the remnants of her drying tears.

"We're all done for the day," he told her and walked with her back to the Jeep. "I'll be back; Sam has a few questions for Carlisle."

"Ok," Bella nodded quietly and smiled when he kissed her lips before stepping away.

Bella bit her lip as she sat on the hood of Emmett's Jeep, Edward still borrowing the vehicle from his brother, and let her mind drift back to Jasper's instruction to the wolves. He knew so much and not just about newborns in general, but about fighting them. She had seen it in him in that moment, the regal Confederate soldier, the man who could lead a regiment into battle and have the men behind him following willingly. There was something about him when he had stood in front then giving the directions and commands and instructing his family how to spar.

Her brow furrowed as she sat up straighter and looked out across the field. She realized it then. The thing about Jasper that must have set him apart when he was human was that he didn't command people to follow him, he _inspired_ them to. She spotted him coming from behind the Jeep and wondered if he had walked around her before without her noticing. He was almost passed her when she called out to him, watching him stop and seeing the smile in his eyes that he hid from his face.

"How do you know so much about newborns?" Bella asked as Jasper stepped closer to her.

Jasper took in a deep breath as he looked at his human sister and nodded to himself, the movement so slight she didn't see it. He had a feeling she would ask, her curiosity was ever present though she didn't voice her questions very often. He began simply, unzipping his sweater as he told her that his upbringing had been different from his other vampire siblings and lowered the coat to reveal the scars littering his arms. Where he expected repulsion or even fear, he found instead interest and concern. She reached out, almost touching him, before turning to her own wrist.

"Your bites are like mine," Bella observed and looked back at him.

Jasper smiled a bit sadly, hating the person he was back in the beginning years of his immortal existence even as it seemed to help him somehow to talk about it. His voice was soft, his own emotions storming within him as he spoke to Bella about Maria and the time he spent training her newborns in the southern wars. He looked down as his eyes pricked and felt a soothing warmth settle over him, a soft laugh pulling from him as he realized that it was Angela. He wouldn't have understood how she was able to respond to him from so far away if it hadn't been revealed that she could feel the pain of his kind.

He talked of leaving Maria, running away with his friends Peter and Charlotte. He shook his head as he talked of Alice and how she had found him, her visions leading her to him even as he remained unaware of her. She found him and saved him all in the same moment. She opened him to love and brought him hope and peace. He looked up when Alice twirled in his arms, her presence soothing him even as he felt the warmth surrounding him burn brighter.

"She never did like it when you were sad or upset," Alice said, smiling up at Jasper and kissing his lips.

"Why can't I feel her?" Bella asked aloud before realizing she'd spoken her thought.

"I'm sure you will someday," Jasper said as he wrapped his arm around Bella and smiled. "Right now the only pain or turmoil she can feel is from our kind. Aside from us, the only other person to feel her talent is Seth. Just give it time."

Bella smiled and looked up as Edward stepped closer to them, slipping out from under Jasper's arm to go to her love. He breathed in deeply, smiling as he wrapped Bella in his arms and kissed her deeply. Turning around with her and walking back toward the Jeep, he held the passenger door for her as she slipped inside the vehicle and kissed her once more before closing the door. He rounded the front of the vehicle quickly and smiled at Bella when she questioned him silently.

"Alice said that Charlie's planning dinner for the two of you tonight," Edward told her as he started the engine. "He'll be calling you once he gets home."

"Oh," Bella nodded as she turned her attention back out the windshield. "Carlisle looks upset," she observed.

"Just worried," Edward said as he turned the Jeep around. "Angela called earlier and sounded…concerned. Carlisle tried back a few moments ago, but she's asleep again. Kate's talent allows Angela to see again, we're still not sure how, but the extra energy it gave her that first day didn't last. She's back to barely being able to stay awake for five hours out of each day."

"Edward," Bella's voice was soft; her brows furrowed as she felt her fear for Angela grow. "What's going to happen to her?"

Edward pursed his lips as he released a slow breath through his nose. He hated the knowledge he held from Carlisle's thoughts of what would happen to Angela. He breathed in silently before beginning to explain what Angela's end would be like. He spoke of how her migraines were now, there was no break from them, the pain having reached a level that her body could no longer process it. Now all she felt was a constant and almost oppressive exhaustion.

"She'll slip into a coma," he told Bella listening to her heart race with her emotions. "We're not really sure when it will happen, but Alice knows that she will be human for our wedding. She also knows that Angela will still be one of us. We just don't know the when or the how of it yet."

"And you can't turn her yet because…" her voice trailed off and Edward lifted her hand to his lips.

"Because if she were to disappear before such a time that the college year would begin your father would naturally launch an investigation," he answered her. "With all that has happened to her, her disappearance would become suspect. She was the target of a serial killer, Bella. That doesn't just go away. If she just disappears…"

"They'll think someone has taken her," she finished and nodded sadly.

"Alice keeps assuring all of us that she'll be alright," Edward sighed. "But believe me, each one of us is as concerned as you are. She'll make it," he promised and hoped it was a promise he could keep.

**:::::**

She looked up at the ceiling of the plane with a silent sigh wanting to break the human man's fingers for the incessant drumming that he wouldn't stop. She knew he was just restless, but so was she and what was worse was that her sister was encased inside of a wood and silk box. She hadn't fed in months, hadn't responded in weeks, what if the humans on the flight with them were close enough to ignite her thirst? What would happen if Corin woke and attacked in them in her need for blood?

"Everything will be alright, my dear," Giuseppe assured her as he patted her hand. "We just have a few hours until we reach London and then a four hour layover as the plane is refueled and the engines examined. We'll be in the states before you know it."

"We were supposed to have been in London yesterday," Renata nearly growled as she tried to tamp down her impatience.

"We were delayed due to the engines which Carlisle is already aware of," he reminded her and as he tried to soothe her. "What is truly bothering you?"

"I can't tell you," she said and looked away, her emotions storming within her. "It's not my story to tell."

"Someone has been hurt then?" he asked and Renata nodded. "Did you hurt them?"

"No," she answered immediately. "But I didn't stop it. I should have stopped it."

Renata fell quiet as her attention turned back out the small window next to her and she felt her eyes prick. She should have stopped what was happening to Sulpicia, but she never had. She had tried, but trying wasn't enough if it didn't produce any results. She was just as much to blame as Corin was, perhaps even more. She knew what was happening, she knew who was truly to blame for everything, but she hadn't stopped it and she hadn't spoken up. It didn't matter that Jane had used her talent on her, she shouldn't have let that stop her, she should have gotten Sulpicia the help she needed.

Giuseppe looked at the immortal sitting across from him and frowned in worry. She truly was upset. No matter how she tried to hide it, he could see that she was hurting and quite possibly even afraid. Aro had contacted him privately, leaving the castle in order to do so and had told him the necessity of keeping this travel silent. No one was to know where he was traveling to or that he was taking Corin and Renata with him. Though he wasn't used to covert missions before, he hadn't even thought of turning Aro away and had agreed at once to offer whatever assistance he could.

Opening the cover of his iPad, he was surprised to find a message waiting from Carlisle with new instructions. Things were happening that the man hadn't been willing to elaborate on and he asked instead that his friend divert the flight to Alaska. There were instructions on which airport they would be flying into and who would be waiting for them, but no explanation as to why the travel plans had changed. Looking up at Renata, he advised her of the changes and saw her eyes fill with sadness and regret before she nodded and turned her attention back to the window. Whatever had happened, it seemed that Renata viewed the change in their travel plans as some kind of rejection.

He tapped on the reply button, his fingers moving quickly over the virtual keyboard as he responded to his friend's communication. He let him know that he would be informing the pilot immediately and asked to be kept up to date on any further changes. Something big was going down, something that everyone was trying to keep as secretive as they could. It made him wonder how safe his friends would be once all was said and done. Standing from his seat, he laid the device down on the cushion and moved to speak with the pilot.

Renata closed her eyes and for once felt thankful that being a vampire meant she could no longer shed tears. She was trembling, she knew she was, but a human would never be able to see it. She kept her eyes closed as she cried silently only to gasp and look around as she began to feel warm. She didn't understand this feeling, the only time she had felt anything similar before was with Angela. But surely Angela couldn't come to her on a plane, could she? Angela was going to a place before, she was traveling to Volterra.

The warmth surrounded her again only to fade away and Renata sighed as she let her eyes fall closed once more. She was simply imagining things now, wasn't she? She wanted Angela to come to her. She wanted to feel as though maybe, just maybe, there was still a reason for her to have hope. Bowing her head and looking down at her hands, she wondered if Aro had been able to read her emotions as well as her thoughts. Did he know how broken she felt? How much she blamed herself for not being able to protect Lady Sulpicia? Taking in a slow breath, she released it and remembered that she either needed to move her shoulders or feign breathing. The humans would become too suspicious if she simply remained still.

Pulling her cell phone out from her pocket, she unlocked the screen and moved through the applications. She didn't want to message anyone, nor did she have any messages waiting to be read, but she needed a distraction. She looked through her games and rolled her eyes as she closed the folder without considering any of them. Turning the volume low enough that the humans wouldn't hear it, but she still could, she pulled up one of her audio books and selected the chapter she had last listened to. She honestly didn't know that she even liked the book on its own, but the man who read it – Keith David – she was fairly certain he could read a laundry list and she'd love it.

Closing her eyes once more, she leaned against the window; her cheek propped on her fist and let herself fall into stillness. Remembering to breathe at a slower, deeper rhythm, she let the humans think her to be asleep. She felt the warmth surrounding her again, the feeling fleeting and transient and cursed herself for wanting what she doubted she would ever receive. Forgiveness.


	74. Chapter 72

Chapter 72

He watched her from his seat across the small table from her. She'd had the same expression on her face for well over an hour now, her bottom lip caught between her teeth unconsciously as she stared out the window in wide-eyed wonder. She looked so young to him then, the almost constant cloud of pain and despondency absent in the face of her childlike amazement. She had long ago abandoned her attempts to remain unaffected by the changing scenery of the ground below them, one hand resting on the edge of the oval window while the other lay forgotten in her lap. Giuseppe wasn't sure how long he had been watching her, but he knew that his lips were curved in a smile.

"There are so many mountains," she said, her voice barely a whisper.

"Alaska is filled with wild and untamed land. In truth there are only four or five cities that are actually populated," he answered her. "Everything else remains untouched by man." He set down the book he had been pretending to read for the past hour and looked out the window next to him. "If you don't mind my asking, when was last time you were outside of Italy?"

"Not since I was a hu – child," she corrected herself, an awkward pause between words.

"Truly?" he stared at her in surprise. "I must say, I try to make it out of Italy at least once every four or five years. I just need to explore."

Renata looked back at him, her attention broken from the scenery outside for barely a moment before she returned her eyes to the mountains below. Her lips twisted in a sad smile, the expression one of both longing and resignation. She was a guard. In fact, she was Master Aro's personal guard, which meant that she had very little if any personal freedoms at all. She had always told herself that she was happy with arrangement, but in truth she felt a little too trapped. She couldn't say those words, to admit out loud to her discontent would be the same as speaking against Aro and the other masters, wouldn't it?

Renata let her eyes wander over the landscape below. White topped mountains colored in blues and greens down each side greeted her wandering gaze. Some were traversed by ribbons of white from rushing rivers and frothing rapids. This land called to her somehow, spirits of the wilderness offering her sanctuary from the things that troubled her. She wouldn't be here that long though and knew that she couldn't afford to let herself get attached to this place. Doing that would only hurt her more when she had to leave, to return to the walls of stone and metal to once again take her place as a guard. When was the last time that she had even been outside Volterra alone without it having been a part of her duty as a guard?

"Renata," she looked up at Giuseppe and saw the concern furrowing his brows. "My dear, we will be landing soon at a small airfield to refuel before taking the final journey to Denali. Did you wish to explore the surrounding woods?" he asked, his nod telling her of his unspoken meaning.

"I suppose I will need to get used to a different cuisine," she jested with a quiet smile.

"It doesn't bother you?" he asked quietly, noting that the human men who had accompanied them on the flight had all gathered in a different section.

"Wine is wine," she said with a slight shrug, offering the word in place of blood. "I've never been too picky."

"Truly?" he asked curiously. "I would've thought a lady of your…stature would be accustomed to a much finer cuisine."

The way that they edged around the topic amused her, a soft giggle escaping before she could restrain it and she continued their conversation in the same manner. She had fed on animal blood a few times in the past, the meals being of her own choosing and mostly out of curiosity after having met Carlisle. She had wanted to know if there was much of a difference or if perhaps the blood of an animal offered something a human's did not. Though the taste was darker, more earth tones in what she imagined a comparison between coffee and chocolate would be for mortals, she found that the animal blood offered her something else. Peace.

She had not told Master Aro or anyone else for that matter that she had tasted animal blood. They wouldn't understand it nor would they accept it. She was certain that Aro must have seen it at least once in all of the times that he had read her, but if he had he had not spoken a single word of it. Frowning as the plane descended below the clouds, she watched as the ground grew closer and almost pressed her face against the glass when she caught sight of a heard of Caribou running in the forests. The animals were larger. Far larger than any of the deer she had ever seen in Italy and she stared at them silently.

She watched as the ground rose up to meet them. There was an almost serene elegance in the landing of the private aircraft and she was reminded of ballerinas touching down from a leap, the movement effortless and graceful. She stood up as the plane came to a stop and walked to the back where her sister lay bound in the crate. Turning the simple latch-locks, she removed the wooden lid and looked inside. Corin's eyes were still closed, her pale face looking somehow ashen in the months-long absence of her needed blood. Kneeling next to the box, Renata touched the woman's face and mourned at the lack of response.

Would it be safe to leave her here alone? Could she chance departing the plane long enough to explore the woods and hunt down one of those large animals she had seen from the window? Looking up at the touch on her shoulder, she nodded at Giuseppe's soft spoken words and covered Corin once more. Turning the latches, she sealed her sister away from view and stood from the carpeted floor of the aircraft. She looked out the window once more as she passed by their seats and her hands moved to the ties of her cloak. There was enough cloud cover that she didn't need the heavy material to hide her from the sun and as soon as she released the ties and tossed it on her seat, a sense of freedom unlike any she had ever know settled over her.

"Ready?" Giuseppe asked her and Renata nodded silently.

She had never been overly talkative before, but now as she disembarked the aircraft and found herself in the midst of such natural beauty, she found her voice to be missing completely. It felt as though words had no place here and perhaps they didn't. Her eyes took everything in, at first looking at the forest surrounding the airstrip in a panoramic view before looking deeper with her enhanced predatory vision. She could see the animals in the trees, the butterflies flittering around the grasses and flowers, even the ribbons of sunlight parting through the clouds to shine upon the trees looked somehow magical and dreamlike to her.

"Such an unusual color," she heard someone comment and glanced at the human passing her by, the decal on his shirt labeling him as an aviation technician. "Your eyes," he clarified at her confusion. "They're beautiful."

"Grazie mille," she answered without thinking and saw his eyes grow wide.

"An Italian woman with eyes like rubies and the face of an angel," the man whispered to himself though she heard his words perfectly. "The stuff dreams are made of."

Renata giggled silently before moving toward the tree line only to frown when she thought over his words. _Eyes like rubies…_ She blinked quickly several times, feeling for the contacts that were supposed to be in her eyes only to groan silently at the discovery of their absence. The natural venom that moistened her eyes had dissolved the disposable contacts completely. Worrying over the human who had seen her eyes, she looked up at the chuckle from Giuseppe, his deep tenor-baritone both comforting and enticing.

"No need for worry, bella," he said and smiled. "The human will dream of you tonight and you shall become his favorite fantasy, but nothing more than that."

"How do you know?" she challenged with a touch of amusement.

Giuseppe winked at her rakishly. "I've made myself the fantasy of countless human women over the years. Enjoy it."

"You are terrible!" Renata exclaimed and fell silent at the rolling sound of his laughter.

Like thunder over velvet, his laughter tumbled through her causing a delicious shiver to race up her spine and she laughed at herself before shaking her head and forcing the sensation away. It was foolish of her to allow herself such things, wasn't it? That was what she had always told herself and she was almost certain the man had a mate, so what was she even doing allowing herself to feel such things. Offering a short excuse, she disappeared into the forest, hurriedly putting a distance between them. She had still been a virgin when she was turned, untouched and unstirred by the desires for a man and it was because of that that she had never even thought to take a mate.

She resisted advances, shied away from any such offerings. She had been convinced that she would be laughed at or made fun of for being a virgin and a vampire, but more than that she was afraid. She had heard the talk of the girls when she was human, the overheard conversations of first times and how painful they had been. As painful as it was for a human, would it be worse for her? If cracks in their skin healed easily, did it mean that other things would heal as well? She had never been able to bear the thought of that, nor the prospect of the humiliation that would come along with someone finding out.

Moving faster over the forest floor until she came to an outcropping of giant pines, she scaled the tree easily and sat among the highest branches. Leaning her head back against the tree behind her, she let her eyes roam over the wilderness spread out before her. She had read countless romances and steamy novels over her many years, enough so that she could answer such questions regarding sex with ease and believability, when in truth she had never even been kissed. Closing her eyes as she once again felt the desire to cry and wishing she were human so that she could shed the tears in her heart, Renata felt as though her heart was breaking.

She was Aro's guard and because of that she had always believed that she must remain without a mate. He would never let her go from his service, she knew that, but to subject another person to such royal imprisonment seemed selfish to her. Her inexperience held her bound further, her fear compounding upon such things until she felt herself to be little more than an invisible shield. If she could separate herself from her talent and just offer the power that held her prisoner to Aro instead, she would gladly do so, but the truth was she had been with the Volturi for so long that she no longer knew who she was without them.

Opening her eyes and staring once more into the blue sky, she leaned forward, her lips falling open in a silent gasp as she stared in awe. Before her very eyes ribbons of crimson and violet lace traversed the clouds, winding over the sky in furious abandon. The sun disappeared behind a thick covering of clouds only to spring forth, it's once white-gold color turned a firebrand orange and she felt everything and nothing as she watched the colors bleed and blend across the sky until her mind grew absolutely still. The beauty of the sky rendered her speechless, the colors reflecting over her pale snow skin and casting upon her the artist's brush.

She thought she heard her name called, but couldn't take her gaze off the sky. Her attention was held by the heavens, her eyes captured mercilessly by the timeless beauty of the sunset and she felt at once awed and disbelieving as she stared in silent wonder at the sky. She felt a hand touch her shoulder and jumped, only for arms to snake around her waist and hold her loosely from behind. The tingling electricity was back and she knew who held her even as she admitted it was foolish of her to think that it could possibly be anyone else. She pushed the sensation away as much as she could, closing her eyes as she tried to shut out the things he was making her feel and grieved for what she believed she could never have.

"It's been over an hour," Giuseppe told her softly as the sun fell below the horizon and dark blue-violet silk covered the sky, twinkling stars making their appearance like so many diamonds. "Were you not hungry?" he asked as he released her once he was certain that she had her balance.

"I got distracted," Renata offered silently and glanced away before leaping to the ground nearly two hundred feet below.

Giuseppe frowned as he stared after her wondering if she had taken offense to his touch. He had truly only meant to keep her from falling out of the tree. Whether she was a vampire or not, and would undoubtedly land on her feet, he hadn't wanted her to lose her footing. Pushing off the branch to land gracefully on the ground, he moved quickly to catch up with her. Was it just his imagination or was she running from him? She was a high guard of the Volturi; certainly she couldn't be afraid of him.

"Renata," he called her name as he sped in front of her and blocked her path.

She could have rounded him easily, avoiding him and continuing to run, but she chose to stop all the same. It would be rude not to, especially after all the kindness and hospitality he had shown her during their journey. Whether the request had come from Aro personally or not, he could have always declined to take her with him and she felt that she owed him enough respect to listen to him, whatever it was he had to say.

"Have I upset you?" he asked with genuine concern and watched as she tipped her head and frowned in question. "You seemed skittish all of the sudden," he explained and could tell the smile she offered him was forced.

"I'm sorry," she offered and shook her head. "I've not been this far away from Volterra and I guess the distance is making me jumpy."

"Are you certain that is all it is?" he asked and she nodded.

"Truly, I'm fine," she said and moved slowly passed him. "How much longer until we are set to take off again?"

"Three hours," he announced after glancing at his pocket watch.

"Just enough time for a short hunt," she said and headed toward the cliff, the valley below holding a large heard of Caribou.

"Renata," he called her name as he reached out a hand but she was already gone. "You are mated, aren't you?" he asked of no one and shook his head. "You have someone waiting for you."

He was wasting his time, wasn't he? Giuseppe shook his head sadly and moved to look down into the valley below as he stood upon the edge of the cliff to watch her hunt. He had engaged in several relationships with others of their kind and even humans as well, his current lover having left him a few months ago to explore the world, but he had yet to find his mate. He sat down on the grass, his legs hanging over the edge as he looked down and watched Renata's graceful movements.

He had been thirty-nine when he had been turned, his midnight hair holding hints of silver at his temples. His face was handsome and uncovered, no hint of scruff anywhere upon him. His lips were full, high cheekbones and a slightly rounded square jaw offering him a masculine beauty that attracted women effortlessly. Some men too, he laughed to himself as he watched Renata capture a mountain lion before it could attack the Caribou and felt his pants tighten as he watched her bring the creature down to sink her teeth into its neck.

Taking in a deep breath and tasting the scent of the animal's blood upon the air, he looked down at his hands. He wasn't one of those Italian men to have copious amounts of body hair and he had, in fact, been made fun of at times for his lack of chest hair. Rolling his eyes at his own thoughts, the words from his most recent lover flowed through his mind and he found himself endlessly amused by the comparison she had made of him.

"_You look like Dr. McDreamy," _she had told him one night after they had made love. When he had asked her who that was, all Mirabella had said was, _"Patrick Dempsy, look him up."_ And he had the following day. It had been strange to see a human man who could very well have been his twin. He had stared between the image on the internet page and the reflection staring back at him from his mirror for almost a half hour as he tried to reconcile their near-identical images. The only differences it seemed were that he was six-foot-three while this Patrick man was five-foot-ten and he was a vampire. He very much doubted that the American actor was a vampire.

Frowning as he watched Renata run back toward the cliff he was seated upon, he wondered once more why he hadn't thought to ask if she was mated before having made such a bold move earlier. She looked so young and he doubted that she had been older than nineteen when she was turned. Perhaps it was his age, he thought. Perhaps the physical appearance of his age was what threw her off, but he had never found that to be a problem with anyone else. Standing when Renata leapt up to stand beside him, he watched her silently for a moment before gesturing with his arm and leading the way back to the airstrip.

"How long will you be staying?" Renata asked as they boarded the private plane moments later.

"Not long," he confessed softly. "Just enough time to check the fit of the dress on the girl and make any final adjustments before leaving. Perhaps a day or so."

"Dress?" Renata frowned in question. "I thought you were delivering Carlisle's clothes?"

"I am," he smiled and tipped his head in affirmation. "Aro also commissioned a dress be made in similar colors from the same period. I will be fitting someone named Angela."

"Angela?" her eyes widened as she grew still and felt the unmistakable rumble in the back of her throat. "You know of Angela?"

"In name only, why does it upset you?" he asked with a startled expression. "I thought she was a friend to the Volturi."

"No, of course," Renata stumbled over her words before shaking her head. "Angela is a dear friend to a few of us and we are…protective of her. She is Carlisle's daughter."

"Certainly he has other vampires in his coven – "

"She's human," Renata cut him off. "She's still human."

"Oh," his eyes widened as he sat back against his chair. "How does she know Aro?"

Renata was silent for a moment before her lips parted and she took in a breath. "It's a long story and one that is not mine to tell."

"State secret?" he teased and she laughed.

"Something like that," Renata agreed, the smile remaining upon her lips as she felt her tension from earlier ease.

She fell silent then, the quiet between them somehow both comfortable and unbearable. Turning her attention back out the window, she wished she could forget the few moments spent in the tree with him even as a larger part of her prayed she would never lose the memory. Everyone had always believed that she was Aro's mistress and she had never corrected anyone of them, she doubted anyone would believe she hadn't slept with him. The pain returned, the ache of her heart so strong that she felt broken by it and she closed her eyes to hide the evidence of it from Giuseppe. Even if he wasn't mated he would still laugh at her, she was sure of it. After all, who wouldn't laugh at an immortal virgin?

He watched her close her eyes and looked at her closely. The impassive mask was back, the blank expression on her face telling him the truth she would never speak aloud: she was in pain. His lips turned down as his brow creased with vertical lines of worry. He wanted to go to her, to hold her and take away whatever demons held her captive, but their interaction in the treetops earlier told him that such a gesture wouldn't be welcomed. Looking her over, he couldn't help but find her attractive and knew that there was something more to the attention he paid her. He had felt it the moment that he had watched her step out of the car behind Marcus, but he couldn't identify it.

Something about her called to him like a siren, drawing him closer to her, but like the colors of the setting sun it was untouchable. He wished she would open up to him, tell him what bothered her so that perhaps she wouldn't feel so burdened by her troubles, but more than once already she had remained evasive when asked. She insisted that whatever had happened wasn't her story to tell, but clearly something had happened to her. Her troubles, her pain, wasn't that hers to share? He knew that she was a high guard within the Volturi; surely she didn't feel the need to ask for permission before talking about her problems.

Giuseppe sat back as his frown deepened, his lips pursing in thought. Whatever had happened had to have been great for her to be sent away from Italy entirely. The travel aside, she was also guarding a coffin-like crate that held another of their kind inside. The woman was immobile, unresponsive and from the equal pallor and delicate appearance of her skin telling him that it had been months perhaps even a year since she had last fed. Had she been denied food as a punishment? He shook his head and ran his fingers through his hair. No, he couldn't imagine that and if it had been a punishment the woman would have truly gone insane at having humans so near. Something else had happened, something so terrible that the woman in the box had turned in on herself and chosen not to feed.

"Did she lose her mate?" Giuseppe asked and cursed himself for speaking his thought aloud.

"What?" Renata turned away from the window.

"The woman," he met her eyes and nodded toward the back of the aircraft where the crate was held. "Did she lose her mate?"

"No," Renata frowned in confusion. "Corin is unmated."

"Hm."

He fell silent then as he digested her answer, his frown deepening once more. Renata bit her lip as she studied his face, Giuseppe's eyes turned down to his hands as his mind remained occupied. She couldn't stand the troubled look on his face and gave no thought to her action as she reached out her hand to smooth away the lines between his dark brows. He looked up sharply at her touch and her eyes widened just a fraction as she pulled her hand back as though she'd been burned. Muttering a soft apology, she turned her attention back to the window and focused once more on the mountains below.

"What are they doing?" she asked softly and Giuseppe turned to look out the window next to him.

"It's called snowboarding," he chuckled and watched the humans below. "You should try it, you might enjoy it."

"What's the point of it?" she asked, turning away from the window to meet his gaze curiously.

"To have fun," he said simply as though the answer was obvious.

"Of course," Renata nodded and turned her attention back to the window quickly.

There it was, he thought, she was forcing another smile. Why did his answer seem to unsettle her? It made no sense to him, unless… No, he frowned and studied her once more. No, that couldn't possibly be it, could it? Had she not had fun before? Certainly her life couldn't be spent wrapped up in her duties all the time. But then he remembered that she had never been outside of Volterra before. Not since having become a vampire. His lips parted as his desire to ask her the questions burning in his mind drew his eyes up to her face once more, but he closed his mouth without speaking a word. Was it even his place to ask, he wondered.

"Sir."

Giuseppe looked up at the woman standing next to him and nodded for her to continue.

"The pilot said we should be arriving at the airstrip outside of Denali in just under an hour. Do you need to make any arrangements?" she asked.

"Yes, thank you," Giuseppe smiled and stood gracefully. "I'll be back in just a few moments," he told Renata and watched her nod politely before turning her attention back to the window.

She glanced at him from the corner of her eye, watching as he followed the human woman toward the front of the plane. Standing from her seat, Renata walked in the opposite direction and made her way to the back of the plane where the cargo was held. Opening the small door and stepping through the thin entryway, she walked over to the crate that held Corin. She didn't know why she was surprised to see it in tact and wondered if she had truly thought her sister would have broken out of the container. Her eyes closed as she felt overcome with despair and she began to fall to her knees only to be caught quickly around the waist and held tightly in a strong pair of arms.

Giuseppe whispered softly to her as he held her close and petted her hair. When he had returned to their seats and found her missing, he had gone in search of her. There was no reason for her to be using the lavatory and his first thought, that she had gone to the cargo hold to see the woman in the crate, had been correct. He wasn't sure what he had expected when he found her, but it had certainly not been the heartbreaking sobs he could tell that she was ignorant of. Reaching out with one hand, he closed the small door behind them quickly and moved over to sit against it, pulling Renata into his lap as he did so.

She hadn't realized that she was crying until the moment he sat down with her. It was then that she heard the broken, stilted sounds of her grief given voice and felt him tighten his arms around her as she trembled. She couldn't look up, couldn't say anything or stop the outpouring of grief that seemed to be tearing her apart and so she kept her face buried in his shoulder. She calmed slowly, her ragged breaths and aching sobs quieting as she gained control over her emotions once more, but even when she grew silent he didn't release her. He simply held her and she didn't know precisely why, but it confused her.

His last lover had been human. He had held her so many times when she grew upset enough that tears fell and in that time he had become used to the tears exhausting her. He supposed that he had expected that somehow with Renata, believing that once her sobs had quieted he would find her asleep, but she was an immortal. No matter how much she may want to or wish for the reprieve, she would never sleep. Even still he found it impossible to let her go, his arms refusing to loosen from around her until she asked to be released. Turning his head and resting his cheek on her bowed head, he simply held her as they sat in silence together and waited for the other to speak first.

Renata closed her eyes as she greedily accepted the comfort he was offering her, finding peace in his embrace. She turned her head to rest her cheek against his shoulder, never once asking to be let go and surprised them both when she wrapped her arms around his waist. A light rapping at the door behind him drew their attention and the peacefulness of their solitude was broken. The human woman spoke from beyond the door, reminding them that they would be landing soon and asking that they take their seats and fasten their safety belts.

He stood with her slowly, his arms still around her and kissed her forehead before releasing her from his embrace. He wanted to say something, offer her some kind of assurance that he would always be there for her, the connection he felt to her unbreakable, but words failed him. If he kissed her, he was certain she would run, but he took the chance anyway. Leaning close even as he gave her the opportunity to leave, his hand rose to cup her cheek, his thumb chaffing gently over her skin. Her eyes met his and in them he saw things that confused him. Lowering his mouth to hers, his lips remained a hairsbreadth from hers for a single moment before he touched her mouth with his.

She couldn't deny the thought she held that he meant to kiss her, but even still she couldn't understand why he would want to. He was moving slowly and she knew that he was giving her the chance to decline him, but she couldn't. She wanted him, she wanted his kiss, but fear held her back from moving closer to him. Unneeded breath fanned over her lips, moistening her plump flesh and her eyes fell closed when he finally claimed her mouth and kissed her slowly, chastely. Just as her hands began to move, their destination set upon his hair, he pulled back and kissed her forehead.

Taking her hand in his, Giuseppe led her back out to their seats and sat down with her. He smiled softly at her expression, something telling him that if she were human she'd be blushing. His tongue peeked out to wet his lips, her taste still upon his skin and he knew that once would never be enough. Something about her seemed so timid, so innocent and he couldn't quite understand it. A woman of her beauty would have had several lovers, he was certain. A part of him was still worried that she was already mated and that perhaps he had crossed a line by kissing her, but she hadn't run and she hadn't stopped him either. Surely that meant there was room for hope, didn't it?

**:::::**

"What does it feel like?" Angela asked softly, blushing when she realized she'd spoken her thought out loud.

"What does what feel like?" Kate asked as she gave the human girl her full attention and smiled at the blush on her cheeks.

"The electricity," she clarified as she stopped walking and looked up at the darkening sky above them. "Do you feel it when you use it? Does it hurt you or just kind of…tingle?"

Kate chuckled softly and motioned to the wooden bench they had come to, offering a seat to Angela before moving to sit next to her. She moved her hand to Angela's hair, brushing her fingers through the lower parts of it as she had done so many times with her sisters and found that she was pleased to have these few quiet moments alone with her. Tanya had almost been forced to drag Michael out of the house in order to go on a short hunt with her earlier that morning. In truth, it had only been a week since he had last hunted and while his eyes were still a warm gold color, albeit a darker shade, Tanya had not been willing to take any chances.

"I can feel it yes," Kate said and smiled when Angela leaned into her and she let her hand fall over the girl's shoulder as she continued playing with her hair. "It's more of a vibration when I feel it though. It doesn't sting or jolt me as it would someone else."

"When did you first discover you could shock people?" Angela asked and looked up when Kate laughed.

"I lost my temper," she admitted with humor. "Mother said something, I don't remember what now, but it had made me furious. I was still within my newborn year and during that time my temper flared hotter than ever. She tried to restrain me and I just…grabbed her hands." Kate shrugged as she thought over the memory. "At least that's how I remember it. Mother collapsed on the floor and Tanya…" she blew out a breath and chuckled.

"I do believe I decked you," Tanya laughed from behind them as she and Michael appeared through the forest. "Carmen and Eleazar have left to pick up our guests. We came out to find you when they told us you two had left for a walk."

"Miss Angela," Michael greeted and smiled when Angela cocked a single brow at him. "Angela," he offered in correction and her smile was brilliant and inviting. "Habits," he said and smiled when she stood so that he could sit down on the bench.

Chuckling when Angela moved to sit in his lap, Michael breathed in deeply and cupped her cheek in his hand. She amazed him, every moment, and he hoped that she never stopped. Everything about her drew him in, her scent, her power, her gentleness, but most of all, her heart. He smiled when she framed his face with her hands and nuzzled against one palm as he took pleasure from her touch. He loved her more than he had ever thought it possible to love another person and no amount of time with her would ever be enough. Tipping his head up to capture her lips in a sweet chaste kiss, he knew that he would need to talk to her father soon.

"Who all will be visiting?" Angela asked as she turned and snuggled in Michael's arms, her curious gaze on Tanya.

"Renata and Corin are coming," Tanya said smiling at the picture the couple made. "Another man is coming with them. I'm not certain how long he will be staying, but from what I understood, he is coming to meet and speak with you," she nodded at Angela.

"Me?" Angela questioned with a shake of her head. "Why would he want to meet me?"

"Why indeed," Kate said with a teasing smile and stood. "We should get back to the house, it's become colder out here and you, dear," she looked at Angela, "don't have a jacket."

"I'm fine, Kate," Angela laughed. "You don't need to fuss, I feel fine. It's warm out here."

"Warm?" Tanya questioned her as the three vampires turned their attention on her simultaneously. "What do you mean _warm_?"

Angela stood up and looked around at each of them, catching their concerned glances in turn and not understanding them. It felt warm to her, she told them again. It was at least seventy-five or eighty degrees by her estimation which meant that a jacket was not needed. She watched as Michael looked sharply at her before turning his intense gaze on Tanya, whatever he said too soft for her to hear. She grabbed his arm, demanding his attention and asking to know what was wrong. It was just a warm night; she didn't understand why that upset them.

"Angela," Kate handed the human girl her cell phone, the weather application open. "Look at the current temperature."

"Twenty-five," Angela read hesitantly and shook her head. "That can't be right, there has to be some mistake. It's warm out here, it feels warm," she insisted as she battled against her fear.

She didn't like the feeling that something was wrong with her. She hated that her migraines were constantly making her weaker and the knowledge that they were killing her slowly only intensified her fear every time something like this happened. Part of her wanted to run away and hide like a child, deny that she was dying and further deny that she couldn't stop it from happening. Why did it seem that every time something good happened, something that gave her hope, it was taken away by something else?

"Hush, my love," Michael kissed her forehead as he wrapped her in his arms. "It will be alright," he promised her hating to feel her upset.

_I don't want to die. Not like this._ Her voice whispered in his mind and he tightened his arms around her.

"I know, my love," he soothed and lifted her into the cradle of his arms. "Just rest now and let me take care of you," he told her as he followed the sisters back to the house carrying her in his arms.

"Is she talking to you?" Kate whispered to him below what Angela could hear.

"In a manner, yes," he answered, his voice just as quiet. "I can hear her voice in my mind. I have for many months now."

"You never said anything," Tanya said as they neared the wooden porch and ascended the stairs.

"Everyone has always mentioned her power, but never what specifically her powers are. I thought she spoke in such a manner with everyone," he explained and walked over to the chair seated in front of the fire place, sitting down with Angela in his lap as Kate started a fire. "Just rest," he encouraged her as he kissed her forehead and petted her hair.

"I'm not tired," Angela insisted and Michael chuckled.

"Now I know that isn't true. You were awake before I left with Miss Tanya and you're still awake now," he told her as he held her close. "That would be ten hours and you have not been lasting much more than six recently. So you can't tell me you're not tired."

"Don't use logic on me," Angela grumbled and Michael chuckled. "Fine," she sighed heavily and leaned against him. "How about 'I don't want to be tired'? How about 'I'm tired of being tired'?"

"Those I believe completely," he told her and rested his cheek on her hair. "I know this is difficult and frustrating for you, my love, but to ignore it would mean to ignore your health and I won't do that."

"Then what are you suggesting?" Angela asked as she gave in to the demands of him and her body.

"How about some Alfred Lord Tennyson?" he asked and smiled when she snuggled deeper into his embrace, one of her arms sneaking between his back and the chair. "_The splendor falls on castle walls, and snowy summits old in story_…"

"They're precious," Tanya whispered to Kate as they listed to Michael recite _The Splendor Falls_ to Angela.

"They truly are," Kate agreed with a smile.

**:::::**

"Renata," Giuseppe's soft voice broke the silence between them and she turned her attention away from the window to meet his gaze. "Are you ready, my dear? Our transport is here."

She nodded quietly, standing from her seat on the airplane and gathered the single small bag she had packed. There was only one outfit held inside along with a small make up case. It was very rare that she ever left the castle and when she did so it was generally to accompany Master Aro to wherever he wished to go. She didn't sweat or soil clothes and had no true need to change them, so unlike her sisters, she only had three outfits in total. One for casual wear when she wasn't on duty, the one she wore now for her normal duties at the castle and the one she had left back at the castle for when formal attire was required.

"What is it?" he asked her softly, his expression curious. "You keep giving me that strange look, you have ever since I boarded the plane with you back in Italy."

"Master Aro said you wouldn't be flying with us," she offered quietly, confusion in her voice.

Giuseppe chuckled. "It hadn't originally been my plan to travel, no," he agreed and offered nothing further.

Looking up at Giuseppe when he took the bag from her hand, she frowned in question only for him to smile softly and place a guiding hand in the small of her back. He led her from the plane, the fragrant wild Alaskan air greeting them and welcoming them in. She closed her eyes for a moment as she took pleasure from the gentle breeze before looking back at the plane. She had forgotten Corin and cursed herself for having done so only to see the four human men walk out carrying the wooden crate by the handles.

"Load it into the back of the truck," Renata heard a familiar voice say and turned around quickly. "It's been awhile," the man greeted her with a smile as she stared at him with wide eyes.

"Eleazar," Giuseppe greeted the man with a laugh and clapped his hand down on his shoulder. "It's been too long, my friend. How is that beautiful wife of yours?"

"Still beautiful," Eleazar smiled and nodded over to Carmen, the woman standing with the backdrop of the full moon behind her.

Renata stared silently at Eleazar, her gaze never leaving his face, and felt somehow lost in his presence. She hadn't seen or heard from him once since he had left Volterra so many decades ago and wasn't sure what to say. She knew that Aro had changed somehow since he had returned from his time away, Marcus having changed the most, but a part of her still didn't understand why she had been sent away with Corin. Certainly her sister would need accompaniment to get to them, but Aro had insisted that she stay for at least a fortnight and it made her wonder if she had displeased him.

"Renata," Eleazar stepped up to her and greeted her with a smile. "It's wonderful to see you again."

She nodded quietly a small smile tipping her lips up at the corners, but remained silent. She didn't know what to say to him or what she should be doing. She had spent too long being the invisible shield to guard Aro when he desired it that she hadn't actually taken any time to interact with someone on her own. In truth, the only people she had interacted with at the castle were Aro, Marcus, Sulpicia and Corin and she had always kept their conversations short. It wasn't that she disliked being around anyone, she simply never knew what to say. She had left her uncle, her family to go with Aro at his request and had never seen herself as anything beyond his…

She frowned and looked at the large truck they were walking toward. His what? His shield? His servant? She had never thought of herself as anything beyond what Aro wanted and maybe, she thought as she climbed into the truck, maybe that had been the only way she knew how to be. It reminded her of why she was there, why she had left her family. It was the reason that drove her to stay every time she considered leaving. If she left, Aro would go after her family and destroy them just to have her back. At least the old Aro would, she allowed. She wasn't so certain that she still knew him. He had changed since meeting Angela.

"No, we fed earlier," Giuseppe said and Renata looked up realizing that she had missed whatever conversation had been taking place.

She glanced at the man sitting next to her for only a moment before turning her eyes to the couple seated in the front of the truck. The vehicle was bigger, far more robust than what she had seen before in Italy and she voiced her question before thinking to stop herself. Eleazar didn't answer right away and Carmen only smiled silently which left Renata feeling as though her curiosity had shown her as being dimwitted. She was careful to keep the emotionless mask on her face, never wanting anyone to see how she felt during a conversation lest they see how painfully shy she truly was. Becoming an immortal had not bolstered her self confidence as her uncle had always promised her it would. Instead it, more often than not, left her feeling that she was all the more lacking because of it.

"The truck is actually a new model," Eleazar said as he glanced at her from the rearview mirror. "Carmen likes to tease me for it because the model is known as an _extended cab super duty_," he chuckled.

Renata smiled softly, the expression one that didn't reach her eyes as she tried to express amusement. She wasn't certain what that meant or why it was funny, but she refused to ask and display even more of her ignorance. If it was funny to them and to Giuseppe then she would act as though it amused her as well. Her attention turned out the window once more and her eyes widened to see a giant creature walking on the quiet road beside them. Her brow furrowed and just as she was about to ask the question, Eleazar laughed and rolled down his window as he slowed the truck to a stop.

"Well hello, Bernard," he greeted the animal and took the bag of walnuts from Carmen, offering a few to the creature before handing it back to her.

Once fed, the creature pulled its head back out of the open window and turned, walking back toward the woods and Renata sat confused. What the hell was that thing and why had it come up to them looking for treats? Carmen and Eleazar didn't seem surprised at all, even keeping a bag of nuts in the glove compartment to feed to it. Giuseppe voiced the question in her mind before she could and it made her glad that she wasn't the only one flummoxed by the encounter.

"Bernard is kind of the town's mascot, I guess," Carmen laughed. "He, or more likely his descendants have been walking in this town for as long as we've been here and that's been what, almost forty years now?" she asked and Eleazar nodded.

"We don't go into the town itself often enough for anyone to notice that we aren't aging, but Bernard is always there to greet us," Eleazar said.

"What…is he?" Renata asked and was met with Eleazar's chuckle.

"A completely wild moose that seems to have adopted the town," he told her. "Everyone feeds him or pets him and he's become used to interaction with humans. I do recommend staying away from moose when hunting though. They put up more of a fight than a bear."

"Oh," she said with wide eyes and a nod.

Eleazar glanced at Renata in the rearview mirror for a moment longer as he drove down the long stretch of road. It wasn't the first time that he had noticed how unsettled she seemed to be and the more he thought back to his time at Volterra the less he could remember her actually interacting with anyone. He tried to remember a time when he had heard her voice before today, but couldn't find a single memory in which they talked or he had been in the same room when she had spoken. It made him wonder if she was simply a quiet person by nature or if there was something more that had always kept her from speaking. Perhaps it was part of being a shield, he theorized. Bella was going to make one very powerful shield and she was quiet as well, but certainly not to the extent that Renata was.

Turning his eyes back to the road, he looked at Carmen when she took his hand and returned the gentle squeeze she gave him. She always knew what he was thinking, didn't she? Raising their joined hands to his lips, he pressed a kiss to the back of her hand and smiled. Whatever it was that had him concerned she would help him with and he could see that promise in her eyes. No matter what happened or what lay ahead of them, she would always stand by his side. There was no stronger or more rewarding bond than that which was shared between true mates.

"Why were we rerouted here?" Renata asked as she turned her attention back to the couple in the front seats.

"Because Angela is with us for the time being," Carmen told her. "We'll be home soon and you'll get to meet her."

"I'm surprised it took so long," Eleazar said as he watched the sky change colors, the sun beginning to rise over the mountains ahead of them. "I expected you sooner."

"The plane had a bit of engine trouble," Giuseppe explained and glanced at Renata pleased to see that she seemed to have relaxed.

She looked at him from the corner of her eye, trying to be discreet as she watched him. He was talking with Eleazar and Carmen as though they were old friends and while she had no evidence to the contrary, she couldn't help but think that he seemed to have a natural talent for putting people at ease. The sound of his voice soothed her, the melodic tenor-baritone held an almost imperceptible gravel undertone. She wasn't sure if anyone else could hear it, but she could and it was doing very strange things to her. She wasn't sure why she was so affected by him, but she knew she had to stop it.

Renata curled her hand into a fist, hiding her gesture of frustration between her thigh and the car door. She turned her eyes back out the window as she did her best to remind herself just why she couldn't risk any involvement of _that_ nature with Giuseppe. He had a life outside of Volterra, she thought. He traveled as often as he could and lived his life freely. If he were to become her mate he would end up being imprisoned within the confines of the castle walls as she was certain beyond the shadow of any doubt that Aro wouldn't release her from his service.

He is handsome and experienced, she thought with a sense of shame. If he knew the truth about her, the most embarrassing truth, he would laugh at her. There was again the thought that he would be trapped and come to resent her for it, but beyond all of that was her fear of humiliation. She was, for all intents and purposes, an abomination. Who had ever heard of someone like her? An immortal virgin who had chosen to stay that way? She turned her eyes down to the road, beginning to feel sick only to remind herself that it was only emotions as vampires couldn't get sick.

She could always leave Volterra. She closed her eyes tightly, dismissing the thought as soon as it passed through her mind. If she left Volterra, her family would be destroyed. Aro may have never said the words to her, but that outcome was always made clear. How many times had her presence been required when Aro had fixed his sights on another immortal with power? How many times had she watched him destroy everyone that person held dear only to grant them immunity for repentance of their thoughts? He hadn't needed her there for those times, she was certain there was no danger to him at all. No, he had been sending her a message, hadn't he? Telling her through his actions what would happen if she left.

That was why she had willingly gone with Aro all those centuries ago. Her uncle had told her what would happen if Aro found out about her talent and not a month after her uncle's warning, the Volturi had come calling. She had promised to stay by Aro's side to spare her family. Her hand rose to her throat in an unconscious gesture as her emotions left her feeling somehow strangled. The necklace she wore, the pendant of the Volturi, no longer felt like the badge of honor she had spent so long convincing herself it was. No, now it felt like a noose and every moment it tightened just a little bit more.

She turned startled eyes on Giuseppe when he tucked her hair behind her ear, her wide eyes staring up at him as she sat silently beside him. Whatever he had been meaning to say died on his parted lips, his brows furrowing in concern. She wanted to turn away from his stare, the feeling that he could see everything about her unsettling her, but she couldn't look away from his eyes. He lifted his hand to her cheek, his fingers curled loosely as he brushed them over her skin, his eyes asking if she was alright.

She wanted to say yes. She wanted to tell him that there was nothing to worry about, that she was fine, but she couldn't get her voice to work. She thought she nodded, hoped that she had done something to calm his worry, but his frown deepened instead. Giuseppe cupped her cheek in his hand, tilting his chin up to kiss her forehead and wrapped his arm over her shoulders. He wasn't sure what was wrong, the story she refused to speak of seeming to weigh on her like an anvil and so he did the only thing he could do. He held her.

He didn't know if it was enough, but she didn't pull away from him. At first she sat almost stiffly under his arm and just when he was about to pull away, she relaxed against him. He breathed out a silent sigh of relief and held her closer as he rubbed his hand over her arm. They still had a while yet to travel, Eleazar had estimated at least an hour, but he thought that estimate to be low given the amount of traffic they were beginning to run into. Humans were rushing to work and school, buzzing around them like so many bees and he wondered about all that he had learned from their conversation.

Eleazar was a professor. While that may not be too surprising, he did find it amusing that the man taught three different courses. One in cultural anthropology, another in the history of law, and the third was a study of romantic languages. He had known almost from the start that Renata wasn't listening to their conversation at all and when he caught her reflection in the glass his amusement turned to concern and a burning need to know how to fix whatever was wrong. The expression on her face had been one of shame and humiliation, there was something else under it as well and it took him a moment to pinpoint the emotion – hopelessness.

He had paused in his questions then, his voice falling silent as he reached out and tucked her hair back to see her face. She had turned quickly to look at him, her red-orange eyes startled and somehow afraid. He wanted to ask her what was wrong, but he knew that she wouldn't tell him. She had always insisted that it was others who had been hurt, but it was written in her eyes. She had been hurt too, deeply and it wasn't something new, was it? He remembered vividly the feel of her trembling and the sound of her sobbing when he had held her on the plane. He would do anything to take that away, to bring her peace and hopefully bring a sparkle to her eyes.

Part of him had wanted to kiss her again, to offer her the same comfort, the same silent promise that he had back in the cargo hold, but he resisted. Instead he pressed his lips against her forehead, the gesture the same only less intimate. He held her close fearing that she may not allow herself the comfort only to find relief when she relaxed against his side. He pulled her closer then, rubbing his hand over her arm and hoping that she could gain some kind of freedom from the demons that haunted her. He whispered to her, his lips tugging up at the side when she looked up at him with confusion.

It was something he had learned centuries ago, he told her, something he often used when designing new garments. Just close your eyes, he told her, close your eyes and shut out the world. Let everything drift away. She didn't quite understand him, but did as he asked. Resting her cheek against his shoulder, she closed her eyes and forced her thoughts into stillness. It was as close to sleep as their kind could ever get. She relaxed further, trusting him to hold her and protect her while she took the remainder of the car ride to forget the world. Tipping his head to the side, he rested his cheek on her hair and watched the forest and sky pass them by as Eleazar drove.

**:::::**

She took his hand as he led her outside, smiling when he asked her to wait for him on the porch. Frowning in question, she nodded her agreement and watched as he tilted his head toward her bare feet with an amused grin. The sun had finished its climb into the early morning sky only moments ago, not long after she had finished the yogurt and fresh berries she had found for breakfast. Her sleeping pattern had been off for a long time now, ever since her hours awake had become increasingly shorter and she would often find herself awake just before sunrise or sleeping until long after it had set. She waited for him, watching as he spread the large quilt out over the ground and returned for her shortly after.

He lifted her easily into his arms and she smiled, laughing when mentioned cut grass sticking to her feet and she shook her head. She had been awake now less than an hour and it didn't seem fair to her that she was tired again so soon after. She felt as though she was losing out on more and more because of the frailty of her human body, but he had assured her time and again that she had nothing to worry about. He sat down slowly on the blanket with her, his back against the tree behind them and pulled her back against his chest.

Her eyes blinked slowly, heavily as she leaned against him and she turned her face up to look at the one holding her. He turned his eyes down to her, smiling softly as he dipped his head and caught her lips in a slow chaste kiss. Her lips were curved up in a gentle smile when he broke the kiss and she breathed in the sun-kissed air as she turned her eyes back to the flower covered ground that surrounded them, the blanket beneath them protecting them from the dampness of dew. Sliding her hands over the strength of his arms, her fingertips traced the way from his elbows to his wrists, her hands lying down slowly to cover his larger hands with hers.

She could feel his smile as he gently tightened his arms around her and she sighed with drowsy pleasure as she scooted down the blanket just enough to lean against him at a lower angle. She swore she could hear him chuckle behind her as his legs moved and she curled to the side when he framed her body with his bent knees. Her hand pressed against his chest as she pillowed her cheek on his shoulder, her eyes closing as the warmth of the sun and the comfort of his embrace cosseted her in somnolent pleasure. On the edges of sleep where darkness held her wrapped in gossamer wings, she felt him press a kiss to her hair as he whispered his love to her before her dreams captured her completely.

She felt as though she were floating, her mind absent but for the single thought of her Papa. She missed him. She missed feeling his arms around her, the sound of his voice as he read to her and as she drifted deeper into the peacefulness surrounding her, she wondered what it was that he was doing right now. She felt herself being pulled toward something, a warmth of emotion that called to her silently and she smiled when she opened her eyes to find herself standing in front of the large window in her bedroom. Breathing in deeply, she felt somehow energized by the familiar scents surrounding her and bent down to lift the sleeping kitten into her arms.

She chuckled when the cat protested being moved only to curl against her and purr loudly, the sound reminding her of a car engine. Stepping out of her room, she moved down the hall, following the invisible tug that seemed to be drawing her closer to the place she wanted to be. Her steps slowed as she came to the door of his office, her smile growing when she found him seated inside behind his desk, his head bowed over a file lying open in front of him. She pushed the door open wider and stepped inside, surprised when he didn't look up. He always looked up when she entered his office, always greeted her with a smile.

"Papa?" she spoke softly and saw his head snap up as he stared at her with wide eyes.

Carlisle looked up from the file in front of him, the medical records forgotten as he stared at his daughter silently. Less than a month ago her talent had offered her little more than a ghostly form when she traveled, but now with as often as she was using it, her talent had grown to such an extent that she held physical form. He stood from his desk slowly as he watched her, gauging whether she was truly there or instead would disappear in a few seconds. His answer came when she frowned and tipped her head to the side only to look behind her when his attention was drawn over her shoulder.

"Angela?" Esme spoke her name softly as she stepped into Carlisle's office and looked upon her human daughter. "Angela, did you mean to come to us?"

Angela looked between Esme and Carlisle, remaining silent as she studied her vampire parents. This was her home; this was where her family was. This was where she belonged, so why did it feel as though they were telling her that it wasn't ok for her to be here? Biting her lip as she remained quiet, her worry eased as she felt the gentle brush of her brother's talent and smiled as she looked back to the door. She frowned to find him missing and turned her attention back to Carlisle.

"Is it not ok for me to be here?" Angela asked softly and looked between Carlisle and Esme.

"Oh Sweetheart, no," Esme soothed her immediately and led Angela to sit on the couch in the office. "Honey, that's not it at all."

"Then what?" Angela looked up at Carlisle when he sat beside her and watched him frown when he took her hand. "It bothers you both, I can see it," she said and shook her head. "Why?"

"Because sweetheart, traveling to us like this hurts you," Carlisle told her as he reached up and brushed her hair over her shoulder. "Do you remember back in Seattle when you went to Esme while she and Alice were helping to get Bella ready for her night with Edward?"

Angela hummed her reply, nodding slowly and wondering why they brought up her dream. She frowned then, looking between them both and asking how they knew of that. It was simply a dream, one that she was surprised to remember so long after, but nonetheless it was just a dream. Carlisle touched her cheek then, smiling gently with worry as he shook his head. It wasn't a dream, her being here with them now wasn't a dream and it was the hardest part to explain to her. She would awaken back in Alaska with either a burning migraine or so exhausted from the pain her body had become numb to that she would be weakened for days.

"I'm really here, right now?" Angela asked him and he nodded. "But that doesn't make sense."

"I know," Carlisle sighed softly and kissed her forehead. "Ask Eleazar, he'll do his best to try to explain it to you."

"Papa," Angela bit her lip and looked down at her hands before glancing up at him and he could see the fear in her eyes.

"Baby girl, what is it?" he asked her and wrapped his arms around her shoulders, pulling her close for a hug.

"I'm scared," she said softly, her voice trembling as she held him tightly.

"Scared of what, honey?" he asked and petted her hair as Esme rubbed her back.

"What if…what if there isn't enough time?" she pulled back and met his gaze. "I feel like I'm fading away. What if there isn't time to change me?"

"Is this what you were calling about before?" he asked and touched her cheek. "I thought you sounded upset." She nodded, but remained silent. "Alice's vision hasn't changed and I know that you don't find the same comfort in that as we do because of her inability to see you now, but I've not known her to be wrong."

"I don't want to die, Papa, not like this," she confessed her fear; tears filling her eyes and Carlisle hugged her tightly.

"Do you want to come home, Baby girl?" he asked her as he held her. "Michael would be welcome here as well, I promise you that. Once the war is over…"

"_War_?" she cut him off, her voice filled with alarm as she pulled back. "What do you mean war? You said this was a vacation. Papa what's going on?"

_Angela, you need to come back to me_, she heard Michael's voice whisper inside her mind and shook her head as she tried to deny his pull. She wanted to know more, she wanted to understand, but the pull from Michael was too strong to resist. She called to Carlisle as her image began to fade and he encouraged her to return to her body, promising her that he would explain everything to her once she was back home again. It wasn't enough though, she wanted to know now, needed to understand what he meant by war and if her family was in serious danger or not.

The world around her grew dark, the sensation that she was floating filling her once more and when she opened her eyes she was staring up at Michael. As mad as she was for him to pull her away from her family, she was more worried over what she had learned. She looked up at him, her eyes fixed on his and just as she was about to speak to tell him all that had happened, he nodded and began to help her up.

"We'll talk with Eleazar, he'll know," he promised her and kissed her lips. "Your family will be alright." He watched her as she stilled, her gaze focused on him while her brow furrowed in confusion. "What? What is it?"

"How do you know?" Angela asked him slowly, whatever answer he had meant to give silenced by the sound of the truck coming up the drive.

"I'll tell you later," he promised her and helped her to her feet. "Stay behind me, ok?"

"Ok."

She didn't feel tired or in any pain as Carlisle had assured her she would. Instead she felt oddly energized. She could feel her body humming with electricity and pulled on that feeling, sighing with pleasure as she felt awake and vibrant for the first time in months. Her attention was pulled away from those getting out the truck when Kate grabbed her shoulder and stared into her eyes. She didn't understand the intensity of the woman's stare and wanted to know what was wrong only for her expression to become startled.

"Stay here," Kate said and Angela turned her attention on Michael only for him to shake his head.

"I'm sure it's nothing to worry about," he said, though they both knew his assurances were false.

She smiled when she saw Carmen walk up to the house while Eleazar and another man went around back of the truck to gather a rather large box. Her focus shifted to the woman standing silently beside the vehicle and her eyes widened with recognition. She moved around Michael, grasping his hand to tug her with him and smiled and his cautious expression. She was too excited to realize that she was no longer speaking out loud to him and heard him chuckle as he followed her with a teasing roll of his eyes.

"Renata," Angela called out and watched the woman's eyes find hers instantly. "You're really here!"

"Angela?" Renata spoke her name with a surprised smile as she stepped forward to meet her. "I guess part of me always thought you were a ghost," she chuckled.

"I'm not a ghost," Angela said with amusement.

She frowned as she looked upon Renata. She could feel the pain the immortal woman was keeping trapped inside, but chose not to say anything as she reached out to her instead. Grasping her hand, she looked back at Michael and asked him silently to trust her. He nodded quietly, refusing to be apart from her as she led Renata into the house and sat with her on the couch. Angela bowed her head as she forced a smile that she hoped looked genuine and looked up at Renata. She wanted to hold her, to embrace her as she had Marcus, but something held her back.

She asked Renata to tell her about Italy, about Marcus and Aro, anything that would allow her to remain quiet as Angela had serious doubt that she would be able to keep speaking for long. She felt choked and words were difficult to speak, but she surprised herself with how natural her voice sounded. Renata opened her mouth to reply as the door opened once again and fell silent as she stared at Giuseppe when he walked inside. How was it so easy for him to dazzle her like this? Why was she so moved by him? Renata looked away quickly, cursing herself silently for her foolishness.

"What's in the box?" Angela asked as Eleazar and Giuseppe set the crate down.

"Corin," Renata answered softly. "Corin is inside. Master Aro was hoping you could help her."

"Me?" Angela asked and stood from the couch.

"Be careful," Michael said and was at her side instantly. "If she's unresponsive enough that she's in a crate…"

"Wait," Angela frowned as the memories of her visits came back to her and she looked up sharply at Michael before moving to unlatch the locks.

"Angela," Michael moved to still her hand only to be stopped by Eleazar.

"There are enough of us here to protect her if she needs it," he told Michael and watched as Angela hastily undid the last catch before Giuseppe bent down to remove the lid.

Angela took in a startled gasp as she looked down at Corin and shook her head as tears filled her eyes. She didn't think as she reached out and touched the woman's cheek, silently praying for the woman to respond. Cupping Corin's face in her hand, her tears fell upon her cheeks as she chaffed her thumb over the woman's ice cold skin and wished for a response. She didn't understand why she wasn't moving, how she could be so immobile and looked up at Eleazar for an answer.

"She's been like this for over a month, Angela," Renata answered her unspoken question.

"Take her out!" Angela demanded and began tugging at the straps.

"Angela," Renata cautioned and watched the girl shake her head.

"Take her out!" Angela demanded again uttering a sound of frustration that she wasn't able to release the straps on her own.

"Here," Giuseppe offered and knelt down next to the box opposite Angela. "Let me help," he said as he effortlessly released the straps and lifted Corin from the crate. "Where shall I put her?" he asked Angela, having noticed how Eleazar seemed to be deferring to the human girl.

"Bring her over here," Angela said at once and moved to the couch, tears falling ever faster upon her cheeks. "Give her to me."

"I don't know that that's such a wise idea," he said and looked back at the other vampires in the room.

"I'll sit with her," Kate said and moved to sit next to Angela. "If anything happens or Corin lunges, I can stop her."

Giuseppe looked back to Eleazar and watched the man nod once, the blonde woman standing beside him mirroring his agreement. With caution, he stepped toward the couch and laid Corin down on the cushions, resting her upper body in Angela's open arms. He stood back, watching in wonder and confusion as Angela wrapped her arms tightly around the immobile vampire. The human girl was frail, so unspeakably fragile and yet everyone in the room seemed to act as though she wasn't. He didn't understand it one bit.

Angela held Corin tight in her arms, her head bowed over her as she cried silently and felt as though her heart was breaking. It hurt. Corin and Renata both hurt and she couldn't stand the pain. She didn't want anyone to be in pain like this, the way it felt as though their souls were being ripped apart and she closed her eyes. Her embrace tightened even more as she both clung to and offered comfort to the woman in her arms. She would open her own wrist and offer the woman her blood if she thought it would make a difference, but right now she knew that it wasn't blood Corin needed.

This pain was beyond what she had felt from Marcus. This pain was darker, deeper and somehow more malignant. She hated how familiar the tone of this pain was and knew she recognized it because she had once felt it herself. It was the belief that she wasn't good enough, the darkness of feeling worthless that could hollow someone out until there was nothing left and she sobbed aloud as she held onto Corin. She knew she was growing tired and hated that her body was so weak, but perhaps – and she didn't know how foolish her hope was – she could talk with Corin the same way she had with Marcus in the beginning. Perhaps she could grant Corin the same kind of sanctuary that Marcus had given her and in that moment Angela promised herself that she would do whatever it took to take the pain away from these women and give them hope instead.


End file.
